floppy disc problem

[Guest]

I have Windows XP, Word 2002. I have an outside transcriptionist who puts her
work on a floppy disc. I open the disc, save to Word, then close the floppy
file and the Word file I have put it in. The light goes out, I remove the
disc. When I hit open (in Word) the light for the disc drive goes on, the
machine freezes and I cannot get out of it. I have tried Ctrl Alt Delete, I
send error reports, but I cannot download, or have not tried to download the
solution, because the screen is frozen. I get the end program screen but the
light remains on and I have to shut the computer down by pushing the off
button on the CPU unit. This has happened twice. Is there something I am
doing wrong, is it the floppy, or just a Word/Windows quirk?

Thank you for any help.

Jeanne

 

[Charles Kenyon]

If you want to be able to use your documents, when working within Word, act
as if your floppy drive does not exist! (This applies to CDRW/CDR drives as
well.)
Don't use Word to:
Open a document on a floppy
Print a document on a floppy
Edit a document on a floppy
Save a document to a floppy (not even a copy)

Word regularly trashes documents on floppy drives!

Instead, work on the document using your hard drive. Copy it back and forth
using Windows.

I know that for some with shared computers (libraries, schools) this is a
tough prescription. All I can recommend for that is to use a brand new
formatted disk each time you save and don't do any editing.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help, unfortunately, there are several separate pages in each
document (doctor's notes) and they all need to be edited by me. This is
supposed to be making my job easier! I will try the e-mail route.

Jeanne

 

[Charles Kenyon]

You can save them on a floppy, just not from within Word! When Word is open,
work with the floppy out of the drive.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Guest]

That is what I was trying to do, they are saved on a floppy by someone else,
I save the document to Word and then edit and save again to each patient's
folder. But, after I have saved the whole document to Word and take out the
floppy the computer freezes. At any rate I just spoke to the
transcriptionist, since the same problem has happened to her, we will switch
to e-mail.

Again, thanks for your help.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

No. When Word is open, the floppy is not in the drive!
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

It could be that the file is corrupt because it was saved in Word straight
onto the floppy.

 

[Guest]

It probably was since I had another disc this week that Word would not open
because it may not have been formatted or it was done on a Mac. I don't like
using discs anyway, I only had the disc drive added to this computer, because
the computer "expert" who installed our computers before Y2K was no expert,
and all of the computers had 1-3 hard drive fails, mine three times, which is
why I kept some things backed up on floppies. We did have a back-up, which he
installed incorrectly and we lost a lot of files after the third hard drive
fail. Now we have new computers, this guy is history, and things are better.

Thank you for your time.

Jeanne

It could be that the file is corrupt because it was saved in Word straight
onto the floppy.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

That is what I was trying to do, they are saved on a floppy by someone
else,
I save the document to Word and then edit and save again to each patient's
folder. But, after I have saved the whole document to Word and take out
the
floppy the computer freezes. At any rate I just spoke to the
transcriptionist, since the same problem has happened to her, we will
switch
to e-mail.

Again, thanks for your help.

 

[Graham Mayor]

You are going to create a different but related problem if you use e-mail.
If you transfer documents by e-mail ensure they are zipped of security
systems can reject them and they can be corrupted in transit. Save the
document from the e-mail message to the hard drive and work on it there.
Never try and open it directly from the e-mail.
There is nothing wrong with using floppies to transfer documents between
users. It is the opening them and saving them to the floppy FROM WORD that
is the problem. ALWAYS copy the files to and from the floppy to the hard
drive and work on them there.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Opinicus]

supposed to be making my job easier! I will try the e-mail route.

Email is definitely the way to go. Forget the floppies. Oh and be sure to
save the emailed attachment to your hard disk and open and work with THAT
copy. Do not open a document (or any other file) attached to an email with
Word (or any other program).

 

[Ed]

Part of the problem, I think, is that floppy technology is relatively
unchanged since the advent of double density disks, whereas hard drives,
processors, data transfers, and program resource demands have all changed
drastically. I sometimes use a 100 meg Zip disk. I have noticed the File
Copy dialog will disappear and the disk can be ejected long before the
actual data transfer is finished. Floppies don't have the stuff to keep up
with what's going on inside a modern computer.

Do not treat a floppy like a work surface, but rather like a carrying case.
Copy the file to a floppy, put it on another computer, and remove the
floppy. THEN start Word or whatever and work. Personally, though, CDs are
cheap enough to burn files to, have less chance of data corruption, and can
hold more. A whole lot cheaper than losing all your data to a bum floppy!

Ed

It probably was since I had another disc this week that Word would not open
because it may not have been formatted or it was done on a Mac. I don't like
using discs anyway, I only had the disc drive added to this computer, because
the computer "expert" who installed our computers before Y2K was no expert,
and all of the computers had 1-3 hard drive fails, mine three times, which is
why I kept some things backed up on floppies. We did have a back-up, which he
installed incorrectly and we lost a lot of files after the third hard drive
fail. Now we have new computers, this guy is history, and things are better.

Thank you for your time.

Jeanne

It could be that the file is corrupt because it was saved in Word straight
onto the floppy.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

That is what I was trying to do, they are saved on a floppy by someone
else,
I save the document to Word and then edit and save again to each patient's
folder. But, after I have saved the whole document to Word and take out
the
floppy the computer freezes. At any rate I just spoke to the
transcriptionist, since the same problem has happened to her, we will
switch
to e-mail.

Again, thanks for your help.

:

You can save them on a floppy, just not from within Word! When Word is
open,
work with the floppy out of the drive.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


Thanks for your help, unfortunately, there are several separate pages
in
each
document (doctor's notes) and they all need to be edited by me. This is
supposed to be making my job easier! I will try the e-mail route.

Jeanne

:

If you want to be able to use your documents, when working within
Word,
act
as if your floppy drive does not exist! (This applies to CDRW/CDR
drives
as
well.)
Don't use Word to:
Open a document on a floppy
Print a document on a floppy
Edit a document on a floppy
Save a document to a floppy (not even a copy)

Word regularly trashes documents on floppy drives!

Instead, work on the document using your hard drive. Copy it back and
forth
using Windows.

I know that for some with shared computers (libraries, schools) this
is a
tough prescription. All I can recommend for that is to use a brand new
formatted disk each time you save and don't do any editing.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

I have Windows XP, Word 2002. I have an outside transcriptionist who
puts
her
work on a floppy disc. I open the disc, save to Word, then close the
floppy
file and the Word file I have put it in. The light goes out, I
remove
the
disc. When I hit open (in Word) the light for the disc drive goes
on,
the
machine freezes and I cannot get out of it. I have tried Ctrl Alt
Delete,
I
send error reports, but I cannot download, or have not tried to
download
the
solution, because the screen is frozen. I get the end program screen
but
the
light remains on and I have to shut the computer down by pushing the
off
button on the CPU unit. This has happened twice. Is there something
I
am
doing wrong, is it the floppy, or just a Word/Windows quirk?

Thank you for any help.

Jeanne

 

[Guest]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I agree that floppies are outdated. In
the past, with another transcriptionist we dealt only with e-mail and I never
had problems.

Much aloha to all from Hawaii.

Jeanne

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem with all my diskettes to. I cannot help you here.
I've tried the solutions and help you receive but nothing doing. Beside it
wants to reformat my diskettes. Sorry but at the time way back, I didn't have
any CD Drivers and didn't know what it could have been, until my daughters
showed them to me and now, i have 2 CDRW but that doesnt help my diskettes to
open and read them either.
Denise Lajoie

 

[Graham Mayor]

If you have read this thread, you should understand that the floppy discs
that you cannot read are corrupt. This is what happens when you save Word
files to them. Don't do it!!!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Charles Kenyon]

The same is true of saving to CDRW. When you are using Word, act as if those
drives are not there. With Word closed, you can copy to or from your floppy
or CDRW and it will work. The Word program does not deal well with removable
media.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[redbeard419]

Be aware that WinXP sometimes does not read floppies that were
formatted using another OS. If you are asked if you want to format a
diskette that you know to be formatted, that is a sign that the problem
is with the OS- or rarely with the drive. It is a problem with WinXP
and sometimes not with the diskette. Try using the diskette in another
pc, preferably not using XP.

Fred