Help with floppy files

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Guest

I have a new computer with Windows XP. My old one had Windows 98.
I put all my files onto floppies because the old computer did not have a CD
burner.
But Win XP is giving me a hard time. Sometimes it says that the disc is not
properly formatted. Sometimes it says that but shows the files anyway.
Sometimes the files open, sometimes I get an error message about I/O devices
and I cannot access them at all.
I don't know if it has any relevance, but the A drive on the new computer is
external.
 
CB said:
I have a new computer with Windows XP. My old one had Windows 98.
I put all my files onto floppies because the old computer did not
have a CD burner.
But Win XP is giving me a hard time. Sometimes it says that the
disc is not properly formatted. Sometimes it says that but shows
the files anyway. Sometimes the files open, sometimes I get an
error message about I/O devices and I cannot access them at all.
I don't know if it has any relevance, but the A drive on the new
computer is external.
Click to expand...

Do the floppy diskettes that have trouble work on the old computer?
 
CB said:
I have a new computer with Windows XP. My old one had Windows 98.
I put all my files onto floppies because the old computer did not have a CD
burner.
But Win XP is giving me a hard time. Sometimes it says that the disc is not
properly formatted. Sometimes it says that but shows the files anyway.
Sometimes the files open, sometimes I get an error message about I/O devices
and I cannot access them at all.
I don't know if it has any relevance, but the A drive on the new computer is
external.
Click to expand...

XP requires that the floppies actually be formatted to the current
standards.. go figure.. W98 formatted without one required bit, IIRC.

You might load the floppies to an older system, transfer to a thumb
drive, and insert that into the XP machine.

Or format floppies in XP, copy the data to them on a W98 system.

Then there's post #22 here:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...at+floppy+drives&rnum=5&#doc_4b4e4f1baefd7df8
 
CB said:
I have a new computer with Windows XP. My old one had Windows 98.
I put all my files onto floppies because the old computer did not
have a CD burner.
But Win XP is giving me a hard time. Sometimes it says that the disc
is not properly formatted. Sometimes it says that but shows the
files anyway. Sometimes the files open, sometimes I get an error
message about I/O devices and I cannot access them at all.
I don't know if it has any relevance, but the A drive on the new
computer is external.
Click to expand...


Is this a floppy that was created on Windows 98, and when you try to read it
in Windows XP, you get the message "Disk is not formatted The disk in drive
A is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?"

If so you are running into the media descriptor byte problem described here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=140060

The solution is to format another diskette on your Windows XP machine, take
that diskette and the one with a problem to a friend's Windows 98 machine,
and copy the old one to the new one. The new one will now be readable on
your XP machine. Repeat for each floppy you are having trouble with
 
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