[Coco] Floppies and floppy drives

[Dennis Bathory-Kitsz]

At 12:08 PM 4/24/2013, you wrote:
>On 04/21/2013 06:11 PM, Aldo Lagana wrote:
>>So I wonder is it the media itself that is gumming the drive?  Or 
>>is it filth and 30 years of time?
>
>I recently dug out some old floppies for the purpose of backing them 
>up to Drivewire image files.  One of them had sectors that wouldn't read.

Many forms of magnetic media from the 1980s are susceptible to 
gumminess. If you can confirm they are gummy, the media can indeed be 
recovered.

You need an herb drying device, the kind with the multiple trays. (Do 
*not* do this in an ordinary oven, which will often cause condensation!)

Put the affected media in the upper tray (far from electric currents) 
for 48-72 hours, using the low heat (usually 110-120F). Turn the 
media over every 12 hours. After the heating stage, turn the heat off 
and let the media cool for 12-24 hours.

Recover the data immediately. The gumminess will return within about 2 weeks.

Dennis