9 Jan
2023
9 Jan
'23
2:44 a.m.
When reading old floppies, how often is it advisable
to clean the drive? I managed the first 3.5” floppies no problem, I’m using a USB Floppy
Drive hooked up to my Mac Laptop, I was able to image them using “Disk Utility”. The next
two floppies have had errors. Though I think I was able to successfully copy all the
files off the one.
Depends. For RX01 (PDT) and RX02 drives I'll typically clean before
reading a new disk that has valuable info before reading it, and again
before using my "good" disks. If the disk is read and there's nothing on
the head then it goes into the "good" pile.
For RX50's same basic thing. A bad RX50 floppy can contaminate the head
and make a mess of otherwise good disks, so I try to keep the new disks
and disks I use separate.
Also, what is floppy drive cleaning fluid made of, and
how well does it age? I know I’ve got at least a couple cleaning floppies around here,
but they’re *OLD*.
I think most are compatible with 95% isopropyl. Most drives seem to be
ok with this as well except for CDC 9762's where it seemed to dissolve
the glue that held the head to the arms. Ask me how I found that out.
CZ