Disk not formatted

[WE Branch Fanatic]

Some time ago, I copied some stuff fron my old PC onto a 3.5" disk. Some of that stuff is still there, and I seem to have forgotten to put some of it on my new PC - including my CV. Opps!

The disk has been ok until last night, since when attempts to get stuff from it have resulted in the message "Disk in Drive A not formatted".

There's a very small chance that I have the wrong disk, but I don't think so. Will check, but think its the same disk. Any ideas of anything I can do as I don't think I have a copy of my CV on either my hard disk or paper, and I'm starting to worry......

[ck4707]

Try reading it from Windows 95 or MS DOS (you will need access to a pretty old system though!!)

If this dosn't work or you can't find an old system, if you know how to use a disc sector editor try this (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;140060) from MS support.

Hope this helps

CK

[effortless]

Run scandisk /f on it. Most likely the disk is corrupt.

[WE Branch Fanatic]

Thanks - I will.

Can you run Scandisk from XP?

PS Have managed to retrieve my CV from copies of e-mail sent to potential employers (who incidentally haven't got back to me).

Running the Command Prompt does indeed sugest that the disk in corupted. Anything I can do about that, or just write it off?

[Irish Steve]

Anything I can do about that, or just write it off?

Don't write it off yet.

Have you any spare floppy discs? If yes, format one of them on your new machine. Then, find a friend, work colleague or anyone that has a machine with a floppy drive on it, and first make sure that the "new" disc reads OK. Then, try reading the old disc. If it reads, "borrow" some space on the machine you are at and save the files there, then put the "new" disc in and save the files to it. As the new disc was formatted on your machine, it should read OK when you get it home.

Floppy drives are not quite as compatible as some manufacturers would like us to believe, so it could well be that your original disc is not stuffed, but just can't be read on the new drive.

Then again, it could be the case that this won't work, depending on the settings of the drives concerned.

Another option would be try the "old" disc in a number of machines, if you find one that works, "persuade" the owner to send the files via E-mail to your machine.

[effortless]

Scandisk should run in XP. One of the problems is that, since we rarely use floppy drives any more, they get a bit fluffed up. Try a newer drive or maybe a drive cleaner.

[Cornish Jack]

One other little trick which works occasionally is to hold the floppy vertically and tap it on a hard surface before loading it. It may just be a slight misalignment causing the problem.

[Saab Dastard]

Further to Cornish Jack's tip, I have found that sometimes the floppy is mis-aligned in the drive and by simply pressing on the exposed edge, or pressing and raising or lowering slightly (trial & error), it is possible to read the disk.