Anyone have a 1.2MB 5.25" floppy drive they don't need/want?

[drkphibr]

Continuing my efforts to build/restore old PCs and am no looking for someone who has a 1.2MB 5.25" floppy disk drive they don't want or need (technically, these are useless in today's world, but unfortunately the folks on the online auction sites seem to think they are worth their weight in gold).

[Satex]

I think everyone including me got rid of those as fast as we could. Then we did the same with the 3.5" drives that were just as crappy - just smaller. The world without floppy drives is a better world ;-)
Good luck!

[stilly]

Wow. I MIGHT have one or two but I dunno. Those left with the 486 dlc40. I might have one that is still in a computer though

wow. I actually have a computer that has one. I dunno if it is a 720 or a 1.2 though.

[Wallabing]

Millions of them on ebay.

[stilly]

Millions of them on ebay.

Did you not see what the OP said about the fools-err fellas on Fleabay selling them?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mitsubishi-M4851-352U-5-25-Internal-Floppy-Disk-Drive-/190868866046?pt=US_Floppy_Zip_Jaz_Drives&hash=item2c70abc3fe#ht_4814wt_1162

I am a believer now,

Guys we need to STOP making fun of the price gouging retards in the marketplace here and start making fun of these price gouging retards on ebay. OMG, Average price for a floppy drive of 5.25" is about $25 or more plus shipping.

RUFKM? WOW.

OP why do you insist on obtaining one of these things since they are NO good by today's standards? It is cool to have an old car; I get that. It is also cool to have an old gun; I get that too. But an old computer is NOT cool. The only cool thing about an old computer is to be able to dress it up and steampunk it, but since many cases were AT and had a one piece shell that slightly flexed then painting and steampunking might not work so well where it flexes... But hey to each his own I guess. I would not do this if I were you and I am almost a certified hoarder when it comes to computer parts, office supplies, guns, ammo, ammo components, lead, precious metals, dimes, quarters, nickels, $2 bills, porn downloaded from the internet, movie cameras, digital cameras, cargo shorts, household cleaners, hard drives, lcd monitors, ammo cans, screws taken out of electronic devices, wires and old power supplies, car cleaning items, seeds, things I created in high school, newspapers, vhs inner city black cheerleader search tapes, microscope slides, camera adapters, pellets, hydrophilic sulphur, fertilizers, mulch, bug sprays, weed killers, wooden stakes, leftover building materials, core samples, wood screws, hinges, broken tool heads, mugs I created on Zazzle, plant catalogs, gun magazines, photo magazines, cables for computer things, adapters, ram sticks, cpus, jumpers, case wires, heat sinks, mountain bike tires, AMD/Intel Inside stickers, 2032 batteries, microSD cards, cell phones, HDPE piping cuts, sandbags, exterior freestanding shelving and clay pigeons; oh but no cats... I like to think I am one of the more reasonable guys...




I apologize, but your thread is about to get jacked...

[Peter.Steele]

Holy hell! I just threw out a BOX FULL of 5.25 DS/HD drives a couple weeks ago. No kidding, probably 10 of 'em in there.

[NoSpam]

sorry I shot them all up years ago, and for the record, hard drives are more fun to shoot than floppy drives.

Why restore an old PC with a 5.25" drive? Do you like to collect old technology? I have a box full (a huge box actually) of various old PC parts that I'd gladly give you if you're around the SVG area. I know I have 3.5" drives, zip drives, optical drives. Mostly stuff from the Pentium era.

[gabe123]

I used 356kb disk of something like that in one of those 1.2Mb drive years ago. I feel old already !!! Its too old for webcam picture, so I guess you must have found some disk with love letter or something on it that you cant wait to open, right?

[dwtt]

I don't remember the 5.25" floppy drives to be 1.2 MB, I thought they were 760 kB. It was a big improvement when the 3.5" 1.44 MB drives came out, and everyone wanted those new drives. I have an old computer in a relative's house and if it's still there, I can pull the drive out the next time I visit. Where are you located?

[gabe123]

Oh yeah, those are 760k. 1.2Mb has same physical dimension, just higher capacity.

[the86d]

I don't remember the 5.25" floppy drives to be 1.2 MB, I thought they were 760 kB. It was a big improvement when the 3.5" 1.44 MB drives came out, and everyone wanted those new drives. I have an old computer in a relative's house and if it's still there, I can pull the drive out the next time I visit. Where are you located?

If I recall correctly PC format circa MS-DOS 3.1(-3.3)ish-5.0
(I never used 4.x):
360K double-density 5.25"
1.2MB High density 5.25"
&
720K double-density 3.5"
1.44MB high density 3.5"

When I got my first CD burner, I made images of all my 5.25" disks, and I haven't touched one since, nor have I put a 5.25" drive in a machine since then... Circa 2002.

I am the one known to keep relics, here on CalGuns...

I recall formatting 360K floppies at 1.2MB to give just a little more space, and of course bad sectors and unreliability.

I also remember using a steak-knife to cut the notch out of 720k 3.5" microfloppy disks to be able to format them 1.44MB, yes and this caused unreliable use and bad sectors.

I am unable to say that had an 8" floppy... and that is unfortunate.

[drkphibr]

For all of you asking why do this...there are a few reasons:

1. I enjoy finding what's no longer commonly available, tinkering with it and then bringing it back to life.
2. What you are now saying is junk (from a technology perspective, I absolutely agree) I see as vintage and it brings back a lot of memories for me over the last 25 years regarding personal computing. I too remember pulling the "foil" stickers out to write-protect 5.25'" floppies or "punch" 720's to make them 1.44's.
3. I have no shortage of programs on 360k/1.2MB floppies (not to mention 720/1.44). Installing them now and seeing what was cutting edge at one time is eye opening now. And in all honesty, Word for Windows 2.0a gives me just about ALL I need in a word processor....everything now is SO bloated (but high on the cool factor as well).
4. This stuff is disappearing (relatively speaking) and having a piece of computing's past is interesting to me (again, comparing then and now). Pretty amazing to see the what I call Apple's FIRST iPad (the MessagePad) sitting next to an iPad mini). Makes you wonder what will happen over the next 25 years. I think I'll start a "Then and Now" thread ;-)
5. Working with the old stuff REALLY makes one appreciate the new stuff. We take so much for granted. USB, Bluetooth and wireless have had such an impact. No more tweaking IRQs, trying to find parallel cables or looking for that serial connection to plug into and configure). And now I'm doing EXACTLY that. Looking for SCSI terminators, cables I know I have some place but can't find, wishing I didn't throw away something I now "need", etc.

[dynamomark80]

You post what you say are valid reasons why you need to obtain a drive but you dont care for the cost associated. vintage = $
bite the bullet and just pay the price for a good drive or it isnt that important for you to get one after all

[mrkubota]

For all of you asking why do this...there are a few reasons:

1. I enjoy finding what's no longer commonly available, tinkering with it and then bringing it back to life.
2. What you are now saying is junk (from a technology perspective, I absolutely agree) I see as vintage and it brings back a lot of memories for me over the last 25 years regarding personal computing. I too remember pulling the "foil" stickers out to write-protect 5.25'" floppies or "punch" 720's to make them 1.44's.
3. I have no shortage of programs on 360k/1.2MB floppies (not to mention 720/1.44). Installing them now and seeing what was cutting edge at one time is eye opening now. And in all honesty, Word for Windows 2.0a gives me just about ALL I need in a word processor....everything now is SO bloated (but high on the cool factor as well).
4. This stuff is disappearing (relatively speaking) and having a piece of computing's past is interesting to me (again, comparing then and now). Pretty amazing to see the what I call Apple's FIRST iPad (the MessagePad) sitting next to an iPad mini). Makes you wonder what will happen over the next 25 years. I think I'll start a "Then and Now" thread ;-)
5. Working with the old stuff REALLY makes one appreciate the new stuff. We take so much for granted. USB, Bluetooth and wireless have had such an impact. No more tweaking IRQs, trying to find parallel cables or looking for that serial connection to plug into and configure). And now I'm doing EXACTLY that. Looking for SCSI terminators, cables I know I have some place but can't find, wishing I didn't throw away something I now "need", etc.

I've got this one in my old parts box, Teac FD-505 that's a combo 1.2meg/1.44meg floppy drive:



Send me a list of anything else you might be looking for and I may be able to find it in my collection.

[drkphibr]

couldn't resist comparing technologies and how they've evolved...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?p=12033698#post12033698