Monday, February 12, 2001		On Hardware

Floppies — still a better choice
By Pushpesh Kumar

THEY say old is gold. But this adage may not hold true for the fast changing world of computers. In their short existence, one has seen scores of storage devices for data that requires copying, sharing, transmitting, transporting, distributing and even storing. Devices in common uses today include mediums like virtual disks on the Net, compact disk and hard disks. Despite claims, floppies, considered obsolete by many, still remain the most preferred medium for storage and transfer of data.

By and large floppies remain the most economical, viable and available medium to store and transport small amounts of data. Despite rapid technological advancements, floppy drives are perhaps the only device that is an integral part of every computer. Compact disk and zip drives are still scant and unaffordable for many in the country.

Floppies are a cheaper and reliable mode to store and retrieve data. A normal 1.44-megabyte (MB) floppy costs about Rs 15 and is easily available in every stationery shop. There are many misconceptions about the use and reliability of the floppies but many of them are unjustified.

(a) It is often believed that floppies are sure to give bad sectors but it is not so. The bad sectors can be there in the HDD or in any other recordable media.

(b) Floppies are believed to spreads viruses. Yes it does, but only if the systems sharing them are infected. If anti-virus software is used regularly infections can be prevented. The Net is the most potent medium that spreads viruses. ‘I Love You’, ‘Melissa’, and many other viruses infect computers through the Net.

(c) The floppies are infamous for responding to one system and not to another. This

does happen at times, but it is due to bad-sectors, zero track bad, disk unusable, read fault error, disk boot failure messages etc. are due to the poor working (alignment etc) of the floppy drive and not due to the floppy itself. Thus the floppy is often the victim and not the ‘culprit’.

(d) Some of us have a misconception, (God knows from where if came) that the 1.22 MB floppies are more reliable than the 1.44 MB floppies. Though there are some physical differences, for example, the 1.22 MB is a ‘soft’ floppy and can bend to some extent but the 1.44 MB scores a point as it is covered all over and the ‘shutter’ opens only in the drive meant for the same, if not opened physically by the user, unlike the 1.22 MB whichhas got a permanent opening for the head of the floppy drive. During normal usage the 1.22 MB vs 1.44 MB test will show that both are at par if with each other.

(e) Floppies cannot give errors if stored for long and are used less frequently; on the other hand it may increase the life of the floppy.

1. Do not store the floppies near a magnet, moisture, heat or dust.

2. Use protective casing for storage and if possible use anti-static casing. Make efficient of the ‘write protect tab’ on the floppy.

3. Do not frequently format a floppy, as far as possible do not use the ‘quick format’ command.

4. Do not touch the surface of the floppy, and unnecessary opening of the shutter of the floppy should be avoided.

5. Scan the files, data etc. before copying carefully for any errors and viruses etc.

6. While copying from the DOS prompt use the verify command. For example: C:\ copy tribune.text a:\ tribune.text/v. This will prevent the data from being copied to any bad sectors if any in the dist.

7. Some software like scandisk, Norton Disk Doctor, Disk Tool etc, are also useful for the detection of errors on the floppy disk and sometimes help to revive the disk and cover valuable data from the disk.

8.Avoid using pirated software, copying pornographic material as they are generally infected with viruses, Trojans etc. Also it is illegal to copy any patented or registered software under the Information Technology (IT) Act.

9. As far as possible use the floppies for personal use, avoid sharing the floppies, as you can never be sure of the other machine and the person who is going to handle your floppy.

10. Keep your machine in good health, the heads of the drives should be cleaned at least once a week (remember cleaning the heads of video cassette recorders (VCRs), the alignment of the head should be perfect, and it should not make any stray noises during operation.

All said and done it is true that the floppies can not beat the CDs in terms of storage capacity, reliability life and economy of use but keeping the above considered points in minds the floppies can be used with advantage.