What is the best floppy drive? Does samsung make good quiet floppy drives? I need a black 1.44mb to match my case I'm going to get. What is the best for reliability?

The best floppy drive is no floppy drive!

I mean that semi-seriously -- do you really need one? My box is floppyless, and I honestly can't say I've missed it. In fact (along with my ISA cards) it was good feeling to wave goodbye to yet another piece of obsolete technology.

With writable CDs costing 20p these days, USB memory sticks, etc., I use one so infrequently (not once in the past 9 months) I'm happy to whip the side off the case and plug one in should I ever need it. Just my thoughts. I guess you requirements are different.

As for make and quality -- they're built for 10 pence each. Is there such a thing as a good floppy drive?

I need a floppy drive. I know... this system doesn't have one.... it's been an endless source of frustration. Keep in mind I'm not your average computer user, I mess around with stuff a lot. Many utilities do not work except from floppy. Example: Samsung hard drive utilities, partition magic, Western Digital hard drive utilties, etc. I've tried burning bootable cd's... their for the birds. I can't continue to go without one. (This system I'm using is a loaner). I need a reliable floppy drive.

Yes Samsung floppies are very reliable. However, I've yet to encounter a modern floppy drive that was unreliable. I don't think you can really go wrong with a new floppy drive, whatever brand you choose (Samsung, Sony, Teac, etc etc etc)...

a floppy drive is a floppy drive is a floppy drive is a floppy drive. Whatever you can get for sale cheap. sony, samsung, jo bobs floppy company, acer, whatever...


chucuSCAD

I know you guys are going to think I'm nuts, but I've tested a lot of FDDs for noise and the Sony's are by far the quietest. I use them in all the systems I build and I haven't heard a clinker yet.

There's new retail packaging for the Sony FDDs that includes 3 different colored removable faceplates so you can match them to your case easier. There's beige, black and a sort of dark metallic gray one.

NetTechie - Right on bro, I agree with your comment:



...except for the part about bootable CDrs. They're not actually too difficult to make once you figure it out, but they still take longer to make than a floppy, and there's still utilities that run only on floppies, as well as plenty of older systems out there that don't have the ability to boot from the CDrom. I install (and use) FDDs in all my own systems, and I install them in all my customer systems as well. How can you go wrong for $10?

[quote="Ralf Hutter"]I know you guys are going to think I'm nuts, but I've tested a lot of FDDs for noise and the Sony's are by far the quietest. I use them in all the systems I build and I haven't heard a clinker yet.
.....[/quote]

^^^^^ I second this. I've been very happy with my Sony, compared to the Teac's, Mitsumis and other various drives I've owned and worked with in the field.

Kudos for their new kit with three different colored bezels!

Regarding the most reliable floppy drive, Alps' can claim that title. Their drives have the highest MTBF I've seen (yes, I have researched) and are used in professional applications. But I have one, and it's probably the loudest floppy drive ever. I also have a Mitsumi; it's fairly quiet (and reliable) but probably not the quietest out there.

LOL, quiet floppy drive? Hehe, we are truely extreme quiet community.
I actually enjoy the noise they are making, I kinda start moving and dancing to it.

My floppy is APLS, not very quiet, but I use it rarely, so not a problem for me
Thumbs up for Ralp and the findings that Sony making things quiet, and two thumbs up for the different front pannel colors Sony offer, however I got a better suggestion

What about... this:



...? I don't know how noisy this is, but it can read CompactFlash I/II, MicroDrive, Secure Digital Card/Multimedia Card, Memory stick, SmartMedia cards AND floppy drives. Come with USB 2 speeds and that is all one could want. Gota get mine
PS. they selling also black one, my bro want one black, well, Im baige person

...PS its a Mitsumi FS404

I don't know about anyone else, but I sometimes have trouble connecting the ribbon cable on the floppy drives that don't have the surrounding rectangular plastic guide.

Just got to look at where you're plgging it. Use a flashlight to assure proper alignment if necessary.

Ok ok, I guess I was a bit severe... just you don't know the headaches I've been through on this system that has no floppy. Majority of the utilities I tried didn't work cuz they write to the disk as they go along... and therefore do not work on a bootable cd. Making the CD itself is a breeze... it's trying to actually use it for something that has left me cold.

Best thing about bootable cd's is that they do work for windows installs... no bootup floppy

Where can I find a sony with multiple faceplates?! I would be very interested in checking into these. Please send link?

Anyone else used those Mitsumi FS404? Are they good? (gonna go price them now).

Mitsumi FA404 is $35... that's about 25 for the readers. For 12 bucks I could get a reader with more capabilities. So I guess straight floppy is better. Less to fail on standard floppy too... I like things modular, so if something fails it can be replaced... no broken stuff in my computer.

All the CompUSSR's and Fry's around me have them, maybe you can find them online as well.

What do floppy drives cost from a store on average? I might be better off getting them that way (I live an hour from civilization... no computer stores here), because if they fail I can return em, unlike online shipping is the value of the drive.

In the stores around here, a typical OEM FDD goes for about $12-15. Those boxed Sonys with the three faceplates go for about $21.

You can buy OEM floppies online (Newegg and the like) for as cheap as $9-12.

Umm... with shipping if I buy a black Sony floppy at the same time as my case from Directron, it would come to almost exactly $9.70 with the ammount shipping increases when I add it. Ofcourse a DOA would double that price... since shipping is about the price of the drive.

No Doubt about it

That combo reader/drive can be found @ pctoys.com for $29.95

Yeah, but when you're crouching under a desk, twisting your neck, and distorting your fingers trying to manipulate the ribbon cable into the correct position, it make it that much more difficult!

In any case, that connector guide is my only requirement for a floppy drive. I don't use it enough to care about the noise level!

NetTechie - well, the FA404 it can be bought much cheaper that that, however the point it, that the reader (I have one external too) need at least two wires and even a power supply, and all that must be connected/disconnected when I move computer.
Plus it looks ughly At least mine does.
So I going to get the FA404 for the nicer look and replacing my floppy w/o hassles and with added functionality/possibilities.

PS. I seriously dubt that you can buy adapter that is USB2 and read all 6 formats for the price.
The link you give to us show something KINDA ugly (maybe my preferences only) and - Interface: USB1.1

Man, I did not going back to USB 1.x at any way and price Too terribly slow when I reading my digital photos from my cam, they are from 960 to 1.6MB big (max quality 4.13MPix from Nicon 4300) and the waitings on USB 1.x is terrible, man...
Same for stransfering things back to the cards, so no way, dude. I hapilly pay a little for

a) not having another 3.5" device
b) speed

...not to mention I already have got a Zip drive, so I have no 3.5" slot left and therefore I have no choice.

Besides, I like to keep into my machine as low number of components, as possible, so multifunction components are allways a apeal for me.

The "floppy" part of the Mitsumi floppy drive/media reader is basically a notebook floppy drive. However, there seems to be reliability problems with the drive. You can read some customer ratings here:
http://axiontech.com/ratings.php?act=view&cat=FLOPPY%20DRIVES&pcode=FDMIFA404A
This is where I buy most of my hardware.

BTW does the Sony drive have shrouded data connectors?

[quote="tempeteduson"]....
BTW does the Sony drive have shrouded data connectors?[/quote]

Yes. See the picture in this link: http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp ... 116-07.jpg

Also, you can get, as a $9.85 option at Directron.com (which costs more then the $8.99 sale price, currently), a blue LED modification, where they replace the green drive activity LED with a nifty Blue one.

For the once a year you use the drive

Thanks, CRT_Leech. I guess I will get the Sony for my next system then.

I'm gonna get the sony (not led modded), because it sounds the most reliable.

They're all reliable, I've never seen a FFD itself break, it's just that the Sonys are generally quiet as well.

Well, I not using the floppy much, but I think the dude on Axiontech a bit exaggerating with the number of failures
Like Ralph, I never see floppy drive break - the only one case is, when I break it by myself

When I got mine and brother his one, I can report how they are reliable

So, remember dudes, the drive is calibrated for some head position. Once you open the drive and take even the motor out, it's likely you never can set the right position again - the head did not move, but the center of the floppy does, so... the drive suddently can't read any other data, that it write
Witch is a good security thing, however I dubt anyone do it on purpose...

/me spend next hour of setting the working center back to its position and I reporting sucess! It reading other floppies angain and reliable...

So, learn from my mistake and never do this


...blue led? Sounds cool, but I can do that mod for myself in less that 10 minutes for sure
(thinking about it, sound cool, but messing with the mitsumi notebook drive, eh, better not )

After a few weeks of usage of the Mitsumi FA404 combo floppy/reader device I would like to report what I find

The drive is VERY quiet, it much quiet that any other floppy I ever had. It seems kinda reliable too, but I own only 2 pieces, so no reliable judmenting could be made...

I like on the drive that, probably because it's a notebook floppy, it did NOT sound when acessed AND there is no floppy inside.
I mean for example during windows boting. Winblows acess the drive and it make sound. Every drive, including the Sony one. (NEC, ALPS... etc)
This one does NOT Thumbs up!

Are there any bad things? Yes, as with everything, they are. First, installing the software from the min-CDrom is not need (with is a PLUS!), however if you do and choose other language that your operation system is, you never boot to windows again. At least this IS true for Win2000 SP3 Czech and trying to install English version of the software...

Anything else? Well, the eject button is too close to the ejected floppy, so it mostly eject to your finger. Not definitively bad news, however a bit uncommon and maybe a little bit worser that standard floppys. Miniaturization seems always come with a price
After all, it's a excelent thingie and saves space, energy and it's quietiest floppy I ever saw/has the privilege to use

Recommended stuff!

We use these at work as our Thinkpads did not come with floppies

http://store.yahoo.com/smartdiskstore/2xspeedusbfl.html

They work great, I was thinking about picking one up for home, would be usefull in the computer toolbox.