Another little problem I can’t resolve ! I’d like to use some information kept on a 3 ½ floppy but unfortunately, the floppy in question doesn’t want to play. Every other disc works fine but the message I get with this one is : “A:\ is not accessible. The system cannot read from the specified device”.
Never had a problem with a floppy before so I guess it was about due. I assume there are three possible options:
(1) Correct the error in the existing disc,
(2) Transfer the data (somehow) to another disc, or
(3) Throw the thing away and forget about it until Monday
I don’t know if either (1) or (2) is practicable or which of them might be the best option if both are workable solutions. Anyone else had this type of error pop up and, if you did, what did you do to access the information ? Cheers
might it be formatted incorrectly?
ie, you are trying to transfer something from a mac to a pc, and are using a mac only floppy? or maybe it is damaged.
You have probably lost everything on the disk, but you have two real options as I see it:
put the floppy in another computer and pray it reads it fine.
run Norton or even try ScanDisk on the floppy and hope it recovers the disk.
Try 1 before 2 and when trying 2, make sure you cross all fingers and toes. It may want to repair the disk and by doing so actually trash it so the next one can’t do squat. But hey, what have you got to lose?
Chances are pretty good the disc is no good anymore. I assume you tried all the normal troubleshooting stuff, such as trying the disc in question on another computer.
Unless the data on the floppy is vital to your continued existance, you might as well just get rid of it.
Before you toss the disk, put one you know works in and see if you get the same message. If you do:
a) Your floppy drive is smoked. You’ll need to scrounge up eight bucks or so to replace it.
b) Your floppy cable has become loose from the motherboard or the back of the device. Check the connection, or if you’re afraid of seeing the sight of computer guts, have someone else do it.
I’ve dealt with lots of dead/inaccessible floppies. Candyman’s advice is dead on. If another drive won’t read it the info is likely toast. If the info is super valuable there are media recovery services but these are fairly expensive.
Thanks, guys. Normally I’m grateful when a consensus is achieved on a computer related issue but this time it’s a little disappointing. It’s toast. Thanks again for the insight.
Yeah, you better get used to it. That happens to floppys often. They aren’t very stable. You could search for free software that might be able to read some of the disk.
Nortons?
Before you give up, let me run something by the more knowledgeable people here. If I remember correctly, sometimes the only problem with the disk is that track 0 is corrupted, and the rest of the data is okay, but you just can’t get to it. I remember that I used to have a little free DOS utility that would rewrite track zero, and it saved a couple of unreadable disks. Does this ring a bell with anyone?
The Norton Utilities program cited by a few posters will do this and more if the media is relatively undamaged and the
information is accessible, however, the vast majority of the time a floppy blows out it’s not track 0 damage, but file corruption due to media errors at the site of the information.
Here’s a much more low-tech solution if it’s just the one disk: make sure the metal door on the bottom slides easily. It may just be getting stuck, preventing access to the disk. I’ve had that problem more than once.
I know, it’s probably something more serious, but wouldn’t we all feel stupid if that’s what it was?
Hey Smeghead, that might be a possibility. I noticed the disk is a little bent and now I see the disc at the bottom is sticky. Think I’ll leave it overnight under a couple of heavy books and cross my fingers. Bit like hitting a car engine that won’t start with a hammer but it’s worth a try.
Otherwise, it looks like Norton’s is the next step. Thanks again.
Also check for dust on the disk surface, an if there is any, blow it off gently. I think that it goes without saying that if you do manage to get the data off the disk, copy it onto your HD, and then toss the disk out. Also, if it’s a problem with the cover, it’ll work fine if you rip the metal cover off completely. It won’t be protected when you take it out of the drive, but by that time, you won’t care.