# Out goes all those floppy disks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 26, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705 "2011-09-26T21:42:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/1 "2011-09-26T21:42:06Z")
Housekeeping time. I finally decided to go through several boxes of floppy disks (the ultramodern 3.5" ones). Amazing how many programs I had for Win 3.3 and 98. Plus dozens of others that have not used in years. I did keep a few blank formatted disks. For what reason I can’t imagine, but as long as I have a floppy drive, who knows? Interesting that programs like Lotus Freelance took eight disks to load. I also found a bunch of backup disks (it took about 25 disks to back up that old hard drive). Some programs I really liked, such as “Correct Quotes” have been sidelined due to Google. Others won’t even run on XP. Also a whole shitload of DOS programs that hardly seem necessary now While I was at it, i dumped all the manuals for these. Also a dandy 1000-page book on Windows 98. I remember reading through that like it was a novel. I did shed a few tears, but out they went. A few years ago I reluctantly did the same with all the 5.25" floppies too. I was fond of many of those DOS utility programs that made life so easy back in the dinosaur age of computing. ---
**Author:** ![Teufelblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@Teufelblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teufelblitz)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/2 "2011-09-27T01:49:14Z")
Yeah, I did the same thing recently when I moved. Got rid of a bunch of old cables and ISA cards too. Was kind of sad. Not very often that I need a Serial to PS/2 adapater these days, though. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/3 "2011-09-27T07:09:47Z")
Three weeks ago, I cleaned out a closet and pitched a boxful of 8-track tapes, mostly classic rock. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/4 "2011-09-27T13:09:09Z")
You have a floppy drive? I haven’t even seen one in about five years. Do you also have an audio tape deck in your car? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/5 "2011-09-27T13:13:14Z")
What a coincidence, I’ve recently gotten rid of a boxful or two myself. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/6 "2011-09-27T13:36:02Z")
I have a box of Amiga floppies lurking about somewhere, triply obsolete as they don’t work in PC FDs, I don’t have a PC FD anyway, or a working Amiga (least I assume it doesn’t work) A bunch of C64 5.25s as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/7 "2011-09-27T15:12:25Z")
I remember measuring a game’s worth by how many disks it took to hold it. King’s Quest VI was massive on disk. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/8 "2011-09-27T15:43:20Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You have a floppy drive? > > I haven’t even seen one in about five years. > > Do you also have an audio tape deck in your car? The Subaru Forester I bought new in 2002 had both a cassette deck and a 6-disc CD changer. No ports for mp3 players ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/9 "2011-09-27T16:21:07Z")
I have a box of cassettes in my garage. I have no cassette player in my car and the cassette deck in the house hasn’t been used in the decade+ I’ve lived here. But every time I start to throw out the box, I go through the tapes and think “Haven’t gotten that replaced yet…can’t replace that recording…I really like that live version of that song.” So the box goes right back in the back of the garage and will probably stay there until whoever buys my house 30 years from now finds them and marvels at the ancient technology. I did, however, grit my teeth and toss all the 3.5" floppies and iomega backup disks. Thanks to several changes of architecture and an operating system change by Apple, the programs were so much junk and few biographers have shown up yearning to read my emails from 25 years ago. Even threw out a few SCSI cables while I was at it. Now I have to man up and throw out all those 256 and 512 MB flash cards ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/10 "2011-09-27T20:15:35Z")
Windows 3.3? ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/11 "2011-09-27T20:27:57Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Windows 3.3? Sorry, of course I meant Win 3.11. :smack: Win 3.3 was a special program I wrote myself, and sold exclusively to my friends who did not want W98. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/12 "2011-09-27T20:30:36Z")
My wife and I stumbled across a bunch of old 3.5" floppies while clean out the office a few weeks ago. Thus ended the era of my original X-wing, TIE-fighter, Wing Commander Privateer and X-com install disks. I haven’t had a floppy drive in at least five years so not a big loss. We also traded in the last vehicle we had with a tape player. now I have to get off my but and rebuy the 200+ albums I have on cassette as that was the last working tape player we owned. \ ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/13 "2011-09-27T21:48:53Z")
3.5" discs??? I threw out a ton of 5.25" floppies along with the 3.5" discs about a year ago. I finally did some necessary house cleaning and tossed out all my floppy discs, old manuals, old software, etc. Even discarded a whole bunch of plastic disc holders and storage units. Filled up more a few trash bins. OK, I admit that I kept a few discs for sentimental reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/14 "2011-09-27T21:55:22Z")
I’ve been working my way through my garage, which is full of about 30 years’ accumulation of various goodies. Stuff I’ve been throwing out without mercy include: - Audiocassettes - Videocassettes (VHS and Beta!) - 5.25 inch floppies - 3.5 inch floppies And I’m wondering how long CDs and DVDs will last, though at last for those it will be easy to transfer into the next format on a computer. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/15 "2011-09-28T00:32:47Z")
I came across a USB floppy drive a couple of years ago, and it’s still on my shelf, in case I ever need to access that small box of 15-20 floppies I still have. Beats me what’s on them now. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/16 "2011-09-28T01:10:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You have a floppy drive? > > I haven’t even seen one in about five years. > > Do you also have an audio tape deck in your car? I have both of these things. The computer I got I-don’t-remember-how-long-ago (not long after Windows XP came out) and still use sometimes has a floppy drive. It’s been years since I’ve used its floppy drive for anything, but when I first got the computer I used it to transfer data from my previous computer. My 2007 Taurus came with a tape deck, which I use all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/17 "2011-09-28T01:59:16Z")
You people threw away free coasters? I still keep a couple of them for use. I have a portable 3 1/2 drive. I keep data on them that I don’t want to lose since I’ve lost 6 hard drives in the last 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/18 "2011-09-28T04:42:59Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > The Subaru Forester I bought new in 2002 had both a cassette deck and a 6-disc CD changer. No ports for mp3 players Mine just has the cassette, no CD. I still have a couple of shoe boxes of cassette tapes somewhere in the closet, along with VHS tapes and assorted floppy discs. My desk top computer has a 3.5 drive and I’ve got a 5.25 around here somewhere. I need to clean house. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/19 "2011-09-28T04:46:19Z")
I just got my first computer that does not have a floppy drive nor a place to plug on in. I do have 4 working machines with working floppy drives and I have many of the disks, all kinds, even those from my still working Sony Mavica camera. Why throw out something that still works? I have a Kodak carousel projector and spare lamps, along with 55 140 slot carousels. Over 5000 slide. I have a Sony TC-500 reel to reel tape deck that I bought in 1963 that still works just fine. My sewing machine is my Mothers from the mid 40’s and it is the only one that does not break down. My 2 metric motorcycles are 1977 models… It all works very well and it is all paid for. Works for me… YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705/20 "2011-09-28T04:50:19Z")
Anyone want a Sony Mavica camera that records on 3.5" floppies? 850 Kilopixels if I’m reading the box right. anyone? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-goes-all-those-floppy-disks/597705.md?page=2)