3.5 inch floppy drives
USB floppy drive
The first choice when imaging a 3.5” floppy disk is the external 3.5” floppy drive that can be connected to via USB to any USB port on the processing computer.
Make sure the disk write protect tab on the bottom of the disk is switched open, so it is write protected.
Put the disk into the drive with the metal shutter entering the drive first and the side of the disk with the circle facing down. It will click into place when completely inserted. See this video for a demonstration.
Proceed to the Disk imaging and logical transfers page to determine your next steps while considering the context which these disks were created. If after this process the floppy disk could not be read by the external drive or there are many errors, try using the internal 3.5” floppy drive with the Kryoflux as outlined in the next section below.
Internal 3.5 inch floppy drive
The internal floppy drive needs to be connected via the Kryoflux controller card to the processing computer. The controller card allows a legacy internal drive to work through a USB connection. If this is your first time using the internal drive or Kryoflux, please contact the digital archivist for an initial training.
Plug the 34-pin connector (the one next to the twist in the cable) into the back of the drive. The red line/pin 1 will be on the left.
- Next, connect the floppy drive power cord to the 4 pin molex adapter and then plug the other end into the 4 pin molex power cord (do not plug it into power yet, you must wait until step 7).
Always place the KryoFlux board on a non-conductive surface while it is in use. You may choose to use an anti-static mat or wristband, but typically this won’t be necessary and there’s debate about whether or not these types of anti-static devices will be helpful in a scenario like this one.
Enable write-blocking functionality by removing the jumper (small plastic cover) for the write gate (two pins below indicated in the image). It is most likely already removed and in the bag that the kryoflux is stored in. The board will look like the image below without any jumper in place.
Connect the other end of the 34-pin floppy cord to Kryoflux. Make sure that the side with the red line is plugged into pin 1 (On the KryoFlux side, the cable’s first pin should be on the right if viewing the board with the cable connector closest to you. (As seen below)
Connect the KryoFlux board to the computer using the USB cable. The USB-A connecting end (white cord above) goes into the KryoFlux board and the standard USB connector goes into the processing computer.
Connect the power plug into power through a power strip. This step must be done last.
Take the floppy disk and slide the tab in the bottom corner so it is open. This enables write protection on the disk itself.
Put the disk into the drive with the metal shutter entering the drive first and the side of the disk with the circle facing down. It will click into place when completely inserted. See this video for a demonstration.
Proceed to the Kryoflux software section under imaging.
5.25 inch floppy drive
There are no standard 5.25” floppy drives that can be connected directly to computers currently in general use. You will need to use an internal floppy drive which needs to be connected via the Kryoflux controller card to the processing computer. The controller card allows a legacy internal drive to work through a USB connection. If this is your first time using the internal drive or Kryoflux, please contact the digital archivist for an initial training.
Place the drive on its side or with the circular part facing up or on the side of the drive. This is where the drive spins and should not be placed face down unless there is clearance underneath the spinning section.
Plug the edge connector into the drive with the pink line on left if looking a the drive horizontally from the back.
Plug the 4 pin molex power cord into the back of the floppy drive do not plug it into power yet, you must wait until step 8).
Get out the KryoFlux board. Always place the KryoFlux board on a non-conductive surface while it is in use. You may choose to use an anti-static mat or wristband, but typically this won’t be necessary and there’s debate about whether or not these types of anti-static devices will be helpful in a scenario like this one.
Enable write-blocking functionality by removing the jumper (small plastic cover) for the write gate (two pins below indicated in the image). It is most likely already removed and in the bag that the kryoflux is stored in. The board should look like the image below without any jumper in place.
- Connect the other end of the 34-pin floppy cord to Kryoflux. Make sure that the side with the red line is plugged into pin 1 (On the KryoFlux side, the cable’s first pin should be on the right if viewing the board with the cable connector closest to you.
- Connect the KryoFlux board to the computer using the USB cable. The USB-A connecting end goes into the KryoFlux board and the standard USB connector goes into the processing computer.
Connect the power plug into power through a power strip. This step must be done last.
- Place a piece of tape over the notch on disk, this will write protect the disk.
- Insert the disk into the drive, label-side up. Swing the latch on the drive from horizontal to vertical.
- Proceed to the imaging using Kryoflux software section.
8 inch floppy drive
DDC has an internal 8” floppy disk drive but have not set it up for use. Contact the digital archivist if you encounter any 8” disks believed to be of high value.