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Floppy DrivesFloppy disks and disk drives are the most "time tested" of the removable storage technologies. Traditional floppy technology incorporates 3.5" disks that store 1.44MB of data (not much room in these days of MP3 files, graphics and digital photography) at a cost of around $0.53 per disk or $0.37/MB. But there are other floppy technologies as well.
Floppies still serve as an inexpensive way to store and transfer files, and in the case of the higher capacity drive/disks like those from Iomega and Fujitsu, a simple way to back up critical files or images. So whether you just want to replace an malfunctioning floppy drive, add one to your laptop or implement a cheap method of file backup, make sure you take a few things into consideration before you purchase that floppy drive.
So, ready to take a look at what is out there? We've tried to hit on the majority of floppy disk drives and their manufacturers. In fact, the number was so large, that we had to build a separate document with all the choices on them (and relevant information). You can find this document at: Floppy Drives. Additionally, we've done a quick analysis that will tell you the cost per MB of every drive and drive size so you'll have an even better idea of what you're paying to store your data. And, as always, we've chosen our favorite drive from every manufacturer. Just look for the อ symbols! Floppy Drives ReviewFloppy Drives* (Rankings - best, 5 symbols, worst, 1 symbol)
* A = Amateur, R = Rookie, P = Pro
Simple Start-Up - นนนน Addonics makes a USB 1.1 compatible 3.5" floppy drive that is very simple to install. Just plug it into an open USB port. Cost - $$$$ The Addonics Pocket Floppy Drive is priced at $44.99. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน+ Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ Plug
it in, insert a floppy. The Addonics Pocket Floppy Drive is Windows and Macintosh compatible. Support - ppp1/2 Addonics' floppy drives carry a one year warranty. The tech support area on their web site includes a FAQ, user guides and driver downloads. If you need more help you can email, fax or telephone them (no "800" number, you must pay long distance charges where they apply. After two years, Addonics supports owners via email only. Features - iii+ The Pocket Floppy Drive is a basic, USB 1.1 floppy drive. Overall Rating - %%%1/2 Well priced device.
Simple Start-Up - นนนน Apricorn makes a USB 1.1 compatible 3.5" floppy drive that is plug and play, and, in most cases will install simply by plugging it into a spare USB port.. Cost - $$$$ Apricorn's USB Floppy Drive is priced at $39.00. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนน1/2 Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ Plug
it in, insert a floppy. Apricorn's USB Floppy Drive is Windows and Macintosh compatible. Support - pppp Apricorn's floppy drive carries a one year warranty. The tech support area on their web site includes FAQs, drivers, user and installation guides. If you require more help, you can email them or call them on their "800" number. Features - iii A basic USB 1.1 3.5" floppy drive. Overall Rating - %%%1/2
A basic USB 1.1 3.5" floppy drive. Simple Start-Up - นนนน Dell makes twelve internal and fourteen external 3.5" floppy drives (notebook or desktop specific). You'll have to open up your desktop and either remove the old floppy drive and install new internal drives or place it in an open drive bay. External drives use USB 1.1 to connect to your notebook or desktop. Cost - $$$$1/2 Dell 1.44MB floppy drives are priced from $19.00 to $54.99 depending upon the system they are designed to accommodate. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ Once installed, the drive is easy to use.
Dell floppy drives are designed for the Windows environment. Support - pppp Dell offers a one year warranty on their devices and has a comprehensive Web support site. They also offer "800" access to support personnel. Features - iii Standard floppies for Dell equipment. Overall Rating - %%%1/2+ Basic replacement or add on drives for Dell systems.
Simple Start-Up - นนน Digital Research makes one internal 3.5" floppy drive. You'll have to open up your desktop and either remove the old floppy drive and install this one, or place it in an open drive bay. Cost - $$$$1/2 The Digital Research internal floppy drive is priced at $29.99. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ Once installed, the drive is easy to use. Works With - YYY The Digital Research 3.5" floppy drive is designed for the Windows environment. Support - ppp1/2 Digital Research warrants their products for one year. If you go to their web site, you'll find product specific technical information on the product's web page. If you need more help, you can contact their technical support group Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific via phone (no "800" number you're responsible for long distance charges where they apply) or email. Features - iii A standard, 3.5" floppy drive. Overall Rating - %%%1/2 A basic internal floppy drive at a competitive price.
Simple Start-Up - นนนน EZQuest makes one external, USB 1.1, 3.5" floppy drive. In most cases you won't need to install software drivers, but, where necessary, they install easily. Cost - $$$$ The EZQuest external floppy drive is priced at $35.99. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ Just plug it in. Works With - YYYY EZQuest's USB Floppy Drive is designed for both Windows and Macintosh environments. Support - ppp EZ Quest drives carry a one year warranty. The tech support area of their web site includes a knowledge base and downloads. If you need more help you can "chat" with tech support or enter an online trouble ticket. Phone support is not available. Features - iii+ A standard, 3.5" floppy drive. Overall Rating - %%%1/2+ A basic external USB 1.1 floppy drive at a competitive price.
Simple Start-Up - นนนน Fujitsu makes high capacity (640MB) magneto-optical cartridges or MO drives and media. The product set includes an external Pocket product (640MB, USB 1.1) with viewer for the medical market. The drive is easy to install using a USB connector. Cost - $$$$ Fujitsu's Dymo Pocket external drive is priced at $279.00. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน1/2 Very high capacity removable storage technology, like that provided by Fujitsu, is a great backup and file sharing tool. Cheaper and less complex than competing technologies such as CD or DVD burning or tape back-up. Ease of Use - @@@@ The Fujitsu Magneto-Optical devices and drives are easy to use. Works With - YYYY The Fujitsu MO drive supports Windows and Macintosh. Support - pppp Fujitsu MO drives carry a one year warranty. The tech support area of the Fujitsu web site includes a knowledge base and downloads. If you need more help you can use online chat, available from 7 AM to 3PM Pacific Monday through Friday or call tech support on their "800" number Monday through Friday from 5 AM to 7 PM Pacific. Features - iii1/2 MO drives are all about simplicity, capacity - 1.44MB (floppy), 750MB (CD), versus 640MB (MO drive) - and price per MB. Overall Rating - %%%% The Fujitsu product provides lots of capacity at a very low price with good ease of use characteristics. Two concerns however - 1. The technology/media is proprietary and you must continue to purchase products media products from Fujitsu. 2. We didn't find a very large number of retailers carrying this product. Marketing or product problem?
Simple Start-Up - นนน Hi-Val makes an internal, 3.5" floppy drive for replacing a malfunctioning existing drive or adding to your system. In either case, you'll have to open up your system and insert the drive in a drive bay. Cost - $$$$ The Hi-Val internal floppy drive is priced at $38.38. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ The drive, once installed, is easy to use. Works With - YYY The Hi-Val 3.5" floppy drive is designed for the Windows environment. Support - pp1/2 Hi-Val devices carry a one year warranty. There is not a lot of help available on their web site. If you need help you can use online chat or call them (no "800" number, you'll pay long distance charges where they apply) Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific. Features - iii Basic, internal 3.5" floppy drive. Overall Rating - %%%+ Basic floppy drive at a competitive price.
Simple Start-Up - นนนน HP makes one external USB 1.1 3.5" floppy drive. For systems running an OS later than Windows 98, the drive is plug and play and won't require installation of software drivers. Cost - $$$1/2 HP's USB Floppy Drive is priced at $49.99. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ The drive is easy to use.
The HP external 3.5" floppy drive is designed for the Windows environment. Support - pppp1/2 HP's external floppy drive carries a one year limited warranty. HP has a ton of good information on their web site that can help you troubleshoot problems - tips, troubleshooting "walk throughs", forums, FAQ's and more. If you can't find what you need, you can contact tech support via email or phone, 24 hours per day through an HP-sponsored "800" number. Features - iii Basic, external USB 1.1, 3.5" floppy drive. Overall Rating - %%%1/2 Basic external floppy drive for your HP desktop or notebook.
Simple Start-Up - นนน1/2 Imation makes one internal 3.5" floppy and an external USB 1.1 floppy drive. The internal drive requires you to open up your system to install, the external is "plug and play". Cost - $$$1/2 The internal Imation drive is priced at $20.86, the external driver at $44.03. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ Imation's floppy drives are easy to use. Works With - YYY1/2 Imation's internal drive is designed for DOS and Windows, the external drive for Windows and Macintosh. Support - pppp Imation floppy drives carry a one year warranty. The tech support area of their web site includes a FAQ and software downloads. If you need more help, you can email or call Imation tech support on their "800" number. Features - iii1/2 Basic internal and external floppy drives. Overall Rating - %%%1/2 Basic internal and external floppy drive offerings.
Simple Start-Up - นนน1/2 I/O Magic makes one internal floppy drive, an external USB floppy and a USB-based external floppy drive and 7-in-1 media card reader combo drive as well. The internal drive requires that you open up your system and replace your old drive with the new I/O Magic drive or insert the drive into a spare drive bay. Cost - $$$$ The I/O Magic floppy drive - internal MagicSpin 1.44 3 1/2 Floppy Disk Drive (DR-FLP01) is priced at $19.99 and the external USB 1.1 floppy drive is priced at $39.99. the DataStation combination floppy drive and 7-in-1 media card reader is priced at $49.99. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppy drives have been around a long time - they still work for storing and sharing small sized files. Ease of Use - @@@@ I/O Magic's floppy drives are easy to use. Works With - YYY1/2 I/O Magic's internal drive is designed for the Windows environment, the external USB drive is both Windows and Macintosh compatible and the combo media card reader and floppy drive is designed for the Windows environment only. Support - ppp1/2 I/O Magic's floppy disk drives carry a one year warranty. The tech support area on their web site is comprehensive, FAQ, forums and online chat. If you need extra help you can also email tech support or call them (no "800" number, you're responsible for long distance charges where they apply) Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific. Features - iii1/2+ Basic 3.5" floppy technology on the internal and external drives. The combination 7-in-1 media card reader and floppy drive is a nice multipurpose drive and supports CompactFlash, IBM Micro Drive, MultiMedia Cards, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and Smart Media cards. Overall Rating - %%%1/2+ Basic drives - the MagicSpin 1.44 3 1/2 Floppy Disk Drive and external USB drive are competitively priced, but we like the 7-in-1 media card reader/floppy drive combo best.
Simple Start-Up - นนน1/2 Iomega makes one traditional external 3.5" USB 1.1 floppy drive a combo floppy drive and 7-in-1 media card reader, two internal 750MB Zip drives (one for PC one for MAC), one external 750MB Zip drive - USB 2.0, one internal 250MB Zip drive, two external USB 2.0 250MB Zip drives, two Notebook drives (Toshiba and Dell) and one 100MB USB 1.1 Zip drive. The internal drives require that you open your system and insert the Zip drive into an empty drive bay. All of the USB and FireWire based external Zip and traditional floppy drives install easily once "plugged in" (be sure to read the installation instructions!!!). Cost - $$$$ Iomega's 3.5" external floppy drive is priced at $39.95, the floppy plus 7-in-1 media card reader is $49.95, the internal 750MB drives are $149.99 and $99.95, the 750MB external USB drive is $179.99, the 250MB internal drive is $99.99, the external 250MB USB 2.0 drives are $129.99 and $149.99 for the "starter kit" and the 100MB USB 1.1 external drive is $79.99. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน1/2 Very high capacity floppy technology, like that provided by Iomega with their Zip drives, is a great backup and file sharing tool. Cheaper and less complex than competing technologies such as CD or DVD burning or tape back-up. Floppies are still useful in some situations. Ease of Use - @@@@ Iomega's Zip drives are easy to use - millions have been sold as proof (we have 250 and 750MB USB Zip Drives sitting on this desktop as we speak). The Iomega backup, sync, and other utility software is also very easy to use. We have Automatic Backup working every night - automatically! Works With - YYYY All of the Iomega Zip and traditional floppy drives are Windows and Macintosh compatible. Support - pppp The Iomega Zip drives carry one year warranties. The tech support area on the Iomega web site is one of the most comprehensive we've seen. It includes - FAQs, software/driver downloads, troubleshooting guides, manuals, installation issues, tutorials, error messages and general issues. If you need more help, you can do live chat with Iomega tech support, email them or contact other users through their user-to-user forum. Iomega also offers telephone support (no "800" number, you are responsible for long distance charges where they apply) Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain time. Features - iiii1/2 Extra capacity, very rich software to leverage the drives' capacity and capabilities, USB 2.0 connectivity. Good, strong packages. Overall Rating - %%%%+ Iomega has been making high-capacity floppies for a very long time. And because of that, you aren't locked into buying media just from Iomega - other folks like Fuji make Zip media as well. The products are robust and the bundled software is rich. A good choice - we've invested our $$'s in this technology for years (owners of one of the first 100MB Zip Drives!).
Simple Start-Up - นนนน LaCie makes one external, USB-based floppy drive. It's plug and play - just plug it in. Cost - $$$1/2 LaCie's floppy drive is priced at $39.99. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppies are still useful in some situations. Ease of Use - @@@@ The LaCie drive is easy to use - just plug it in. Works With - YYYY The LaCie drive is designed for Windows and Macintosh. Support - ppp1/2 LaCie's floppy drive carries a one year warranty. The technical support area of their web site includes a FAQ and driver downloads. If you need more help, you can fax, email or call them (no "800" number, you'll pay long distance charges where they apply), Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 5 PM Pacific. Features - iii+ A basic external floppy drive, + for the form factor. Overall Rating - %%%+ A basic, external floppy - nice form factor however.
Simple Start-Up - นนน1/2 Lenovo makes one external (USB 1.1) drive. You just (in most cases) have to plug the drive into a spare USB port. Cost - $$$ Lenovo's USB external diskette drive is $55.00. See our product matrix Floppy Drives for all pricing and product information. Time Savings - นนนน Floppies are still useful in some situations. Ease of Use - @@@@ The Lenovo drive is easy to use - just plug it in. Works With - YYY Lenovo's floppy drives are designed for the Windows environment. Support - pppp The Lenovo floppy drive carries a one year warranty (you can choose to purchase longer ones.) After that they offer a number of service plans. Their web site has extensive tech support information and you can contact IBM via email or phone if you are still under warranty (or have purchased a service plan from them). Features - iii A basic external floppy drive. Overall Rating - %%% If you own an Lenovo system, and only if you own an Lenovo system. |
