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Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 6:51 pm
by Clym5
Hey all,

I've been cleaning out my floppy disk collection, and out of a few hundred, 10 or so have come out of my disk drive with a ring where the magnetic layer has been scraped off.

Is this my drive's fault? Or is it a dodgy disk?

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:23 pm
by tezza
I've seen this before. I would say your drive heads are dirty, possibly from reading disks where the oxide is getting flaky. A layer of oxide has built up on the head(s) and is now thick enough to scratch any disk (good or bad) which is inserted.

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:31 pm
by Clym5
Hmm, that's what I initially thought, but it happened with one disk straight after cleaning the heads with isopropyl.

I probably should of mentioned that!

Some of the disks, especially the ones that scratch, make a horrendous noise when they are spun in a drive. Sounds like nails down a chalkboard.

Anyway, thanks. I'll try with a noisy disk in another drive and see if it still happens.

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:08 am
by RonTurner
if you hear a disk squeal then remove it immediately from the drive and never reuse it, the surface has dried out and no longer lubricating.

you need better medium.

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:04 am
by Clym5
Aha, thanks Ron. I'll remember that!

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:45 am
by RonTurner
i bet your drive has scrapped a lump off the dry disk and that will be etching a ring in every disk you use after that.

Your disks "cookie" should be glossy and the centre ring should not be delaminating.

dont store your disks in the garage unless that is a stop by on the way to the rubbish bin when you dig them out years later only to find them buckled, dirty and smelly, find a cuoboard to keep them in, garages are hot and dirty, have mice and silverfish in them.....

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 1:03 pm
by Clym5
RonTurner wrote:i bet your drive has scrapped a lump off the dry disk and that will be etching a ring in every disk you use after that.


I think that happened to one disk, but I make sure to clean my drives after every disk when I'm working with important, or other people's disks. I store my disks in some office filing draws, in a room inside the house. I've seen disks kept in sheds before.. Ewww..

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 3:41 pm
by LilJoe
Were those the Amiga disks? :?

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:42 pm
by Clym5
Two of the disks with rings were, yeah. The noisy ones were all yours too. I've binned all of my dodgy looking or noisy disks, as I don't want a bad disk getting into my pile of good ones.

Re: Rings on floppy disks

PostPosted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:31 pm
by LilJoe
That's it, everyone will know, no one will ever trust me again or touch any more of my disks. :lol:

It was a good learning curve, I now know to think (inspect for mold, rings ect.) before I act (inserting them into an amiga). I guess its more important when you're sending them to a mate.

Some of them wrecked the heads of my drive, but nothing a little elbow grease and methylated spirits couldn't fix.