Windows 10 and floppy

Replies (2) 

Thank you for posting your concern in Microsoft Community and welcome to the Windows 10 Family.

From the description provided, I understand that the Floppy drive is not working after you upgraded to Windows 10.

Before proceeding with any further troubleshooting, I would suggest you to check if the mentioned drive is set as hidden. Follow the below path.

Press Windows key + X , select Command prompt (Admin) to bring up elevated Command prompt.

In Command prompt type gpedit and press enter.

Follow the path User Configuration > Administrative templates > Windows Components > File Explorer > Check the State for hide specified drives in my computer is set to No .

Now, follow the below suggested methods and check if it helps to resolve the issue.

Method 1

Follow these steps to run the Windows in built troubleshooter:

a) Write Troubleshooting in the search box and hit enter.

b) Click on Troubleshooting tab.

c) Click on view all option on the upper left corner.

d) Select the Hardware and Device options from the list.

e) Click Next to run the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter.

Method 2

Check if the Floppy drive is shown in “Disk Management” and if a drive letter is assigned to it

Please open the Disk Management and check if a drive letter is assigned to the floppy drive. Please follow these steps, to access the Disk Management:

a) Press “Windows Logo” + “X” keys on the keyboard and select “Disk Management ” from that list.

b) You should be able to see the hard disk partitions and the removable drives connected to the computer in the Disk Management.

c) Check if you have any drives without any drive letters assigned to it.

d) If you have floppy drive listed there without a drive letter, then you may assign the drive letter (A) to it and check if that is shown in “This PC” now and then try to access it from the “Windows Explorer ”.

Method 3

In case if the Floppy drive doesn’t show in the Disk Management, check if the Floppy drive is listed in the Device Manager.

Refer to the below Microsoft Help Article written by one of our MVPs, Andre Da Costa.

Install and Update drivers in Windows 10

Also refer to the manufacturer/computer assembler’s website to update the chipset drivers to the latest version.

Hope the above information was helpful. If you need further information, feel free to write to us and we would be happy to help you.

How to Use a Floppy Disk on Windows 10

• Floppy disks are a dated method of storing data, but they are not obsolete yet.
• The article below will teach you how to use a floppy disk in Windows 10.
• Do you like learning new things? Then continue checking our How-To section’s tutorials.
• Are you interested in Windows in general? Then read more about it in our Windows 10 section.

Floppy disks are things of the past, but if for some reason you need to use a floppy disk, today we’re going to show you how to create a virtual floppy disk on Windows 10.

Before USB flash drives and DVDs, the only way to transfer files was a floppy disk. Floppy disks were used for data transfer in 80’s and early 90’s, but they got replaced by CDs and USB flash drives.

It’s safe to say that floppy disks are old technology, and most modern computers don’t have a floppy drive available. Since modern computers don’t have a floppy drive, the only way to access floppy disk is to use a floppy disk image also known as a virtual floppy disk.

What is a virtual floppy disk and how can I use it?

Virtual floppy disk works in a similar way as CD or DVD image file. You create a virtual copy of a floppy disk on your computer or download one, mount the virtual floppy disk, and you can use it without any problems.

There are tools such as Power ISO that will allow you to create a floppy disk image from files on your computer, but at the same time, this tool can make bootable images from floppy disks.

In order to make a disk image from an actual floppy disk, you’ll need a computer that has a floppy drive or an external floppy drive that connects to your computer via USB port.

Another tool that can help you create virtual floppy disks is Magic ISO Maker, and it works in a similar way as Power ISO. We also have to mention ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver that allows you to create virtual hard disks or virtual floppy disks. This tool allows you to store virtual drives into your RAM, which has its advantages, such as quick access, and you can use this tool for recovery as well.

It’s safe to say that ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver isn’t intended for basic users, but it’s one of the most powerful applications if you need to create floppy disk images.

As for floppy disk images, they are stored as .img files on your computer, and you can mount them just like any .iso file, simply by right-clicking it and choosing Mount from the menu.

As you can see, creating virtual floppy disks isn’t that simple, because floppy disks aren’t being used anymore, so you might want to consider switching from floppy disks to CDs or USB flash drives.

If you want to read more about floppy disks, we have covered floppy disk support on Windows 10, so you might want to read that as well.

Floppy disk drive and windows 10

I’m running windows 10 and have just purchased a 3.5 inch USB floppy disk drive. The computer can finally find the unit but cannot read the inserted disk.

The message I get is that A:\ is not accessible.

The disk media is not recognized. It may not be formatted.

I know that the disk is formatted as it is a data disk, Can anyone help?

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

I understand the inconvenience caused, I will be glad to assist you with this.

If you have a USB floppy drive, you will need to download the latest driver from Windows Update or from the manufacturer’s website.

Meanwhile, I would suggest you to try the methods below and check if it helps.

Method 1: Hardware and devices troubleshooter

This troubleshooter checks for common issues and makes sure that any new device or hardware attached to your computer was installed correctly.

1. Press Windows key + R.

2. Type control and press enter.

3. Type troubleshooting in the control panel search box and open it.

4. Click «view all» on the left pane.

5. Run the hardware and devices troubleshooter and follow the on-screen instructions.

Method 2: Change drive letter

Try changing the drive letter in disk management by following the steps below and check again.

1. Press Windows key + R.

2. Type diskmgmt.msc and press enter.

3. Right click on the floppy disk drive and select «change drive letter».

4. Click «change» and select a different drive letter.

Use of USB Floppy Disc Drives in Windows 10

I am fairly non-technical, but can find my way around the computer.

I have had the bad luck of installing W10 last night only to find floppy discs in my garage today while having a clear out.

I plugged in my USB drive and the anti-virus recognized it and scanned it. However, it doesn’t appear in explorer as a device I can access. I’ve been to device manager and it appears there with a status that it is working properly. I used the update driver feature, but got a message that said the best driver for the device is already installed.

Can anyone please give me a roadmap to get this device recognized by W10 and working as intended?

Thanks in advance.

Replies (3) 

Welcome and thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

We regret the inconvenience caused to you.

Let us try uninstalling and reinstalling the USB controllers and check if it helps.

1. Press Windows Key + R, type devmgmt.msc and press enter.
2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Right click a device and click Uninstall. Repeat for each device.
3. Once complete, restart your computer. Your USB controllers will automatically install.

Let us know the status, we are glad to assist you further.

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Thanks for your feedback.

I am fairly non-technical, but can find my way around the computer.

I have had the bad luck of installing W10 last night only to find floppy discs in my garage today while having a clear out.

I plugged in my USB drive and the anti-virus recognized it and scanned it. However, it doesn’t appear in explorer as a device I can access. I’ve been to device manager and it appears there with a status that it is working properly. I used the update driver feature, but got a message that said the best driver for the device is already installed.

Can anyone please give me a roadmap to get this device recognized by W10 and working as intended?

You might also try looking in «disk management» to see if USB appears there. You should be able to identify it by USB size. Format USB and see that helps.

How to use Floppy Disk on Windows 10

Developed during the 1960s, a Floppy Disk is certainly a thing of the past. But there may be some users who may need to use the Floppy Disk for some reason.

Floppy drives were used extensively used during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, however, with the invention of CDs, DVDs, and external USB drives with storage, the use of floppy disk eventually died with time. Most modern PCs today don’t even house floppy drives, in fact, CD / DVD drives are also being phased out slowly in favor of USB external devices.

Why would you need to use a Floppy on Windows 10?

You might wonder why we need to use a floppy disk in the first place. Maybe some old favorite software or game installation processes require the usage of the floppy disk. Then some of the other uses could be while partitioning a hard drive, accessing the command line prompt, or even transferring files between virtual PCs. Or maybe you want to use it just for the heck of it!

Well, you can use your physical Floppy Disk Drive or you could use a Virtual Floppy Drive.

How to use Floppy Disk Drive on Windows 10

If you have an old physical Floppy Drive that you can attach to your device, then you will need to download the latest driver from the Windows Update website to use it with Windows 10. Attach the drive, open the Device Manager and select Scan for hardware changes and then Install or Update the driver. If this works, good, else go down to the manufacturer’s website and download and install the latest device driver.

If you plan to buy a new one, then there are several USB Floppy Disk Drives available even now in the market that are Plug and Play. and work just fine on a Windows 10 computer. Just plug the device, wait for the device to install the drivers, and start using the Floppy Disk Drive on your Windows 10 once the process is completed.

What is a Virtual Floppy Disk

A Virtual Floppy Disk is a disk image stored as a file on your computer’s hard drive. It is a substitute to the traditional floppy drive, with the exception that it exists as a file rather than a physical media that conventional floppy drives have been. As the word “virtual” suggests, a virtual floppy disk works as a disk image stored as a file on the hard disk with the same drive letter – A. It works in the same way as a CD, DVD or ISO image file. You create or download a virtual copy of a Floppy and mount it.

These free tools let you create a virtual Foppy disk image from the files on your PC, as well as bootable images from Floppy Disks.

Create a Virtual Floppy Disk on Windows 10

No desktop computer or laptop comes today with a physical Floppy Drive, but there are several free tools that can help you create a virtual floppy disk on Windows 10/8/7. Here are some of them that you can use.

1] Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive (VFD)

Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive mounts image files (. Image) as new browseable computer resources. The program allows you to mount a floppy image file as a virtual floppy drive and directly access the contents. You can perform all regular functions of a conventional floppy drive like view, edit, rename, delete and create files on a virtual floppy. This tool also allows you to format and launch a program on a virtual floppy.

2] ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver

ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver allows you to reserve a part of your RAM so as to create virtual disks on them by using image files. This allows for quick and easy creation of devices, formatting, error checks, locking the volumes, and dismounting of file systems.

The only part lacking in this program is that it is not user friendly and you have to make use of the command prompt to use it.

3] Magic ISO Maker

Magic ISO Maker is a CD/DVD image utility that can extract, edit, create, and burn ISO files. This tool can be used to create floppy disk images from the files present on your PC. You can also use this tool to create bootable images from floppy disks, although you will need a floppy drive on your PC to do that.

The free version of the software supports image creation up to 300 MB only.

4] PowerISO

PowerISO is another CD / DVD / BD image file processing tool, which allows you to open, extract, burn, create, edit, compress, encrypt, split and convert ISO files, and mount ISO files with an internal virtual drive like that of floppy. The program supports floppy disk image files, such as BIF, FLP, DSK, BFI, BWI, BIN, IMG and so on.

With the free version, users can create or edit the image files up to 300MB only.