AtariDude Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Hi everyone. I am wondering what is the oldest diskette based game that you still own and works? The only reason that I am asking is that when I sold my Atari 800XL many moons ago, I managed to keep the diskettes that I still had with the system. I was wondering what were the odds that any of these games (they are probably at least 18 years old) will still play assuming that I were to get an Atari computer with a functioning disk drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Atari diskettes can be quite hardy if they've been stored well. I have "Transylvania", "Hard Hat Mack", and "Castle Wolfenstein" all on their original disks, and they work without problem. Again, 18 years isn't all that long if the disks have been stored properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbrad Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Based on my experience (and another recent thread), I would bet that most of them still work. It's worth a shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 I have quite a few around 18-20 years that still work Most of them arent originals though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelen Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 I have 200+ (not original) and almost every disk is working..... some are damaged because of using a bad drive or dust. Thelen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Mine all work great. I think my earliest is "Music Construction Set" (EA) from back when Target still sold Atari software. Either that or one of many DataSoft titles. I also have many disks of type-in Antic Magazine programs, the oldest being "Thief" by Max Langert from March '85...that was 18 years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldunko Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 All my jumbo 5 1/4 floppys still work to this day and i'm pretty sure that my 8 inch floppys still work aswell, considering that they're still in their packaging, never to be exposed to the elements.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpmxxipt Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I gotta agree that most of my Atari stuff has held up pretty well. About the oldest originals I have are Questron and Rapid Fire from SSI @ 1982, and they still boot like champs. Just had 'em out last night actually. I wish I could say the same thing about all my Apple // games from that period. Nearly everything I ever put on Memorex or Scotch 5.25 disks (and during that time, little kid me felt that those were the BEST brands) is junk. I heard somewhere that the life span for the magnetic integrity of a floppy disk is about 15 years. I tend to believe it.. I'm in the process of backing up my entire floppy collection. -rpm- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t.skid Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 I think my oldest disk is the original "GhostBusters", and it works well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent57 Posted March 27, 2003 Share Posted March 27, 2003 I have the original Jawbreaker on disc, still works fine. The messed up thing is that my M.U.L.E. disk (which was made much later) is dead! :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.