Dirty Disks!

[KLund1]

I have been going through a bunch of disks that have not seen the inside of a drive in uncounted years. They all come from different sources around the country.

Some load, some not.

The ones that do load sound quieter as they spin. But not always. Some loud disks load. Most don't. But almost every disk loads will not after a reboot right after it loaded.

I did a bit of thinking and though perhaps the drive head was dirty. It was. I cleaned it with alcohol and Q-tip, and then the disk loads. I reboot and it will not. I clean the head again and the Q-tip is dirty again just after one boot! There seems to be something coming off the disk. It is the same color as the disk. But when I hold the disk up to the light and hold it just right it looks like there is some kind of very light film over the surface. Some times if I try booting a disk a few times, then clean the head, it will boot. It's like the head is cleaning this film off. Doing this for each file on the disk, and I have a lot of disks, seems like not the best solution.

What might it be, and how can I get rid of it? These are mostly magazine cover disks, so if I am able to copy the data over to a fresh disk, I can not move the disk label.

Thought, ideas, suggestions. (please no "use siotopc" or some such. I prefer to use real media)

Thanks

 

[Stormtrooper of Death]

I read somewhere on the net that you can wash 5.25 inch floppies.

 

1 - carefully remove the cover of the 5.25 inch floppy.

2 - put the 5.25 inch floppy (the circle thingy) on a flat surface

3 - use some dishwasher scrubbing tools, and dishwashing stuff and slowly clean the disk

4 - let it dry on a dry towel

5 - put it back into the cover (or your could also remove the topcover of the 1050/810 drive and use your hands to put the circle thingy of the floppy in the drive.)

6 - boot / load (and copy the whole floppy to a new floppy.

 

i never tried the dishwasher thingy, but i did try the removal of the floppy cover to read a folded 5.25 inch floppy that i got in the mail..... and it worked for me.

[Kyle22]

Please use Copymate or SpartaDOS SCOPY to back up the disk before you destroy it. Some of these old disks can be read only once before damage occurs.

 

If the disks in question have been stored improperly, they may have been damaged beyond repair.

 

Yes, as the above post says, you may try to clean them, but the first priority after cleaning is a full backup (sector copy).

 

Let's preserve as much as possible.

[Turbo-Torch]

The oxide surface may be breaking down and contaminating the head. If that's the case, the disk is trash and continuing to use them can eventually ruin the head.

The disk surface is also a breeding ground for mold. Hold the disk up to a bright light and look at it from a slight angle; if you see faint white splotches, that's mold. You may be able to salvage the disk by cleaning with soap/water as already mentioned.

[KLund1]

Great advice. Thanks everyone!

I think it might be the mold issue. I'll try a couple with the washing method.

A couple of questions. How to open the disk sleeve? They look heat-melted closed in several places on the back. The use just soap and water with a microfiber towel?

[Rybags]

I wouldn't use "scrubbing tools" or anything abrasive on disk surfaces. Realistically water + microfibre cloth should be enough.

 

Anything solvent based can be bad. Isopropyl alcohol on magnetic media will remove it.

 

I did a disk recovery once by removing from a bad jacket then sacrificing another floppy to get it's jacket for the purpose of reading the data off it - it can be the case that sometimes the media isn't dirty at all but the jacket and lining is bad to the point where it doesn't let the media rotate at it's proper speed.

[Mclaneinc]

I saw Dirty Disks and now I'm so disappointed!

 

[Bryan]

Some info on the topic:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/255320-help-archiving-a-rough-batch-of-disks/?p=3625034

[+Philsan]

I have a disk to preserve, I think with mold on the surface.

 

Best practices are always the ones quoted?

Should I use water or dishwashing soap?

How do I open disk's sleeve?

 

I read somewhere on the net that you can wash 5.25 inch floppies.

 

1 - carefully remove the cover of the 5.25 inch floppy.

2 - put the 5.25 inch floppy (the circle thingy) on a flat surface

3 - use some dishwasher scrubbing tools, and dishwashing stuff and slowly clean the disk

4 - let it dry on a dry towel

5 - put it back into the cover (or your could also remove the topcover of the 1050/810 drive and use your hands to put the circle thingy of the floppy in the drive.)

6 - boot / load (and copy the whole floppy to a new floppy.

 

i never tried the dishwasher thingy, but i did try the removal of the floppy cover to read a folded 5.25 inch floppy that i got in the mail..... and it worked for me.

 

 

Great advice. Thanks everyone!

I think it might be the mold issue. I'll try a couple with the washing method.

A couple of questions. How to open the disk sleeve? They look heat-melted closed in several places on the back. The use just soap and water with a microfiber towel?

 

 

I wouldn't use "scrubbing tools" or anything abrasive on disk surfaces. Realistically water + microfibre cloth should be enough.

 

Anything solvent based can be bad. Isopropyl alcohol on magnetic media will remove it.

 

I did a disk recovery once by removing from a bad jacket then sacrificing another floppy to get it's jacket for the purpose of reading the data off it - it can be the case that sometimes the media isn't dirty at all but the jacket and lining is bad to the point where it doesn't let the media rotate at it's proper speed.

 

[Mclaneinc]

The only line I'd add is to also make a DIGITAL copy ASAP