When reading old floppies, how often is it advisable to clean the drive? I managed the first 3.5” floppies no problem, I’m using a USB Floppy Drive hooked up to my Mac Laptop, I was able to image them using “Disk Utility”. The next two floppies have had errors. Though I think I was able to successfully copy all the files off the one.
Depends. For RX01 (PDT) and RX02 drives I'll typically clean before reading a new disk that has valuable info before reading it, and again before using my "good" disks. If the disk is read and there's nothing on the head then it goes into the "good" pile.
For RX50's same basic thing. A bad RX50 floppy can contaminate the head and make a mess of otherwise good disks, so I try to keep the new disks and disks I use separate.
Also, what is floppy drive cleaning fluid made of, and how well does it age? I know I’ve got at least a couple cleaning floppies around here, but they’re *OLD*.
I think most are compatible with 95% isopropyl. Most drives seem to be ok with this as well except for CDC 9762's where it seemed to dissolve the glue that held the head to the arms. Ask me how I found that out.
CZ
