floppies from Windows 98 - will they work on XP?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Glenn
  • Start date Start date
G

Glenn

I have a user who saved something at home on a computer running Windows 98.
He's unable to open it here at work on his Windows XP machine.

Is there a compatibility issue? I seem to remember something about disks
going between two operating systems a long time ago.

Is there a way around this?

Thanks.
 
There are no compatibility issues. Probably a bad floppy drive or corrupt
diskette. Use a USB flash key for better success.


--
 
We need more information. Tell us what the exact error message is and the
file extension you are trying to open. The problem could be driver specific,
application specific or hardware specific.

For example is the problem with the floppy itself not being readable or is
it with specific files?
i.e. The message that the floppy is not formatted might be due to a driver
issue that XP has with some older floppies
Check here scrolling down to the post by john_f
http://www.windows-questions.org/ftopic16299.html

If you can't open the file it might be due to different versions of the
application being used between the Win 98 system and the XP system. For
example if the file was created using the Backup program in Win98 it can't
be opened with XP's backup program.

Hardware problems can also be a source of frustration. Misaligned heads on a
floppy drive can cause grief. A floppy written on one drive might not be
readable on any other drive but the one that created it.
 
There are compatibility problems on some machines, something to do with 3
mode floppy drivers. Maybe some of the more techie minded could explain it.
 
The problem is not the ops system. One of the floppy drives are out of
alignment, usually the older one, and can't be read. Floppies are
interchangeable unless formatted using an older compression scheme or Mac.
 
Glenn said:
I have a user who saved something at home on a computer running
Windows 98. He's unable to open it here at work on his Windows XP
machine.

Is there a compatibility issue? I seem to remember something about
disks going between two operating systems a long time ago.

Is there a way around this?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

There is a compatibility issue. Read the following article for details.

Floppy Disk Formats That Are Supported in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309623
 
Glenn said:
I have a user who saved something at home on a computer running
Windows 98. He's unable to open it here at work on his Windows XP
machine.
Is there a compatibility issue? I seem to remember something about
disks going between two operating systems a long time ago.

Is there a way around this?
Click to expand...


There is no incompatibility between a floppy created on one Windows
operating system and another. They all use FAT12 and

should work in exactly the same way.



There may be an incompatibility in the way the two diskette *drives* are
aligned, preventing reading of a diskette created on the other drive.



But most likely he's running into the issue described below:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=140060 and

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q309623
 
In Glenn <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
I have a user who saved something at home on a computer running
Windows 98. He's unable to open it here at work on his Windows XP
machine.
Is there a compatibility issue? I seem to remember something about
disks going between two operating systems a long time ago.

Is there a way around this?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The solution that I have used and works here hasn't been mentioned. Reboot
and enter the BIOS setup utility/configuration and in *most* of them you'll
be able to disable three mode floppy support. Then, assuming the drive is
1.44 MB, you shouldn't have any troubles. I've tried the via drivers offered
in a link from one of the posts, they're effective on a few PCs but not on
all of them I'm afraid. (For those who've said that, in the past, they only
work if the drive is Via or a Via BIOS they're erronious as I don't/won't
own such a critter and yet it has worked here for others but it's a hit and
miss type thing.) Simply disabling the three mode support has been the
solution I've been using for quite some time now.

Galen
--

"You know that a conjurer gets no credit when once he has explained his
trick; and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will
come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all."

Sherlock Holmes
 
Back
Top