Where Can I Get Floppy Disks or Drives?

Overview

If you have an Expression / Express series console, or a Unison architectural system, you may need to use a 3 1/2" floppy disk to save or load a configuration or showfile. These disks were commonly used for decades to transfer files between computers before flash memory became affordable and reliable.

A 3 1/2" floppy disk, containing Net2 node software.

Note: "Floppy" disks are so named because the magnetic storage media is flexible. 3 1/2" disks contain this flexible media in a hard plastic shell. Earlier 8" and 5 1/4"  disks were entirely flexible, and by the time the 3 1/2" disks were introduced, the name had stuck.

Problem

Floppy disks have not been in common use since the mid 2000s, so it may be difficult to obtain a disk locally. Electronics stores are not likely to carry them, and availability from general online retailers can be spotty. If you work in a newer facility, it is unlikely that there are floppy disks "laying around." Floppy disks, particularly those manufactured after the year 2000 (anecdotally), may also fail over time as the magnetic media degrades.

Solution

• Reach out to your local public library! As stewards of information, libraries will often have disks and the means to read and write data to them.
• Many industrial and financial systems use floppy disks for storage. The website floppydisk.com supplies these industries with reliable disks, and will also sell quality USB floppy drives.
  • Most ETC products which use floppy disks use the very common 1.44 MB "High Density" floppy disk. The original ETC Expression generation (i.e. not 2X or 3) consoles used 720 KB "Double Density" disks, which, while physically compatible with HD disks, are a different format and due to their age are much less common. Floppydisk.com has DD disks available as well!