From Floppy Disks to Digital Futures: Exploring Legacy Media Preservation

Floppy disks were a common storage medium throughout the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. While their storage capacity was modest by modern standards, they were widely used to store documents, photographs and other digital files. Today, early born-digital collections contain significant numbers of these disks, yet accessing their contents is becoming increasingly challenging. We are now at a point where the availability of functioning disk drives poses a greater threat to long-term preservation and access than the disks themselves.

Attendees from across Ireland were guided through the key considerations involved in working with floppy disks in archival collections. Topics included identifying different disk formats, from 5¼-inch and 3½-inch disks to the less common 3-inch Amstrad disks; understanding the differences between single-density and double-density media; and determining the appropriate drive required for each format.

Dr Talboom also demonstrated how to identify and safely remove mould and surface contamination from floppy disks. She highlighted the importance of carrying out appropriate conservation measures before attempting to read a disk, as failure to do so can result in irreversible damage to both the media and the data it contains.

As part of the practical workshop, participants were guided through the process of setting up a Greaseweazle workstation, a device that enables legacy floppy disk drives to connect to modern computers. The session covered the connection of both 5¼-inch and 3½-inch drives and provided valuable insight into the challenges of working with legacy media, including the variety of cables, adapters and power requirements involved.

The final part of the workshop focused on interpreting flux-level disk images and using emulation software to recreate the original computing environments in which the files were created. This demonstrated how archived content can be experienced and understood within its original technological context.

We were delighted with the level of engagement throughout the day and the positive feedback received from attendees. We are especially grateful to Dr Leontien Talboom for sharing her expertise and experience with us and with colleagues from across the Irish cultural heritage sector.

Events such as these highlight the value of collaboration, shared knowledge and practical skills development in building a resilient and forward-looking GLAM sector.

Further guidance on floppy disk preservation is available in Dr Talboom's The Floppy Guide.