Floppy Stuck In Drive

Phylis Sophical · Joined: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 246

this is for a friend. Any suggestions on getting a stuck floppy out of the drive? she's opened the little door and tried to dislodge it but it won't move. Probably a stupid question but does one dare stick something in there and try to pry it out?

hooNos · Joined: Mar 22, 2004 Posts: 301

Sounds like she needs a new drive & disk. Sad

ZEUS_GB · Joined: Jan 14, 2003 Posts: 5065 Location: UK

That wouldn't be a good idea!
The best bet for removing the disk would be to investigate why it's stuck by removing the top of the floppy drive.

RaximKoron · Joined: Apr 11, 2004 Posts: 61

from experience here... the worst thing you can do is stick somethin' in there (very far) like say... ohh, a butter knife or something.

Ohh sure, the disk'll pop right out, but you have a good chance of screwin' up somethin' vital in there (like the read/write head), and thas just not good (thus why I haven't had a floppy drive in my computer for a good 2 years... I've learned to live without one, instead of replacing it though Laughing

)

One thing 'bout ripin' the top of the drive off, is that don't touch anything in there if you don't know what it is... 'f you bump the read/write head, it'll be off calibration, and could possibly damage disks in there, or just not read them correctly anymore... and very few companies (if any) will recalibrate dem heads.

usasma · Joined: May 06, 2003 Posts: 5007

As the others have said, be werrry, werrry caweful if you're gonna stick something in there. I've had success with a butter knife and only using it to try and lift the disk from the edge that you can see (by catching the seam on the side - don't go under it!).

WildBlueMekaLizard · Joined: Jun 19, 2003 Posts: 1208

I remember the old Mac's used to support had an emergency eject hole you could ram a straightened paperclip in there and the disk would pop right out. Most CD drives have them, wonder why not the PC floppies? :blink:

Anywho, I'd use a tweezers (while the machine was off and unplugged) and grab the very end of the floppy disk and kind of wiggle it up/down until I could figure out why it wasnt coming out. If you wiggle (the disk) while pushing the eject button it may just come out for you.

Phylis Sophical · Joined: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 246

Thanks everyone. just as I thought, but then, figured there might be some clever way. A trip to the repair shop is in order then. Thanks again

horsecharles · Joined: Sep 24, 2003 Posts: 4632

you may just want to buy a floppy drive yourselves, can be had for under $ 10 ...
remove floppy and test drive to make sure it won't damage future disks first: ftp://ftp.msd.com/testdriv.com
hate to think what the shop will charge you

User: inactive Posts:

goretsky · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 9:51 pm Post subject:

Hello,

This is a 3.5" floppy diskette drive, correct?

If so, in my experience the most likely reason for a "stuck" floppy diskette is because the little sliding door or "shutter" which exposes magnetic media to the floppy diskette drive has become jammed open and will not close.

The shutter is spring-loaded and will normally close when the eject button is pressed, but if it shutter is stuck open for some reason the eject button may be prevented from depressing fully to eject the floppy diskette from the floppy diskette drive.

It might be possible to remove the floppy diskette from the floppy diskette drive by using a small pair of needle-nose pliers to securely grasp the floppy diskette and pull it straight out, but there does exist the possibility that this procedure will damage the floppy diskette drive. Still, since they are relatively inexpensive to replace your friend might want to consider doing this.

Your friend can test to see if the problem with the floppy diskette's shutter by trying to slide it back-and-forth after the diskette has been removed. If it is loose or it sticks when it slides, remove the shutter by lifting it up and pulling it away from the body of the diskette. With a little tugging it should pop off, along with the small spring mechanism. These can be thrown away. Now your friend can copy the contents of the floppy diskette to a new one or to the computer's hard disk drive and discard the old one.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Phylis Sophical · Joined: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 246

If you stick needle nose pliers in there, I assume there is a possiblity of frying the thing. No big deal since the other option is to buy a new drive anyhow. But would it fry any other part of the computer or just the floppy drive?

User: inactive Posts:

:rolleyes:

If it's turned off and unplugged then you can't fry anything, I've taken quite a few floppies out with small pliers.

goretsky · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 3:52 am Post subject:

Hello,

I would not recommend attempting removal of a stuck floppy diskette while the computer is powered. While I think the likelihood of shorting something out is small--after all, the metal shutter of the floppy diskette has to travel down the same path--it still would probably be a good idea to turn the computer off first. Just in case.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

lenjack · Joined: Dec 07, 2002 Posts: 92

Whatever you do, DON'T take it for service. you may end up with a $75 repair bill when all you need is a $10 drive.

Ehwaz001 · Joined: Jan 10, 2004 Posts: 1236

I would apply a little epoxy on a piece of wood and stick it to the floppy. Let dry all the epoxy and then try to *gently* pull the floppy out of the floppy driver.

If the data on the floppy is not life-saving data, then I would just throw everything in the trash bin and buy a new one, it only costs about 10 bucks!

Greetings,
Ehwaz001
B)

Phylis Sophical · Joined: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 246

Her husband got it out but they didn't say how. Will report back when they let me know. I like the epoxy idea. Never heard that before.

Phylis Sophical · Joined: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 246

Just got word that he used a tiny pair of needle nosed pliers. He's an electrician so probably very well versed in the dangers of a short. All's well and thanks again to all.

Ehwaz001 · Joined: Jan 10, 2004 Posts: 1236

I would advise you to not use this drive regulary any more, cause if it happened once, it could happen again, maybe even sooner then you think.
Beware and whenever it gets stuck again, save yourself the trip to the electrician and stop at you computer hardware supplier to buy a new floppy drive.
It would save you a lot of trips to this electrician...

Greetings,
Ehwaz001
B)