I have a number of 5.25" floppies for the BBC Micro which haven't been used since the 90s. I recently got my BBC Micro and Watford Electronics floppy drive down from the loft/attic, set it up and tried the disks. Unfortunately my floppy drive had fallen apart internally and no longer reads any of the disks. I tried fixing it (the drive head had come apart) but to no avail. There was no noticeable mould damage to the disks.
Are my floppies dead or is there any chance I could revive them after all this time in my roof? Is it worth trying to find a working drive or should I just cut my losses?
There's nothing particularly valuable on the disks, just memories of my favourite games, documents and programs I wrote myself. Yes, I realise I can get emulators but it's just not the same!
Best Answer
How did you store them over the past decade or so? Where they in a cool, not-so-humid area away from direct sunlight? If so, I bet you have a decent chance of recovering the data if you can find a working drive.