While these disks are otherwise uncommon, because Macs were frequently associated with the works of “creatives,” they have an outsized importance in the world of digital archives, and thus merit some special attention. I’m a fan of the Kryoflux and recommend it regularly, but it does have several limitations, especially when it comes to cost, so I’ve been looking for alternative ways to access HFS formatted disks. Variations on this question include: “why can’t my USB 3.5” floppy disk drive read old Mac disks?” or, “How do I access double sided double density (DS/DD) Mac disks?” or, “I have a stack of 3.5” floppy disks that neither Windows nor Linux will recognize, what gives?” However the question is formed, a common recommendation from the community is to use a Kryoflux controller card to capture the data from the drive. One of the more common questions asked on the various digital curation forums is how to access HFS formatted 3.5” floppy disks. If you think your DOS floppy disk might have a format that doesn’t work in a Macintosh, use a DOS computer to copy the contents of your DOS floppy disk onto another DOS floppy disk that has been properly formatted for use in a Macintosh.A Mac HD 3.5″ floppy disk: Not compatible with 400/800KB disk drives. Because DOS computers allow standard double-sided disks to be formatted in 1440K format and high-density disks to be formatted in 720K format, it’s possible that your disk has been given a format that won’t work in a Macintosh. Users need to format standard double-sided disks as 720K disks and high- density disks as 1440K disks. If you are trying unsuccessfully to use a DOS floppy disk, consider the following: m When formatting floppy disks on a DOS computer for use in a Macintosh, If so, use the other computer to copy the disk’s contents onto a properly formatted disk. M If the disk is a high-density disk previously used on another computer, theĭisk may have been formatted incorrectly as an 800K disk rather than as a 1440K (high-density) disk. See “Repairing a Damaged Disk” later in thisĬhapter for information on testing and repairing disks. Instructions, see the “Disks” topic of Macintosh Guide, available in the Guide (h) menu. If you see a message that a floppy disk is unreadable, try one of the following: m If the disk has never been used, you may simply need to initialize it.

Formatting a floppy disk to 800k