720k Floppy Disks Formatting in USB Floppy Drive?

arcaxis

arcaxis

Well-known member
Few of my PC's don't have a floppy drives anymore, so considering a USB connected floppy drive. Came to realize Windows doesn't appear to format 720k's from it's own utility, but can be done by a DOS command via command prompt window. What I'm not sure of is if a USB floppy drive can work from a command window prompt. Anyone know or has done it?
 
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Hello,

Dunno - so I've just tried it.

Plugged USB 3.5" drive into my W7 laptop. Go to command prompt.

format a: /F:720 /u

Without the /u (unconditional) the system does the usual WinDoze thing, tries to be clever, checks that the disk is already formatted and comes up with an error.

With the /u, proceeds right away into formatting. Does the format OK. On completion, reports correct format/space free. After format, I tried chkdsk, which confirmed the correct details for DSDD floppy.

Just checked disk on my desktop, Windoze XP, this sees disk as correct 720k DSDD.

So answer to your question appears to be YES. Just done it.

Geoff
 
Hey Geoff, thanks for giving this a try. I think I'll go ahead and get a USB FD drive. Reasonably cheap on Amazon.
 
Hello,

Glad to be useful.

Actually, all 3 of my PCs still have 3.5" floppy drives, that's the XP main machine, and the two 'antique' DOS machines, both of which still have 5.25" drives as well (although one 5.25" drive doesn't work but hopefully may be fixed one day). Also, there's the CP/M computer, which also has a 3.5" drive, although with a different format, as well as 5.25" and 3" drives. When I got the laptop, I just HAD to get the floppy drive for it as well. So, I'm still into floppies, and still into command prompts.

One of the DOS machines is the one with all the midi stuff attached, and the one I do the midi programming and the messing with the midi files, connecting to other boxes via the Roland LAPC-I card, which of course is an old 8 bit ISA card and therefore CANNOT be fitted into anything remotely 'modern'!!

By the way, why did you want to format 720k disk? I understand that a few keyboards/work-stations use them? I've heard the DSDD disks are difficult to find nowadays, although I've got piles of them.

Best wishes,

Geoff

PS - in a couple of days time, I'll be ONLY 2 years younger than you!
 
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