[vcf-midatlantic] Getting Data off old Atari Floppies

[Herb Johnson]

 > One thing I really don't like about old floppies is that for certain
 > brands etc of 5.25" floppies (and possibly 8" floppies) the media turns
 > to mush and will get all over the drive heads (and destroy the disk)

My experience is, the magnetic coating crumbles. Friction turns the 
fragments into what might be called "mush". I confirm bad experiences 
cited with "Wabash" branded 5.25" diskettes.

 > Supposedly (Based on info from Chuck Guzis/sydex, though I've never
 > tried this myself), if you dismantle the floppy by cutting open the
 > vinyl case and removing the "cookie" inside, and put it on a baking
 > sheet and bake it in the oven at 300F(?) for maybe 8 hours, they can be
 > made readable again. You may need to apply some sort of sealant to the
 > outside of the disk after baking.

This is, to be polite, flawed advice. There may be some confusion about 
"baking" 1/4" audio magnetic tapes - I have no details about that process.

The diskette Mylar cookie will distort with heat - period. So will the 
plastic envelope. Distortion temperatures are likely above, 120, 130 
degrees F. I don't know the minimum. Storage above room temperature is 
not recommended.

I won't say "try this to see" because someone will mess up their oven 
and blame me. If you try this, use all possible caution and do NOT leave 
your experiment unattended. I am not responsible for injury or damage to 
you, your oven, and certainly to your diskette.

My previous post in this thread, has a link to a Web page on my site, 
which discusses recovery methods I'm aware of.

Herb

-- 
Herbert R. Johnson,  New Jersey USA
http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net