Floppy Disk Alternatives

The following is a partial list of more reliable alternatives to using a floppy disk for personal storage.

For instructors collecting assignments electronically, some alternatives to floppy disk are Blackboard, email, and FTP. Please consult with the Courseware Development Center for assistance on which method is best for your situation.

Firewire Drive: For larger storage requirements, such as those required by video editing, portable firewire drives work well. These devices are larger than USB flash drives, but still easily transported. Note that firewire connections are not yet available in all facilities. For more information about using firewire drives see Academic Computing's guide on Firewire Use.

USB Flash Drive: Available in various sizes up to multiple gigabytes. To assist in making these devices more easily used Academic Computing is installing keyboards with USB ports on them in all facilities not having USB ports on the workstation's front panel. These devices are very small and reliable. USB Flash Drives can be obtained at the HSU Bookstore. For more information about using USB drives see Academic Computing's guide on USB Drive Use.

Zip Disk: 100MB Zip drives are available in most facilities managed by Academic Computing. The new machines will have 250MB Drives. Note that the 250MB disks will not work in the 100MB drives. Zip Disks can be obtained from the HSU Bookstore. For more information about using Zip drives see Academic Computing's Guide on Zip Drive Use.

Email Attachment: Smaller files can be easily emailed to yourself and collected later. For more information about email see the ITS Tech Guide on Email.

FTP: For larger files FTP (File Transfer Protocol) can be an easy way to move your file electronically. Move the file to a server and collect it later. The amount of space available will be dependent upon your server. For information on using FTP see the ITS Tech Guide Publishing with FTP.

USB Floppy Drive: A workaround for those that absolutely must have a floppy drive. USB floppy drives are available from many stores. These drives can be used similarly to the USB flash drive. Note that USB floppy drives usually will not work when chained (e.g. plugged into a keyboard). Even if one's home computer does not have USB, a typical USB floppy drive is more expensive than buying both a 128MB USB flash drive and a PCI card containing 2 or more USB 2.0 ports.