Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
•. Optical.drives—CDs.and.DVDs
•. And.even.one.hybrid.optical/magnetic.drive
If. data. that. you. need. for. a. case,. or. an. audit,. or. just. for.
your.own.historical.records.are.stored.on.any.of.these.types.
of.older.media,.you.could.face.some.unique.challenges.
Consider.irst.those.loppy.disks.
*
.Floppy.disks.were.irst.
invented. and. used. in. the. 1970s,. and. as. noted. above,. they.
came. in. 8. inch,. 5.25. inch,. and. 3.5. inch. sizes.. It. is. rare. to.
ind.an.8.inch.loppy.these.days,.but.you.might.still.ind.some.
5.25.inch.disks.laying.around.getting.dusty.in.a.closet,.and.
the.3.5.inch.loppy.drives.were.still.pretty.popular.up.until.
just.recently,.so.you.can.still.purchase.them.and.some.com-
puters.still.have.a.loppy.disk.drive.for.reading.them.
A.loppy.disk.is.made.up.of.a.lexible.(loppy).magnetic.disk.
contained. within. a. square. or. rectangular. plastic. sleeve. that.
protects.it.from.dust.and.damage..They.could.hold.relatively.
small.amounts.of.data.by.today's.standards,.but.they.were.still.
used.extensively.to.store.information.
If.you.have.one.of.these.disks.and.need.to.gain.access.to.
it. for. any. reason. you. are. faced. with. some. challenges.. The.
irst.is.the.very.real.possibility.of.damage.or.corruption.of.the.
data.. As. with. any. magnetic. media,. these. are. vulnerable. to.
magnetic.ields..There.has.also.been.some.research.indicat-
ing. that.they.may.lose.some.of.their. magnetic. charge. over.
time,. thus. making. them. impossible. to. read.
†
. Basically,. the.
ones.and.zeroes.are.maintained.by.different.levels.of.positive.
or.negative.charge,.and.if.that.faded,.there.is.no.code.for.a.
drive.to.read.and.interpret.
Second,.unless.you.are.a.true.geek.and.saved.every.com-
puter.you.ever.owned.back.into.the.computer.stone.age,.you.
probably.do.not.have.a.running.computer.with.an.8.inch.or.
*.
http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/storage/storage_chrono20.
html..Retrieved.2011-06-17.
†.
June.Jamrich.Parsons.and.Dan.Oja,.
New.Perspectives.on.Computer.Concepts.
2012:. Introductory
,. Cengage. Learning,. Florence,. KY,. p.. 78.. Retrieved.
2011-06-17.
