How to Install an External Floppy Drive

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By Ty Arthur
eHow Contributing Writer

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Most laptop and desktop computers no longer include 3.5" floppy disk drives due to newer drive types that are capable of transferring larger amounts of data much more quickly. If you have data you need to access on a floppy disk but your system doesn't have a floppy disk drive you don't need to try installing an internal drive on your own. Instead you can simply plug in an external floppy disk drive to one of your computer's open USB ports.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

External floppy disk drive
Driver installation disk

Step 1

Insert the driver installation disk that came with the external floppy drive into your computer's CD or DVD drive. Click "Start" and then "Install."
Step 2

Wait for the installation process to finish running. Connect the USB cable from the external floppy disk drive into one of the open USB ports on your computer.
Step 3

Place a floppy disk into the external disk drive. Click "Open the folder to view files" to make sure the external disk drive was installed correctly.
Step 4

Open the Start menu if you don't have the external floppy drive's installation disk. Click "Control Panel" and then double-click "Device Manager."
Step 5

Right-click the entry for the external floppy disk drive. Select "Update Drivers." Click "OK" to install the latest available driver for the disk drive.

Tips & Warnings

Some external floppy drives may not include a driver installation disk as certain models are designed to automatically work with your operating system as soon as you plug them into a USB port.
Do not disconnect the external floppy drive's USB cable while you are transferring data to or from the drive. If the drive is disconnected while you are copying files between the drives, the data can become corrupted.