How to Buy an Internal Floppy Disk Drive

Although there are faster removable-media drives with considerably greater storage capacities, every computer still needs a floppy drive. Floppy disks are still the most universal media; when you need to share a file, you can usually count on the other computer to have a floppy drive.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Floppy Disk Drive

1. Spend no more than $20. Prices range from less than $13 to more than $20.

2. Compare warranties, which range from 90 days to a year. Boxed, name-brand floppy drives come with a one-year warranty.

3. Consider brands such as Mitsumi, Samsung, Sony and TEAC.

4. Look for a drive that's easy to insert and remove disks from.

5. Make sure the faceplate of the drive matches the color of your case, if that matters to you.

Tips & Warnings

• If you'll be using another removable-media drive for backup, consider putting a used floppy drive in your computer.
• Standard floppy drives won't fit into proprietary cases, such as those made for consumer-model computers.