Diablotek 1.44MB OEM External USB Floppy Drive BLK

I got this drive to use with my Windows 7 laptop (or notebook) PC--for viewing and recovering old files stored on floppies. It came in a package as pictured in the Amazon product listings. However, it had no "Diablotek" brand name anywhere. There was a little user guide brochure and a small CD for installing drivers (if needed). Instead of following the guide or using the CD, all I needed to do was to plug it in to one of the USB ports of my laptop. Upon bringing up Windows Explorer and clicking on Computer, I found tha I had an A-drive (like my antique Win 95 desktop)The first floppies I tried all seemed to need reformatting (which I didn't do). So, I thought this drive just couldn't read anything. (The files could be from an old Starwriter word processor--and thus in a format that Windows just doesn't recognize.) But then I came to some floppies that were actually displaying a list of their contents. And I've been able to copy some of these files to the My Archives folder on the laptop where they can still be opened and viewed using the Office 2010 programs.So, I think this is a good floppy drive for use with the latest PCs that no longer have floppy drives installed (or available for them). Will see how it continues to do.

In my case the product works - but it doesn't work. I have a massive number of 3.5 inch floppies and I wanted to transfer the data to a computer's hard drive. In some cases the data transfers with no problem. In other cases I get a message that the floppy which I am trying to read is not formatted even though I know that there is data on the disk. I am still confused but have not had an opportunity to explore the situation further.

When my 'A' drive crashed on the desktop, I ordered this and it continues to do a very good job. Would suggest that you use a dedicated USB port versus a 'hub' shared with other USB peripherals; if you MUST use a 'hub' consider using one that is powered by itself. The ONLY reason is loses a 'star' is because sometimes the labels on a floppy will not have the stickiness needed to stay adhered - and it can prevent ejection; easy solution - have some tweezers around to help get the floppy out!

Product was easily installed and works well on my HP Pavilion notebook running Windows Vista. I thought I was finished with floppies years ago until I pulled out my photo storage boxes and discovered several hundred floppy disks that contain hundreds of images from the early and mid-90's before digital images became commonplace. This USB drive gave me an easy to install workable option for recovering those images and storing them in a different format.

This broke the first day of use. It worked fine to read and format old disks but I plugged it in and it made a noise and then quit working. Windows can't recognize the drive anymore and it says there was a malfunction of the drive. So at least we did what we set out to do, reading and formatting old disks to throw them away. But the last time we tried to use it it failed. I would have bought a cheaper one had I known this was going to happen.

The first one I was sent didn't work at all, but tiger direct's customer support was great and the second one came working fine. I don't know if this is a deal breaker for some but it doesn't work properly on a usb hub (even an externally powered one).

Item arrived as advertised, but it's another story once you put to use. Unit is prone to read problem at the start, and had to reformat disk several times to make sure all tracks can be read. Weeks passed and is good as DOA (except 30 day passed). Unable to read, write, or even format disk. Finally, a good resting place is found for retirement: garbage can. Makes you wonder how long has these things been sit on the shelve?

I was very pleased with the product because it was easy to retrieve information from my old floppies so I could throw them away.It was simple to use and served my purpose.