8-inch, ​5 1⁄4-inch, and ​3 1⁄2-inch floppy disk drives, all in 1 external case?

[lumpenrose]

Is it possible to find such a thing....maybe custom built? If not where would I find an external for each individually.
3 ¹⁄₂-inch externals are all around but not 8 inch nor 5 1/4

[Radium_Angel]

8 minutes ago, lumpenrose said:

8 inch

I haven't even seen an 8" drive for sale since the 80s. I'm sure this would have to be a custom build.

[lumpenrose]

10 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

I haven't even seen an 8" drive for sale since the 80s. I'm sure this would have to be a custom build.

challenge accepted..............how do i do that lol

[SenKa]

My concern would be getting drivers working for 5 1/4 and 8" on Windows 10. 3.5" is easy.

In theory it shouldnt be that hard if you have the background in coding, you could make logic converters from 8", 5 1/4", and 3 1/2" to USB. The former two would require quite a bit of work. Pinouts are thankfully quite easy to find.

8"- https://old.pinouts.ru/HD/8InchDisk_pinout.shtml

5 1/4"- https://old.pinouts.ru/HD/5_12_floppy_pinout.shtml

3 1/2"- http://www.interfacebus.com/PC_Floppy_Drive_PinOut.html

 

The way *I* would do it, personally, is have something like an arduino for each of the 3 drives outputting USB, and have them on a switch to avoid driver conflicts. If you actually make this in to a product you will undoubtedly make a decent amount of money. ESPECIALLY for 5 1/4" -> USB adapters, as they have existed in the past but people have quit making them.

[lumpenrose]

3 hours ago, SenKa said:

My concern would be getting drivers working for 5 1/4 and 8" on Windows 10. 3.5" is easy.

In theory it shouldnt be that hard if you have the background in coding, you could make logic converters from 8", 5 1/4", and 3 1/2" to USB. The former two would require quite a bit of work. Pinouts are thankfully quite easy to find.

8"- https://old.pinouts.ru/HD/8InchDisk_pinout.shtml

5 1/4"- https://old.pinouts.ru/HD/5_12_floppy_pinout.shtml

3 1/2"- http://www.interfacebus.com/PC_Floppy_Drive_PinOut.html

 

The way *I* would do it, personally, is have something like an arduino for each of the 3 drives outputting USB, and have them on a switch to avoid driver conflicts. If you actually make this in to a product you will undoubtedly make a decent amount of money. ESPECIALLY for 5 1/4" -> USB adapters, as they have existed in the past but people have quit making them.

unfortunately my background in programming's a bit limited. im gonna have to pay someone to do this arent i, and then pay another person to make a nice looking case for it LMAO
dream PC see you in 10 years xd

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Please forgive my curiosity but why do you need (or just want) such outdated storage technology?

[lumpenrose]

8 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Please forgive my curiosity but why do you need (or just want) such outdated storage technology?

honestly, because the look and feel and sound of it reminds me of my childhood alot and its soothing to me. I know that probably sounds dumb but its important. but also i love the experience of being on old hardware and throwing in some battle chess on a nice CRT and going crazy lol

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, lumpenrose said:

honestly, because the look and feel and sound of it reminds me of my childhood alot and its soothing to me. I know that probably sounds dumb but its important. but also i love the experience of being on old hardware and throwing in some battle chess on a nice CRT and going crazy lol

Nothing dumb about nostalgia if that's what floats your boat. Some people like old cars, furniture, etc. I had just wondered if you had a lot of data that needed retrieving from old discs.