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Technical Support
RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0
recovers files from a floppy disk that generates 'Drive A: is not accessible' error in WINDOWS.
recovers files from a floppy disk that generates 'The disk in drive A: is not formatted' error in WINDOWS.
recovers files from a floppy disk that generates 'Data Error (cyclic redundancy check)' error in WINDOWS.
recovers files from a floppy disk that generates 'The requested sector is not found' error in WINDOWS.
On WINDOWS XP, WINDOWS 98/98SE, and WINDOWS 95, RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 bypasses all Operating System services and uses its own code to navigate the folder structure and to recover files.
Even if the Boot Sector of a floppy disk is damaged, RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 can access the files and recover them all in a single recursive run.
Finding which sector has gone bad on your floppy disk is not at all required. Because whatever disk utility you use, on a floppy disk, it is not possible to fix the damaged Boot Sector by mapping some other sector as the Boot Sector. In the same way it is not possible to fix a damaged FAT Sector or a ROOT Folder sector. The easiest way is to run RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 and recover your files in a single run. Don't waste time looking on the NET for disk utilities that can fix bad Boot Sector, a bad FAT sector or a bad ROOT Folder sector. The magic that can be done on a Hard Disk Drive to get rid of bad sectors once for all by doing a low level reformat cannot be done on a floppy disk. Only when bad sectors are found in the data area they are marked as bad in the File Allocation Table. Contrary to what happens on a HDD after a low level reformat (bad sectors simply disappear), the floppy disk bad sectors don't vanish; they remain there on the floppy disk, just they are not used for data storage once they are marked as bad in FAT.
So looking for disk utilities that can make the bad Boot Sector, bad FAT sector, or bad ROOT Folder sector simply vanish is futile. The solution is to recover the files and throw away the damaged floppy.
Get RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 now, whatever be your WINDOWS error message about the damaged floppy disk.
Just click on one of these buy buttons and order your license.
If one or more of the questions below does not reflect your requirements, please feel free to ask us at support@BestDiskRecovery.com.
How do I run RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 in a DOS box in WINDOWS?
Does 100 percent recovery of files depend on something?
What is the Level of Automation?
What WINDOWS errors are addressed by RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0?
Can 100 percent recovery be expected from reformatted floppy disks?
Is there any special booting disk requirement?
Do I need to learn tech jargon or understand where the Boot / FAT / ROOT Folder sectors are located?
Does RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 run recursively? or Do I need to run it for each folder as in the case of RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk FAT32/16/12 v3.0 Release 3 and RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk v2.2?
Installing RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0
How do I know if my floppy's Boot Sector ( Sector 0 ) is bad?
Can I recover files and Folders after reformatting the disk with the command "FORMAT A: /U"?
Can I recover files using a backup of the Root Folder structure (created by some other program) which cannot be restored to disk because of disk surface damage?
What about recovering fragmented file content (fragmented parts of a file)?
Can RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 recover all files (binary and text)?
Where is the Boot Sector located?
Where are File Allocation Tables located?
Where is the Root Folder located?
What are Head, Track, Cluster and Sector briefly?
What is a Track?
What is a Sector?
What are Heads or Sides?
Table showing location of Boot Sector, FAT copy 1, FAT copy 2, Root Folder, Starting Data Sector for floppies (INT 25H interpretation)
What about recovering files from damaged floppy disks on OS's supporting FAT32 file systems like WINDOWS ME, WINDOWS 2000 and WINDOWS XP?
Is there a FAT32 floppy disk?
How do I run RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 in a DOS box in WINDOWS?
It's easy.
RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 runs from a DOS box in WINDOWS XP / 2000 / ME / 98 / 98SE / 95 / 95 OSR2.
After installing RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 you get RFLOPPY.COM which is RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 itself.
Running it in a DOS box in WINDOWS is child's play.
To go to the DOS prompt, please type COMMAND or CMD (as WINDOWS requires) in the RUN window of START menu, and hit the ENTER Key.
You get a window (DOS box) for the DOS session.
At the DOS prompt in the DOS box you can run RFLOPPY.COM.
If you add the installed path to the system PATH environment variable, you can run RFLOPPY.COM from anywhere.
Or just type PATH and hit the ENTER key. Now you get to see some folder paths in PATH. Just copy RFLOPPY.COM to one of the WINDOWS related system folders. This enables you to run the program from anywhere.
Or change folder (use the CD command) to the folder where you installed RFP v1.0.
Now type this command at the DOS prompt and hit the ENTER key finally:
RFLOPPY A: -X
That's it.
It will guide you through.
This command stores recovered files starting from current folder. Files in the subfolders on the floppy disk are saved to identically named subfolders in identical path structures.
Just when RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 recovers your files you get to see where the recovered files are saved. In most cases you get the same path structures in the destination folder as on the floppy disk you recover files from.
When you run RFLOPPY.COM, you can give a destination folder like this for the purpose of storing recovered files:
RFLOPPY A: C:\Temp -X
That's it.
It will guide you through.
This command stores recovered files starting from C:\Temp. Files in the subfolders on the floppy disk are saved to identically named subfolders in identical path structures.
Just when RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 recovers your files you get to see where the recovered files are saved. In most cases you get the same path structures in the destination folder as on the floppy disk you recover files from.
Does 100 percent recovery of files depend on something?
In rare circumstances, yes.
First, the data sectors must not have been damaged. But one is always ready to sacrifice file content in physically damaged data sectors because these content could not be recovered in any way.
Secondly, all of ROOT Folder and both the copies of FAT must not have been damaged. Though it is very rare, if all these system areas were damaged, there is nothing in the file system to point to files existing in the ROOT Folder. In such a case you sacrifice files in the ROOT Folder.
That is why saving files to or keeping files in the ROOT Folder is a bad idea. But even Operating Systems do that.
To find out how much of the system area of your floppy disk is safe, run ANALYZER for RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk v0.3 FREEWARE on that floppy disk.
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What is the Level of Automation?
RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 is a completely automated Disk level data recovery software for Floppy
Disks.
RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 completely automates recovering all files in all folders from the floppy disk.
Excluding deleted files, a single run recovers all files in all folders. You need not look for subfolders or file contents at the sector level.
You need not specify the names of subfolders or files.
Recovered files will automatically have their original (LFN) long filenames. Subfolders too will have their original names unless a subfolder's entry in its Parent folder (on the floppy disk) got damaged.
What WINDOWS errors are addressed by RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0?
WINDOWS error such as
- 'Drive A: is not accessible'
- 'The disk in drive A: is not formatted'
- 'Data Error (cyclic redundancy check)'
- 'The requested sector is not found'
are addressed by RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0
Can 100 percent recovery be expected from reformatted floppy disks?
Yes and No.
Yes. when ROOT Folder had only subfolder entries, and all file contents were contiguous, 100 percent recovery is easy target.
No. When ROOT Folder had file entries and file contents of files were not in contiguous sectors, 100 percent recovery is not at all possible.
Is there any special booting disk requirement?
No special Booting Disk needs to be created. And there is no special booting procedures.
Do I need to learn tech jargon or understand where the Boot / FAT / ROOT Folder sectors are located and what got damaged?
No.
You need not learn tech jargon. You need not understand where the Boot / FAT / ROOT Folder sectors are located and what got damaged.
But those who demand 100 percent recovery and those who adamantly want to know when that is not possible usually analyze disk surface damage and possible and sacrificeable loss of data.
Does RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 run recursively? or Do I need to run it for each folder as in the case of RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk FAT32/16/12 v3.0 Release 3 and RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk v2.2?
RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 run recursively starting from the ROOT Folder to the last subfolder deep inside the floppy disk.
You need not remember and specify any folder path and you need not run it for each folder/subfolder.
RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 is an automated data recovery software. You can watch the program working on subfolders.
A single run of RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 recovers all files.
Just invoke the program once and you watch the displayed list of files being recovered.
RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 runs recursively to recover all files from all folder paths on the floppy disk.
You can watch where files are recovered from and where recovered files are saved.
Recovered files are saved to identical folder paths in the destination disk folder.
Report file too shows where recovered files are saved.
Installing RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0
Installation of RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 is as simple as unzipping the program archive into the Folder you choose. One may install it into a Folder other than "RFP". It is recommended that you keep a copy of the executable on the emergency Boot disk.
Will installation change any of my system settings or does something that I become dependent on?
No. You never become dependent on anything as no system setting is changed and no special arrangement takes place. That is, if all of a sudden your emergency Boot disk becomes unreliable, you can just find a good floppy and create another emergency Boot disk at any time and just unzip the program archive into the new disk or copy the executable only.
Can I install it into a FAT32 partition? And if I do so, will RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 run from it as well as from a FAT16 or FAT12 partition?
Yes. The installation Folder or Partition does in no way affect the functionality of RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0.
During the recovery process, can the destination for recovered files be a FAT32 partition?
Yes, it can very well be.
To use RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0, do I need to know beforehand which sectors on the floppy disk had gone bad?
No.
To get 100% percent of my files, is there any conditions?
If all the files are kept in subfolders, even a damaged ROOT Folder combined with completely damaged FAT copies will not affect the 100 percent recovery of files.
If some files were kept in the ROOT Folder, these files could not be recovered when the floppy has damaged ROOT Folder and damaged FAT copies. But if at least one FAT copy is good, it can be used to get all the files in the damaged ROOT Folder too.
In the case of a reformatted / quick formatted floppy disk too files kept in the ROOT Folder have to be sacrificed. Because a reformatted / quick formatted floppy disk has a new but BLANK ROOT Folder and new but BLANK FAT copies.
Having files in the ROOT Folder is a wrong thing in the first place. But there are many system disks including Boot Disks which always have files in the ROOT Folder for quick access. One must have multiple copies of them or save an image of each of these system floppy disks on the Hard Disk Drive. This should make your setup 100 percent fool proof.
Can I recover files and Folders after reformatting the disk with the command "FORMAT A: /U"?
Sorry, no disk utility on earth can recover anything in such a case. You have to approach the Grand Grand Daddy of Data Recovery firms who can look beneath the surface and get data hiding under what was newly written on the disk by the FORMAT utility.
Can I recover files using a backup of the ROOT Folder structure (created by some other program) which cannot be restored to disk because of disk surface damage?
Yes. You can recover the files in the ROOT Folder using that backup of the ROOT Folder structure.
What about recovering fragmented file content (fragmented parts of a file)?
File fragmentation detail is usually stored in the File Allocation Table (two copies of them are there). When Disk Defragmenter was not run on a file system (whether FAT12, FAT16, or FAT32) for sometime, file contents tend to get fragmented. If FAT is lost at this stage, locating fragmented parts of a file is not easy. Though RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 can handle up to a thousand fragments for a file when FAT is available, RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 recover a file only if its contents are located in contiguous disk sectors when FAT is not available. This is not a bog concern as at least one copy of FAT will be available error free.
Fragmented file content is what people who develop valuable data are always afraid of - until they defragment their file system, in some environments, at the end of everyday.
Can RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 recover all files (binary and text)?
Yes. For RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0 all file types are the same. No distinction is made between binary and text files. Because recovery does not depend on file type or file name extension. Any file that has its contents in contiguous disk sectors has 100% chance of recovery irrespective of its file type / file extension. If just the Boot Sector of a floppy disk is bad, contents of files on that floppy disk need not reside in contiguous disk sectors; that is, the floppy disk need not be one that was defragmented. Only when FAT has errors, the defragmentation of the disk in the recent past (before the error(s) developed) is put forth as a requirement.
Where is the Boot Sector located?
If you like INT 25H interpretation, the Boot Sector for a floppy disk is its very first Sector, that is Sector 0. On a Hard Disk Drive, Sector 0 is the Boot Sector (again INT 25H interpretation), but the Boot Sector is not the very first Sector on disk.
If you like INT 13H interpretation, the Boot Sector for a floppy disk is the first Sector ( that is, Sector 1 ) on Track 0, Side 0 near the outer edge of a floppy disk.
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Where are File Allocation Tables located?
On floppy disks, the first FAT (File Allocation Table) immediately follows the boot sector. The second FAT follows the first. For example, on a 1.44 MB floppy, if we use INT 13H interpretation, FAT copy 1 occupies sectors 2 through 0Ah on track 0, side 0 and FAT copy 2 occupies sectors 0Bh through 12h both on track 0, side 0 and sector 1 on track 0, side 1.
On a 1.2 MB floppy, if we use INT 13H interpretation, FAT copy 1 occupies sectors 2 through 8 and FAT copy 2 occupies sectors 9 through 0Fh both on track 0, side 0.
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Where is the ROOT Folder located?
The ROOT Folder is located after the FAT copies. For instance, on a 1.2 MB floppy it starts with sector 1 on track 0, side 1; on a 1.44 MB floppy it starts with sector 2 on track 0, side 1. Remember that the first sector ( sector 1 on track 0, side 0 ) on a floppy disk is the Boot Sector. Also remember that the Root Folder is on side 1, and the Boot Sector is on side 0.
Note that (INT 13H) Sector 1 is the Boot Sector not Sector 0, because Sectors are always numbered from 1 while Tracks and Sides are always numbered from 0. This is INT 13H interpretation.
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What are Head, Track, Cluster and Sector briefly?
Head - Read/write head
Track - A sub-unit of disk surface
Sector - A sub-unit of a Track
Cluster - A cluster is an allocation unit. It consists of one Sector or a bunch of Sectors
What is a Track?
A track is a circular area of the disk surface. Tracks are circular pathways that end in themselves. Hence the alternate name Cylinders. The read/write heads of the disk drive ski in the air to get to the next sector or track. Tracks are numbered from 0. Track 0 is the first track. It is located near the outer rim of disk surface.
What is a Sector?
A sector is a small part of a track. A track gets divided in to a number of sectors. On a 1.2 MB floppy, a track is divided into 15 sectors; on a 1.44 MB floppy disk, 18 sectors. One sector of disk surface can hold 512 bytes of data. INT 13H counts Sectors from 1; the scope is a Track. Each Track starts with its own Sector 1. INT 25H counts Sectors from 0; the scope is entire floppy disk / hard disk drive / partition. RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk uses INT 25H interpretation. This is what DEBUG.EXE uses too.
What are Heads or Sides?
Heads or Sides are either the actual number of read/write heads (one disk surface [Side] needs one head) or simulated read/write heads (sides) in the case of large disks. The words head and side are used interchangeably. Heads (sides) are numbered from 0. That is, the first head is head 0.
Can you list the Boot Sector number and starting sector numbers for FAT 1, FAT 2, Root Folder, and Data for floppies?
The following table lists the Logical Starting Sector numbers for system and data areas for floppies that will be useful when running DEBUG.EXE. All numbers (excl. column 1) are in hex.
We have used here INT 25H numbering scheme for sectors. Accordingly, the Boot Sector is Sector 0. For the purpose of DEBUG.EXE, the following table uses zero based Sector numbers as does INT 25H.
| Disk Type | Boot Sector | FAT 1 | FAT 2 | Root Folder | Data |
|---|
| 360 KB | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0Ch |
| 720 KB | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0Eh |
| 1.2 MB | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0Fh | 1Dh |
| 1.44 MB | 0 | 1 | 0Ah | 13h | 21h |
By accessing these sectors in DEBUG.EXE, you can manually check if they are ok (readable). If DEBUG.EXE cannot read a sector, you know that sector got physically damaged.
What about recovering files from damaged floppy disks on OS's supporting FAT32 file systems like WINDOWS XP, WINDOWS 2000, and WINDOWS ME ?
We recommend you buy RECOVER Floppy Pro v1.0
Is there a FAT32 floppy disk?
There is nothing like a FAT32 floppy disk.
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