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I/O Error, Bad Sector on disk

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I have a floppy disk with information on it which is coming up with the following error when i try to open it, “I/O Error, bad sector on disk”. What does that mean and how would you resolve this problem?

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Floppy disks are VERY unreliable and often lose data VERY easily which causes READ errors or Input/Output errors (I/O) Your disk sounds like it’s done. Hope it wasn’t TOO imperative. If so a good rule of thumb is to create several floppies or backup to something more stable, CD,DVD, DAT Tape, hidden file partition etc.

There are SOME companies that can restore lost data, for a hefty sum, so if your data is THAT important a simple web search for data recovery may help.

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A bad sector simply means that there’s a damaged area on the disk. Usually if there’s an I/O error the damage is in the part of the disk that stores the file structure info known as the File Allocation Table or FAT.

If your lucky you may still be able to get the disk to read and get the files off. The disk may or may not have a bad sector. Windows sometimes has problems and Virus software can get in the way too. Try the disk in another computer or floppy drive.

Boot to safe mode. Disconnect network cable if attached. See if the disk will read.

Try reading it from DOS. If you have Win ME and up you’ll need a boot disk. For Windows 95-98 hit F8 just before the cloud screen appears and select boot to a Command prompt.

First just try copying files from the disk.
Get a blank disk. After booting from the start disk or to the command prompt type in the following comands then hit enter.

path c:\windows\command

md c:\baddisk

xcopy a:\*.* c:\baddisk

If the files wont copy see if the disk will read at all type

dir a:

If it shows the files try copying one at a time.

xcopy a:\filename c:\baddisk

Continue to copy files til it stops.

OK last ditch efort. Put the damn thing in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours. Have the computer booted to the DOS prompt and the xcopy command typed in so all you need to do is hit enter. Take the disk out and quickly put it in the drive then hit enter. Don’t know why but this sometimes works.

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ANALYZER for RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk V0.1 FREEWARE visually reports on bad sectors in system area of floppy dIsk. You can check if Boot Sector, FAT 1, FAT 2, and ROOT FOLDER sectors are good or bad. You find how much of remaining file system can help recover files when you use RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk. While RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk (RFD) brings simplicity into data recovery, ANALYZER for RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk V0.1 gives a head start to using RFD.
When first Root Folder Sector is bad, WINDOWS 98SE displayed a window with this error message:

A: is not accessible:
The system cannot read from the specified device.

When Boot Sector on floppy got damaged, WINDOWS 98SE displayed a window with this error message:

The disk in drive A: is not formatted:
Do you want to format it now?

Use ANALYZER for RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk V0.1 to find out what has happened.

If it is the Boot Sector or the first ROOT FOLDER sector that was damaged, you can use RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk to recover your files.

ANALYZER for RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk V0.1 eases managing damaged / corrupt floppy disks. It gives you a head start in accurately locating disk errors that unsettle the Operating System. You can figure out what system area got damaged and to what extent. This serves as a starting point for using RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk. ANALYZER for RECOVER Fixed/Floppy Disk V0.1 simplifies reporting on Boot Sector, FAT copies and ROOT FOLDER to a single page. You get INT 25H sector numbers and readability status in color codes on screen.”

Facts Objective Fact
Operating Systems MS-DOS/3.1/95/98
Supported languages English
System requirements No special requirements
Direct link http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/64720.html

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The disk is going bad. copy off what you can and then through out the disk.

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