Leontien Talboom is a technical analyst at Cambridge University Libraries and is currently leading the Future Nostalgia Project.
On the 26th of March, the Future Nostalgia project brought together two expert groups for a full day of workshops exploring the many joys - and headaches - of working with floppy disks. Whether you’ve imaged thousands of disks or just unearthed a mystery format in your archives, these sessions were about sharing knowledge, building a guide, and trying to prevent each other from reinventing the wheel.
We invited practitioners from across the digital preservation community, spanning national libraries, university archives, museums, and more. And from the start, it was clear: there’s no such thing as a ‘standard’ floppy disk experience.
A Favourite, a Frustration
As an opener, participants shared their favourite, and least favourite, floppies. This wasn’t just for fun (although, it was fun); it helped set the tone for the day by framing the diverse formats and experiences the guide will need to speak to. From Apple II disks and Amstrads to obscure 8-inch formats and the elusive Olivetti mini disk; the room was full of stories. Some participants had processed thousands of disk carriers, while others were just starting out on their digital preservation journeys. But no matter the experience, common themes emerged—frustration with format incompatibilities, creative problem-solving, and the joy of finally seeing a directory listing pop up on screen.
The exercise also gave a clear sense of where the headaches begin. The 5¼-inch disk earned several groans for its variable formats and lack of labeling, while others admitted a soft spot for 8-inch disks, despite the sheer difficulty of accessing them. Tools like the FC5025 came up in conversation—useful, but often limited when it comes to handling non-IBM formats or performing RAW imaging. In the end, this icebreaker wasn’t just about reliving the quirks of old tech—it gave us a glimpse into the very real challenges of working with these legacy formats, helping to frame the guide we’re building.
(Workshop participants share some of their favourite floppy disks!)
Defining the Guide: Scope, Audience, and Focus
At the heart of the workshops was the upcoming Floppy Disk Imaging Guide—a new resource being developed to support professionals working with floppy disks across collections. This resource will be the main outcome of the Future Nostalgia project. The guide builds on earlier work done in this community, in particular the Guide to Imaging Obscure Floppy Disk Formats and the Archivist’s Guide to Kryoflux.
A major discussion point was scope: what kind of disks are we talking about, exactly? The decision was made to focus on Shugart interface floppy disks, which includes many common formats (3½-inch, 3-inch, 5¼-inch and 8-inch) but excludes cartridges like Nintendo’s Famicom Disk System or SCSI-connected storage like MO drives. Keeping the scope tight helps ensure the guide remains practical, actionable, and focused on formats that are still widely encountered in heritage collections.
We also talked about who the guide is for. It’s aimed at practitioners with foundational knowledge—people who already understand concepts like disk imaging, digital forensics, and data integrity. It won’t cover the basics of what a disk image is, but it will delve into the details that often go undocumented: troubleshooting hardware, cleaning disks, understanding when an image is ‘good enough’, and knowing when to stop.
As one participant put it: ‘We need a guide that tells you not just how to do something, but why it went wrong - and what to try next.’
For those who may need more information or a refresher on the foundational concepts, it was decided that it would be helpful to provide links to resources that explain these key principles in more depth, ensuring that the guide remains focused on the practical, hands-on aspects of working with legacy floppy disks.
Knowledge Sharing, Not Just Instruction
The guide isn’t just about writing a how-to, it is about pooling lived knowledge and experience. We heard about innovative approaches to documentation, like one institution’s use of Bookstack to create a living internal knowledge base, and ideas for how to share more broadly with the wider community.
We also heard a recurring theme: the need for practical, platform-specific advice. What if your disks are Amiga formatted? Or WANG? Or written in an obscure encoding you’ve only ever seen once? These aren’t edge cases for many practitioners—they’re the day-to-day.
We discussed how to help people navigate situations where their setup or needs are outside the scope of the guide—pointing them to useful communities, vendors, or platforms instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all solution.
And perhaps most importantly, we discussed how to know when you’ve done it right. Tools like Applesauce, IsoBuster, WinImage, and ADFview can help verify image quality by exposing file directories. And for deeper appraisal, solutions like Emulation-as-a-Service Infrastructure (EaaSI) can emulate software environments to see if a disk image behaves as expected.
What’s Next?
With the workshops complete, we’re now entering the next phase of Future Nostalgia, and there’s plenty in motion:
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The draft of the Floppy Disk Imaging Guide is underway. It will bring together workshop insights, interviews, and real-world workflows into one shareable, editable resource. We’ll be releasing the first version publicly for community feedback over the summer.
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I’m collaborating with the Conservation department at Cambridge University Library to test safe methods for cleaning mouldy or deteriorating floppy disks. These methods will be folded into the guide to help others facing the same challenges with fragile media.
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I’m also beginning a series of interviews with people who work with floppy disks in non-archival settings—vintage computing hobbyists, engineers, tinkerers, and others with unique expertise.
As we move forward with the project, I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all the participants for their invaluable contributions during the workshops. Your insights, stories, and expertise will be instrumental in shaping this resource.
If you’re interested in discussing anything floppy-related, whether it’s technical details, preservation challenges, or just a shared love of legacy formats, please don’t hesitate to get in touch (my contact details can be found on the Future Nostalgia project page). I’m always happy to connect with fellow enthusiasts!