Floppy disks are notoriously prone to failure. The simple act of popping out a floppy disk before the drive light goes out will scramble your file directories and render the disk unusable. Dirt that gets inside of the floppy disk (from carrying in you purse or backpack) ruins your disk as well as the floppy disk drive of the campus computer.

If you need to use your files at home, we recommend that you use the email process (next topic) or use a USB "Key Disk" (flash disk, memory key). The computers in the Library Computer Lab in the Periodicals room have USB ports on the front of each computer tat will accept Key Disks. These are available at most retailers selling computer or office products.