formatting 720 kb floppy diskettes

Question

can anyone tell me if you can format 720 kb diskettes in a dell Demension 4300. If so How? it formats 1.44mb diskettes but not 720kb diskettes.

Denny Denham · Answer

deakie, You can't do it under Windows XP. Earlier versions of Windows offered the 720K option.

Majestic · Answer

Deakie, an alternative to using Windows is to use MS-DOS.   Click here for BootDisk.com's web site and download the DOS 6.22 program to your hard drive.  Then run the program from your hard drive to create a boot disk.  On that boot disk will be the MS-DOS 6.22 version of format.com.  Then just reboot your computer with the boot disk in the floppy drive and the system will boot up from the floppy to the MS-DOS command prompt.  At the command prompt type   format a: /f:720   and press ENTER.  The format program will then prompt you to format a floppy so then switch to the floppy disk you want formatted in 720 and let the formatting begin.

osprey4 · Answer

I might print this thread out since it's likely to be the last reference to 720kB floppies I see for the rest of my life. :)

deakie · Answer

thanks for the heads up on 720 k floppy.

Majestic · Answer

@osprey4 wrote:
I might print this thread out since it's likely to be the last reference to 720kB floppies I see for the rest of my life. :)

And to think some day we will be saying this about flash drives. :smileyvery-happy:

gtluther · Answer

Hats off to you..amazing how older hi tech computer users forget the early days when DOS was king....This $5000 Dell wouldn't format a floppy in Vista...however with your help, command; then format a: /f:720 worked Great!

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