Win98 Floppy to XP Pro

I have XP Pro SP2.

I want to open a floppy disk I made on an old computer when I had Windows 98. XP won't let me open it because it says the floppy is not formatted. If I say yes to format the disk, it tells me it will wipe off all content.

I know the floppy isn't damaged. I have the document backed up on three floppies and none of them will open.

Any suggestions on how I can access the document?

I'm not technically inclined so the solution will have to be very simple and explained in detail.

 

Just because you have 3 disks doesn't make them good. The drive that wrote them could of been going south or the drive your using to read them is.
Try a different drive.
Try to recover the data with software like..
http://www.pcinspector.de/default.htm?language=1

 

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't 98 in the FAT32 format instead of NTFS?

 

Thank you all for your replies.

I'm sorry, I should have said the document was text made in Word 2000, which I still use.

I've run Search but it couldn't find anything. I don't think the document was ever on this computer, just saved on floppies from my old computer. If that's the case, I don't think installing pcinspector would help, would it?

I'm lost when it comes to deciding which was FAT32 and NTFS.

 

Floppys are not formatted in FAT32 or NTFS so this is not relevant. Also, XP can read both of these formats.

 

Thanks, that gives me a bit of relief.

But it's odd how XP can't open the floppies. I can accept that one might be damaged, but not three.

 

Sometimes it's ------- magic.

Determined to prove my disks weren't damaged, I inserted and opened several made at the same time. Then I put the disk I needed back into the drive and it opened! Who knows why! Maybe trying the other disks jerked something into place.

I have my document on this computer now.

Many thanks to all who helped me. :-D

 

Please pardon me for butting in, but I believe that FAT32 and NTFS have nothing to do with your floppy problem. I think that most floppies were formatted with FAT12. If wrong, I'm sure that other members will advise of such.

The problem that you are experiencing is due to the read/write head alignment on the computer that originally made the floppies. While it created the disks and could read them, another floppy drive in another computer ( regardless of OS ) might not be able to do so because read/write heads are aligned differently. If you still have the original floppy drive that created the disks, then you may be in luck!

 

Thanks Novice.

I hadn't used the floppy A drive for a while. When I inserted several other disks and opened them, I must have dislodged dust or something because, all of a sudden, the disk I wanted opened for me.

Now my computer is even more of a mystery to me.