Digital Archaeology and/or Forensics: Working with Floppy Disks from the 1980s

Abstract

While software originating from the domain of digital forensics has demonstrated utility for data recovery from contemporary storage media, it is not as effective for working with floppy disks from the 1980s. This paper details alternative strategies for recovering data from floppy disks employing software originating from the software preservation and retro computing communities. Imaging hardware, storage formats and processing workflows are also discussed.