Virtual Floppy Drive 2.1
This is a virtual floppy drive for Windows, developed by Ken Kato since 2003, and abandoned by him in 2008.
Now, compatible with 64-bit Windows, incl. Windows 10!
You can mount a floppy image file as a virtual floppy drive and directly access the contents — view, edit, rename, delete or create files on a virtual floppy, format a virtual floppy, launch a program on a virtual floppy… almost anything you can do with a real floppy.
FILES and DIRECTORIES
.\cmd\ VFD.EXE program source and VC++ project file
.\gui\ VFDWIN.EXE program source and VC++ project file
.\inc\ Files shared between user mode programs and the driver
.\lib\ VFD.DLL library source and VC++ project file
.\sys\ VFD.SYS driver source and DDK makefile
.\vfd.vcxproj wrapper VC++ project to build all vfd programms at once
.\vfd.sln VC++ workspace file
BUILD
User mode programs:
Use the .\vfd.sln workspace file
Requirements:
-
Microsoft Visual C++
- Compatible with Visual C++ 2019
- If you can convert the project files, you should be able to use
other compilers
-
Preferably the latest Windows Platform SDK.
Kernel mode driver:
Run the BUILD DDK utility from the .\sys\ subdirectory
Requirements:
- Microsoft Windows DDK
- Windows 2000 DDK or Windows XP DDK preferred,
although Windows NT DDK should also be OK.
- Windows 2000 DDK or Windows XP DDK preferred,
FAQ & known issues (including unconfirmed)
-
Super FAQ: NTFS compressed/encrypted files cannot be mounted directly. It is intentional to avoid the Windows cache manager dead lock.
-
Super FAQ: Current VFD can not create image from or save to actual floppy disk. Use programs like WinImage or RawWriteWin for that purpose.
-
Windows XP Explorer shows virtual drives as removable drives, not as floppy drives. Also it shows a 5.25″ floppy icon if a virtual drive is A: or B:, and a removable drive icon otherwise. I’d say it’s a bug of the Explorer. Other properly designed programs won’t have any such problem.
-
Windows XP Explorer sometimes doesn’t respond properly when you add / change drive letters of virtual drives. I think it’s also an Explorer bug, because the same thing happens when I change drive letters of a hard drive, a CD drive, etc. Restart the Explorer or, if that fails, log off and log on again and the the virtual drives will be recognized correctly.
-
Windows Explorer’s check disk does not work with VFD drives.
Use command line CHKDSK.EXE instead. -
Changing a virtual media between 3.5″ and 5.25″ does not update the drive type display of the Explorer. It’s just cosmetic. Any programs which have to distinguish them should recognize the drive type correctly.
-
Some programs (especially old ones) assume floppy drives to be either A: or B:. If certain programs don’t recognize a VFD drive, try changing the drive letter to A: or B:.
-
Windows 2000/XP sometimes assign conflicting drive letters, especially with removable devices such as USB drives and network drives. If a VFD drive suddenly becomes unaccessible, try changing the drive letter.
-
Conflict with swapfs (http://www.acc.umu.se/~bosse/) is reported by Suzu. (unconfirmed)
-
Some users have reported gradual system slow down and eventual lock up while copying a large amount of data to/from virtual drives. (unconfirmed)
VFD – представляет собой виртуальный Floppy-дисковод, в который можно вставлять образы дискет следующих форматов: .BIN, .DAT, .FDD, .FLP, .IMA, .IMG, .VFD.
Программа позволяет создавать одновременно, ни один, а целых два виртуальных устройства, в которые можно вставлять свои образы и полнофункционально работать с ними.
Чтобы приступить к работе, нужно распаковать утилиту, запустить, установить через интерфейс служебный драйвер. После чего, нужно активировать флоппи-приводы (на скриншоте, вкладки Drive0 и Drive1), путём присвоения букв-дисков и вставить образы, с помощью кнопки Open/Create.
При необходимости, утилита может интегрироваться в контекстное меню Windows, для последующего упрощения вставки образов.
Можно активировать режим защиты от записи, чтобы данные в образах, случайно не перезаписались из-за неосторожных действий или под воздействием вредоносных программ.
Как заявляет разработчик, утилита совместима со следующими операционными системами: Windows NT / 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista / Windows 7. Причём, для X64-систем, нужно использовать другую версию служебного драйвера, который следует взять из архива vfd-x64-critical0. Лично я не проверял работу программы на 64-битной системе, но пишут, что предварительно нужно отключить проверку цифровой подписи драйверов. На Windows XP, никаких танцев с бубном не надо.
СКАЧАТЬ \ DOWNLOAD
Virtual Floppy Drive v1.01 ; vfd.rar; size: 59 326 bytes
Virtual Floppy Drive v2.1 ; vfd21-080206.rar; size: 126 588 bytes
Virtual Floppy Drive v1.01 Source ; vfdsrc.rar; size: 67 406 bytes
Virtual Floppy Drive v2.1 Source ; vfdsrc-080206.rar; size: 137 209 bytes
Virtual Floppy Drive x64-critical0 ; vfd-x64-critical0.rar; size: 7 807 bytes
<- ВЕРНУТЬСЯ НАЗАД, К ДРУГИМ УТИЛИТАМ ДЛЯ ФЛЭШЕК
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive is a program that does exactly what it sounds like. It’s a program that creates a virtual floppy drive on your computer so you can access, view, edit and rename files on that virtual floppy. Now I know what you are probably thinking. Who on earth would need a floppy drive let alone a virtual one? It is a good question and the answer is just about anyone. While floppy drives might be a thing of the past, there is content that is only available via the floppy drive. With Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive you can access those files without the need for extra hardware.
Features:
- Free to use.
- Open source that you can edit and improve on.
- Eliminate the need for actual hardware.
- Create,delete,edit and view content
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive allows you to access those really classic programs that are unable to be used on modern systems because of coding issues. In addition to that floppy drives are much better suited for data transfers and data storage. Now you might be thinking, why not just use a USB drive. However, the fact of the matter is a USB file can actually become corrupt for no reason. Transferring files via floppy actually secure your files without issue. Most people that have never used a floppy drive don’t know this little fun fact. Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive ultimately will be used by people who want to access certain programs and store things for a few days at a time. The Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive program really shines with its ability to create and edit on the fly. Most files are not able to be modified at all when they are stored on CD or DVD’s but when you use Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive you no longer have that problem.
Mount image files on your computer in seconds.
Operating System: Windows 7/8/8.1/10
Minimum 1GB RAM required
Must have 50MB free disk space
Requires .NET Framework 4.0 or higher
Allows emulation of floppy drives on modern systems.
Simple to install and use.
Supports multiple file formats.
Limited support for newer operating systems.
Lacks advanced features compared to competitors.
Not user-friendly interface for beginners.
Caleb
Tue, Dec 26, 2023
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive is an app that creates a virtual floppy drive on your computer so you can access, view, edit and rename files on that virtual floppy. The app gives you a possibility to access those really classic programs that are unable to be used on modern systems because of coding issues. It might seem surprising, but it turns out that floppy drives are much better suited for data transfers and data storage. And transferring files via floppy actually secures your files without any issue. Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive makes it really easy to manage files in a floppy format so that you can view the files seamlessly. It’s a must have tool if you work with legacy software. The app requires 32bit or 64bit versions of Windows between Windows XP and 7.Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive might become the only image mounting software you’ll ever want to use.
👨💻️ USER REVIEWS AND COMMENTS 💬
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Abel Reyes
I can finally use my old school geek game from my old fashion and useless 90’s PC computer, I am just atonic about this, I though i would never be able to play this again , i can just play them without even have them physically, i just mount this virtual floppy disc drive, download some old school games and good to go, this is just easy as that, i love this, this bring me back to the early 90, the best time of my life.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
sam dow
Mount image files on your computer in seconds.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Evan
Lim
Great! This product makes virtual floppys easier to manipulate and use. This product makes it really really easy to manage files in floppy format so that you can view the files seamlessly! Thank you to the designers of this amazing software!
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Scott
I have been looking for virtual drives for an x86, this one was easy to navigate and the instructions weren’t complicated. I’ve tried to use two other programs like this and I couldn’t figure either of them out, their GUI was cluttered and required me to dive into my deep computer files just so I could mount an image. This program however I could figure out in seconds. This is the only image mounting software I ever want to use.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Jamie
This software is good for all situations in which you need the floppy drive to be emulated. Many of the older applications still require this, and modern machines no longer have floppy drives. For anyone working with legacy software, this is a good tool to use.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Archie
Be Detailed Floppy drive And Friendly Product It Is Very Wonder To Mount Image Files Its Really Likable. Windows NT,2000,XP,2003. Its Just Feel Me Slightly Upset And My Opinion Is This Floppy Drive Available To All OS Latest version of this Drive Very Likable Overall I Like It Very Much.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Callum
This product will hold any info needed. Such as editing or creating files. You can even store photos you no longer have room for on Virtual Floppy drive.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
John
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive for Windows is an incredibly useful tool for those who like to fiddle around with virtual machines. This piece of software allows you to mount image files (*.img) onto a virtual floppy drive and use it like it were a normal one! This piece of software works with both 32bit and 64bit versions of windows between windows XP and 7.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Harry
Simplified is a complex and user friendly virtual floopy drive that sets up image files as a brand new resource that can be browse on any computer with a Windows.
the softer it is easy to use and you can mount a floppy image file into a virtual drive and you have direct access to the content. The option are limitless, you can view, edit, delete, rename and the most important you can create filler in a virtual floppy and launch programs. I highly recommend this software and I am sure you will not regret.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Cole
Remembering the nostalgic floppy drives
VFD is software that is used to mount image files as a browsable computer resource.
This is open-source software that comes as a zip package and we just need to extract it to any folder.
It has the feature to directly access the contents in it and we can create, edit, view, rename and delete.
We can do anything which we used to do on a physical floppy disk.
Since this comes in a zip package, it’s very easy to use without installing.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Leo
The floppy drive is an iconic device which wowed many initially. The simplified virtual floppy device can recreate that project in real time. Windows is the OS for the software program which is being installed. Get familiar with the basic tools and how to run software on it. That can be a best bet for a lot of people in the know. The tech is useful for many various projects as well.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Jamie
This simplified virtual floppy dive is pretty much just like a floppy drive from back in the day, the main difference is that it’s virtual. You can do all of the same things such as view, edit, rename, delete and much more. I feel it just makes everything so much easier because it’s all in one place. This virtual drive can also be used on multiple operating systems with no additional requirements.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Sean
Floppy device is one of the old version of CDs,DVDs and external USB readers storage purposes for Windows. Nowadays it is still not working manner because all the people mostly used the pen drive ,Bluetooth, and other smart devices. It is one of the expiry hardware of game installation and storage saver purposes of windows system. It is a computer hard drive for storing the file of disk images.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Kai
We can use the virtual floppy drive as mounts image files, we can directly access the contents also we can edit, view, rename ext using this virtual floppy drive.The virtual floppy drive can do anything like a real floppy drive. It helps to do things easily that we need. The virtual floppy drive makes things siple and easy for us. We can do easily some of our work that is very complex.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Aaron
Never knew there was such a program completely free to use as the Simplified Floppy Drive. I’m so glad I downloaded it. I am able to launch a program, access the contents, view, edit, rename, create, delete and format files on the virtual floppy. I’m able to do almost anything with it. I recommend this as it practically eliminate the need for actual hardware.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Isaac
I love using Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive for Windows because it makes it so easy to create a new resource that my computer then immediately recognizes as something that can be quickly browsed and searched. As a result, it’s made file and data organization so much more accessible to me since it helps me stay on top of my data management.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Cameron Partido
Virtual Floppy Drive is a free utility that emulates a physical floppy drive, allowing users to access floppy disk image files (.img, .ima, and .dsk) as if they were real floppy disks. It is compatible with most Windows operating systems.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Arran Ballot
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive is a great tool which makes it easy to access files stored on floppy disks. It has a simple interface and is easy to use. I had no difficulties creating a virtual drive and transferring files onto it. It is very convenient to be able to access old disks. The software works as expected and did not cause any slowdowns or crashes. I would suggest that it would be good to have an option to make the virtual drive read-only, as a security measure. Also, it would be great if the software could provide an option to create simulated disks.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
William M*********w
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive is an easy-to-use application. It was easy to install and set up, so I got my floppy drive working on my modern PC quickly. I also found the number of supported formats to be impressive. I did have some stability issues when using the software, but overall it performed as expected.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Oliver Z******h
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive was surprisingly easy to install and use. The interface was intituitive and the features worked as expected.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Josh Groesser
This softwre is really usefull for creating virtual floppy disk images, I have been using it for a while and it’s quite conveneinet and esay to use.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Luke R.
I found Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive software to be user-friendly and easy to use, with clear instructions provided throughout the installation process. The software also appeared to be stable and reliable in operation.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Caleb S*******m
The Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive software allows users to create and manage virtual floppy disks, providing a useful tool for those working with legacy systems or software.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Mason
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive (VFD) is a robust software that enables the creation and mounting of virtual floppy drives on Windows. The software’s key feature lies in its ability to use image files from your hard drive as if they were real floppy disks, providing a seamless experience in accessing or transferring data from them.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Max
Ideal for creating virtual drives, it was easy to use with quick setup and intuitive interface.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Robert
Efficient tool for creating disk images.
image/svg+xmlBotttsPablo Stanleyhttps://bottts.com/Florian Körner
Cole
Efficient, easy-to-use emulation tool.
Simplified Virtual Floppy Drive: Super handy for old-school file transfers!
Easily transfer files to virtual floppy disk 📁📄🖥️
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Floppy disks are things of the past, but if for some reason you need to use a floppy disk, today we’re going to show you how to create a virtual floppy disk on Windows 10.
Before USB flash drives and DVDs, the only way to transfer files was a floppy disk. Floppy disks were used for data transfer in 80’s and early 90’s, but they got replaced by CDs and USB flash drives.
It’s safe to say that floppy disks are old technology, and most modern computers don’t have a floppy drive available. Since modern computers don’t have a floppy drive, the only way to access floppy disk is to use a floppy disk image also known as a virtual floppy disk.
What is a virtual floppy disk and how can I use it?
Virtual floppy disk works in a similar way as CD or DVD image file. You create a virtual copy of a floppy disk on your computer or download one, mount the virtual floppy disk, and you can use it without any problems.
There are tools such as Power ISO that will allow you to create a floppy disk image from files on your computer, but at the same time, this tool can make bootable images from floppy disks.
In order to make a disk image from an actual floppy disk, you’ll need a computer that has a floppy drive or an external floppy drive that connects to your computer via USB port.
- Download now PowerISO
- Buy now PowerISO full clean version
Another tool that can help you create virtual floppy disks is Magic ISO Maker, and it works in a similar way as Power ISO. We also have to mention ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver that allows you to create virtual hard disks or virtual floppy disks. This tool allows you to store virtual drives into your RAM, which has its advantages, such as quick access, and you can use this tool for recovery as well.
It’s safe to say that ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver isn’t intended for basic users, but it’s one of the most powerful applications if you need to create floppy disk images.
As for floppy disk images, they are stored as .img files on your computer, and you can mount them just like any .iso file, simply by right-clicking it and choosing Mount from the menu.
As you can see, creating virtual floppy disks isn’t that simple, because floppy disks aren’t being used anymore, so you might want to consider switching from floppy disks to CDs or USB flash drives.
If you want to read more about floppy disks, we have covered floppy disk support on Windows 10, so you might want to read that as well.
[wl_navigator]
Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.
- The content is about how to use floppy disk drives in Windows 10.
- The content also provides an example of how to use WinImage as a tool to create and use virtual floppy disk drives in Windows 10.
Floppy disks are a type of removable storage media that were widely used in the past, but have become obsolete in the modern era. However, some people may still have old floppy disks that contain important data or software that they want to access on their Windows 10 computers. In this article, we will show you how to use floppy disk drives in Windows 10, both physical and virtual.
Table of Contents
- What Are Floppy Disk Drives?
- How to Use Physical Floppy Disk Drives in Windows 10
- How to Use Virtual Floppy Disk Drives in Windows 10
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Question: Can I use a 5.25-inch or an 8-inch floppy disk drive in Windows 10?
- Question: Can I use a USB flash drive instead of a floppy disk?
- Question: How can I read the data on my floppy disks if they are corrupted or damaged?
- Summary
What Are Floppy Disk Drives?
A floppy disk drive (FDD) is a device that reads and writes data to a floppy disk, which is a thin and flexible magnetic disk enclosed in a plastic case. Floppy disks come in different sizes, such as 8-inch, 5.25-inch, and 3.5-inch. The most common type is the 3.5-inch floppy disk, which can store up to 1.44 MB of data.
Floppy disk drives were once standard equipment on most computers, but they have been replaced by other storage devices that have higher capacity and speed, such as USB flash drives, memory cards, optical discs, and cloud storage. Most modern computers do not have built-in floppy disk drives, but they can still be connected externally via USB ports.
How to Use Physical Floppy Disk Drives in Windows 10
If you have an old physical floppy disk drive that you can attach to your computer, you will need to download and install the latest driver from the Windows Update website or the manufacturer’s website. To do this, follow these steps:
- Connect the floppy disk drive to your computer via a USB port.
- Open the Device Manager by pressing Windows + X and selecting Device Manager from the menu.
- Locate the floppy disk drive under Disk drives or Other devices and right-click on it.
- Select Update driver from the context menu and choose Search automatically for updated driver software.
- Wait for Windows to find and install the driver for your floppy disk drive.
- If Windows cannot find the driver automatically, you can try to download it manually from the Windows Update website or the manufacturer’s website and follow the instructions to install it.
- Once the driver is installed, you can access your floppy disk drive from File Explorer or any other program that supports removable storage devices.
How to Use Virtual Floppy Disk Drives in Windows 10
A virtual floppy disk drive is a software program that emulates a physical floppy disk drive and allows you to create and use virtual floppy disks as files on your hard disk. Virtual floppy disks can be useful for running old software or games that require a floppy disk, or for transferring data between virtual machines or emulators.
There are several free tools that let you create and use virtual floppy disk drives in Windows 10, such as WinImage, Virtual Floppy Drive, and ImDisk Toolkit. Here is an example of how to use WinImage to create and use a virtual floppy disk drive in Windows 10:
- Download WinImage from its official website and install it on your computer.
- Run WinImage and click File > New to create a new virtual floppy disk image file.
- Choose the size and format of your virtual floppy disk and click OK.
- A new window will open with an empty virtual floppy disk. You can drag and drop files from your computer to the virtual floppy disk, or use the toolbar buttons to perform various operations on it.
- When you are done with your virtual floppy disk, click File > Save As to save it as an image file with a .ima or .img extension.
- To use your virtual floppy disk on another program or device, you can either mount it as a virtual drive using WinImage or another tool, or write it to a physical floppy disk using WinImage or another tool.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Question: Can I use a 5.25-inch or an 8-inch floppy disk drive in Windows 10?
Answer: Yes, but you will need a special adapter or controller card to connect them to your computer, as well as a compatible driver and software. These devices are rare and expensive nowadays, so it may not be worth the hassle.
Question: Can I use a USB flash drive instead of a floppy disk?
Answer: Yes, most modern programs and devices support USB flash drives as removable storage devices. However, some old programs or games may require a floppy disk to run properly, in which case you can try using a virtual floppy disk instead.
Question: How can I read the data on my floppy disks if they are corrupted or damaged?
Answer: You can try using a data recovery software like MiniTool Power Data Recovery to scan your floppy disks and recover any lost or deleted files from them. However, this may not work if your floppy disks are physically damaged beyond repair.
Summary
In this article, we have shown you how to use floppy disk drives in Windows 10, both physical and virtual. Floppy disks are outdated storage media that have been replaced by newer and better technologies, but they may still contain valuable data or software that you want to access on your Windows 10 computer. You can use an external USB floppy disk drive or a virtual floppy disk drive to read and write data to floppy disks in Windows 10, but you may also need to deal with compatibility and format issues.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. We are not responsible for any data loss or damage that may occur from using the methods or tools mentioned in this article. Always backup your data before performing any operations on your floppy disks or drives.