Cambridge University Project Preserves Degrading Floppy Disks and Their Data

Cambridge University Libraries and Archives completed a preservation project focused on floppy disks, which face dual threats of physical degradation and loss of technical expertise. The magnetic iron oxide layers in floppy disks deteriorate over time, and disks stored in attics or garages are particularly vulnerable to mold damage. Talboom consulted with the retro computing community to recover tacit knowledge about handling these systems, discovering practical details such as how older disks can have their internal components stick to the casing. A major challenge in preservation is accessing files on disks from undocumented business and research systems, which lack the community support and documentation available for consumer machines like the Amstrad or BBC Micro. The project emphasizes active stewardship of stored data, including monitoring for bit rot and making decisions about migrating files to modern formats to ensure long-term accessibility.