Are floppy disks safe to store wallets?

[martinacar]

This would be pretty smart if you ask me, I think this could work out and it would be safe, the most computers/laptops does not support this even anymore.

[CryptoBjorn]

I would not recommend to depend on a floppy disk to save your life savings. They don't seem to be reliable and I am worried it would even be sufficient to store more information/addresses on it.
When it comes to safety why try to reinvent the wheel? Trezor is the best and probably the safest way to store small and large amounts of bitcoin.

[sishendaoye]

I would not recommend to depend on a floppy disk to save your life savings. They don't seem to be reliable and I am worried it would even be sufficient to store more information/addresses on it.
When it comes to safety why try to reinvent the wheel? Trezor is the best and probably the safest way to store small and large amounts of bitcoin.

Exactly, there is no way I would put my money at risk using an oldskool device like a floppy disk. Just hink about how fast they can be broken? Sure Sony is a good brand but we are talking about your money here. Why risk it?

[n691309]

There are some floppy disks that can hold 128GB of data like this one, and i would suggest you to make a floppy disk like this by using an SD card and store the wallet but don't forget to make also another copy:

[cjmoles]

Ah, forgive my ignorance, but what the hell is a floppy disk?  It doesn't sound like a very safe mechanism to store such a valuable asset....I mean, just the name, "floppy," sounds insecure!  If we're going that far back into the past, I think that a punch card would be more effective.  Why not use a bunch of electron tube R-S flip flops?  That might do the trick also.

[RealBitcoin]

Short answer: No.

Floppy disk is very delicate, i just have a few of them sitting in my old shelf, they are all 20+ years old and they dont work.

A tiny scratch or anything will just make it unreadable, probably doest last longer than half year if you use it regulardly, but even if you just keep it in a box it can deteriorate.

Better just keep it on CD or a  USB.

[jacobmayes94]

I guess no one would think to look on a floppy disk for a wallet, but no. I had countless floppies go bad, many are still good, but flash memory and CD-Rs are much more robust, or better yet, paper wallets.

[The_prodigy]

There are some floppy disks that can hold 128GB of data like this one, and i would suggest you to make a floppy disk like this by using an SD card and store the wallet but don't forget to make also another copy:

I never heard that floppy disk now can put sd card inside of floppy disk.. But for me its still not recommended because life span of sd card is limited so its  not recommended.. maybe this link will help http://superuser.com/questions/17350/whats-the-life-expectancy-of-an-sd-card
To know sd card have a limited life span..

[n691309]

There are some floppy disks that can hold 128GB of data like this one, and i would suggest you to make a floppy disk like this by using an SD card and store the wallet but don't forget to make also another copy:

[/img]http://core1.staticworld.net/images/article/2016/02/sd-card-floppy-drive-100647369-large.png[/img]

I never heard that floppy disk now can put sd card inside of floppy disk.. But for me its still not recommended because life span of sd card is limited so its  not recommended.. maybe this link will help http://superuser.com/questions/17350/whats-the-life-expectancy-of-an-sd-card
To know sd card have a limited life span..

This is a self made floppy disk by modifiying the real floppy disk and integrate SD card into it, (who will think it isn't a floppy disk?)
Btw, i do not recommend to have only one backup but multiple backups, btw SD cards can hold data at something like 10 years or more sitting idle.

Here's the link how to make a similar floppy disk using SD card: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3038787/computers/sd-card-hack-breathes-new-life-into-this-old-floppy-drive.html

[Altynbekova]

I think we can consider them as good for sure, its of course old but I think it can be good for sure.
Hardware wallets can be compared with it if you ask me because its in the same category in my eyes.

[yayayo]

Floppy disks are widely believed to be fragile storage mediums. However the question is, if usb sticks or CDs are any better. I'm not sure at all, if you would have been able to recover data from these mediums after 15 years. However at least CDs offer protection against magnetic fields, which can be a serious problem for floppy discs.

Regardless of the electronic medium used, another problem is the future availability of devices that are compatible/can read these mediums (as you have experienced).

Long story, short recommendation: For long term storage, use paper wallets. Or even better engrave the private keys into precious metal bars...

ya.ya.yo!

[Wapinter]

Your computer hard drive last much longer than this if you store data in it and keep it as cold storage in a climate controlled
environment

[DavidoAlto]

Floppy disks are widely believed to be fragile storage mediums. However the question is, if usb sticks or CDs are any better. I'm not sure at all, if you would have been able to recover data from these mediums after 15 years. However at least CDs offer protection against magnetic fields, which can be a serious problem for floppy discs.

Regardless of the electronic medium used, another problem is the future availability of devices that are compatible/can read these mediums (as you have experienced).

Long story, short recommendation: For long term storage, use paper wallets. Or even better engrave the private keys into precious metal bars...

ya.ya.yo!

Offcourse I agree with you. There is no way like the milky way, and if you are looking for a bite, get yourself a snickers.
The same applies for your private keys. If you want security for your important private buy an adequate device which is meant for that sole goal. If you want to store some less important information then do what you please...

Bing - Bang - Bong

[Raimonn]

I remember lot of corruption problems on floppys, i would not recommend using it. Could be a problem to find a computer to read them now, in next years could be a big problem find a reader. But on another hand, no one will stole you a floppy disk, they would not know what this is.

[LiberOptions]

I wouldn't use them if I were you. Floppy disks always had a lot of problems back in the times they were used, now if you want to use them just stick an SD card into one of them, and they will be safe even for crypto walltes.

[btccashacc]

No, it's better to keep your bitcoin safe on usb or cd, I would not recommend to storing your bitcoin on floppy disk, iam worry if in  future we can't find the readers or something happened with the ploffy disk distruction, unreadable, or something else better to using other device like peoples mentioned above

[pooya87]

i think it is just a matter of preference in this case mostly because of lack of access to floppy disk and floppy drive at this day and age. and as long as you are aware of the risks involved and you are keeping multiple copies and especially a paper back up you are safe.
the wiki link that Holliday gave you has some good information about different devices and how they lose data over time

[Wendigo]

Floppy disks are not safe to store your Bitcoin wallets on them. You can lose your data if they are subjected to magnetic interference. One interesting fact that I found about floppy disks is that the magnetic storage can last as long as 10 to 20 years. If you are interested in knowing more about different storage devices have a look at this nice article comparing a list of them:

http://www.storagecraft.com/blog/data-storage-lifespan/

Here is the conclusion:

Media    Estimated Lifespan
Magnetic data (tapes)    10-20 years
Nintendo cartridge    Up to 10 years
Floppy disk    10-20 years
CDs and DVDs    5-10 unrecorded, 2-5 recorded
Blu-Ray    Not certain, probably over 2-5 recorded
M-Disc    1,000 years (theoretically)
Hard disk    3-5 years
Flash storage    5-10 years or more (depends on write cycles)

[Harpua]

Floppy disks are widely believed to be fragile storage mediums. However the question is, if usb sticks or CDs are any better. I'm not sure at all, if you would have been able to recover data from these mediums after 15 years. However at least CDs offer protection against magnetic fields, which can be a serious problem for floppy discs.

Regardless of the electronic medium used, another problem is the future availability of devices that are compatible/can read these mediums (as you have experienced).

Long story, short recommendation: For long term storage, use paper wallets. Or even better engrave the private keys into precious metal bars...

ya.ya.yo!

Exactly... I really don't understand the point of this thread except for people trying to have a bit of nostalgia while reusing their old floppy discs...

But the point is, is that in the end, the most probable scenario is that it is going to be antiquated and the ability to use your floppy disc isn't going to be readily accessible in the future.

Plus it's really no different than using your USB device to save your wallets and stuff like that.  So in my mind, it's rather pointless. 

[mkc]

This is hilarious. Okay first I can guess how old are you now. Second I will say, a piece of paper last for ever, even exposed to a magnet.