Family photosMavica disks & photo CDs
Those Sony Mavica floppies and drugstore picture disks become a folder of JPGs you can share with the whole family.
Floppy disk recovery & conversion
Your files are still in there.
Floppies, Zip disks, 8-inch disks, word processor disks, old hard drives. We read the media your computer can't — and hand back files you can actually open.
01 — Inside the disk
We take it apart. (Figuratively.)
No USB drive guesswork. We use period-correct drives and flux-level imaging to read the magnetic surface directly — even disks your computer calls “unformatted.”
02 — Track by track
Every layer, every sector.
Mold, weak media, odd formats from computers that died in 1987. We've been rescuing data from all of it for almost two decades.
03 — Conversion included
Then we make it readable.
WordStar becomes Word. Lotus becomes Excel. Mavica photos become JPGs. Most conversions are free — you get files that open on today's Mac or PC.
You send your disks
We send you results.
Pricing from $16.95 a disk. No data recovered, no charge.
3.5" floppy ◆5.25" floppy ◆8" floppy ◆Zip 100/250/750 ◆Jaz ◆SyQuest ◆Bernoulli ◆SuperDisk ◆Magneto-optical ◆Apple II ◆Commodore 64 ◆Amiga ◆TRS-80 ◆Kaypro / CP/M ◆Brother WP ◆Smith-Corona ◆Wang ◆DEC RX50 ◆Mavica ◆CompactFlash ◆Hard drives ◆3.5" floppy ◆5.25" floppy ◆8" floppy ◆Zip 100/250/750 ◆Jaz ◆SyQuest ◆Bernoulli ◆SuperDisk ◆Magneto-optical ◆Apple II ◆Commodore 64 ◆Amiga ◆TRS-80 ◆Kaypro / CP/M ◆Brother WP ◆Smith-Corona ◆Wang ◆DEC RX50 ◆Mavica ◆CompactFlash ◆Hard drives ◆
~20 yrs
rescuing files from aging disks
40+
disk & drive types we can read
$0
if we can't recover anything*
Free
conversion for most file types
Windows✕
!
The disk in drive A: is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?
YesNo
Sound familiar?
Click “No.” Then send them to us.
A $20 USB floppy drive can read some newer PC disks. It can't read 720K disks, Mac disks, Apple II, Commodore, word processor disks, or anything that's started to fade — and it will cheerfully offer to erase them. We use the right drive for every disk and read the magnetic signal directly.
- ✓Any disk, any computer — 1970s through 2000s
- ✓Files converted to formats you can open today
- ✓Pay only for disks we successfully recover
How it works
Four steps. No tech skills.
- 01
Request a quote
Tell us what computer the disks came from and how many you have. We reply with a price and mailing instructions.
- 02
Mail your disks
A padded envelope works for a few disks; a small box for more. We'll tell you exactly where to send them.
- 03
We recover & convert
We read every disk and convert old documents, spreadsheets and photos into formats you can open today.
- 04
Download your files
Pay by PayPal or check and get a private download link. Add a USB stick or CD if you'd like something to hold.
TIP — A few disks? Rubber-band them to a piece of cardboard and use a padded envelope. No packing peanuts for hard drives.
What people send us
It's never really about the disk.
Family photos
WritersManuscripts & letters
Brother, Smith-Corona, Canon and Wang word processor disks turned into Word files — formatting intact as much as possible.
GenealogyFamily trees
Family Tree Maker, PAF and Sierra Generations databases converted to GEDCOM so today's genealogy apps can open them.
Business & archives8-inch & obscure media
DEC, IBM Displaywriter, CP/M and other rarities from offices, labs and estates. If it spins, ask us.
More than a copy
Old file in. Modern file out.
Copying the bits is only half the job. A WordStar file opened in Word looks like gibberish. We convert hundreds of word processing, spreadsheet, graphics and database formats so they open on the Mac or PC you own today. Most conversions cost nothing extra.
See every format we convertFromTo
WordStar 2000→Word (.docx)
WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS→Word (.docx)
Lotus 1-2-3→Excel (.xlsx)
ClarisWorks / AppleWorks→Word & Excel
Sony Mavica floppy→JPEG photos
Aldus PageMaker→PDF
Family Tree Maker→GEDCOM
Yamaha Clavinova disk→MIDI
Straightforward pricing
Priced per disk. Posted right here.
TIER 1$16.95per disk
PC floppies
Windows / PC / MS-DOS 3.5" disks + 1 more
TIER 2$19.95per disk
Mac, 5.25" & Zip
Mac 3.5" — 400K, 800K, 1.44MB + 4 more
TIER 3$24.95per disk
CDs, cards & vintage
CDs (Windows, Mac, Linux) + 6 more
TIER 4$33.95per disk
8", DVDs & cartridges
Any 8" floppy + 7 more
TIER 5$79.95per disk
Hard drives
PC / Mac and laptop hard drives + 1 more
Two-disk minimum. *Blank or unreadable disks aren't charged (down to the minimum), and if nothing can be recovered and we securely dispose of the media, you owe nothing. Volume pricing for 25+ disks.
The bench
Period-correct drives. Modern tools.
8-inch, 5.25", 3.5", Zip, Jaz, SyQuest, magneto-optical — the original hardware, paired with modern flux imaging to rescue what other tools give up on.
For the DIY crowd
ADTPro cables, adapters & disks
Null-modem cables for Apple II and ///, FTDI USB-to-serial adapters, ADTPro boot disks, Tandy PDD utilities and sealed blank 5.25" disks.
Shop products →How much does it cost?+
Pricing is per disk, from $16.95 for a standard PC floppy, with a two-disk minimum. Converting common word processing, spreadsheet and photo files is included. We don't charge for disks that turn out to be blank or unreadable (down to the two-disk minimum), and if we can't retrieve anything at all and you don't want the disks back, you owe nothing.
What if you can't read my disks?+
Disks do deteriorate — some grow mold (really!) and some are simply cursed, like the Zip click-of-death. If nothing is readable and we securely dispose of the media, you owe nothing. If you want them back, you pay only the return shipping you were quoted. If some disks work and some don't, you pay only for the ones that worked (two-disk minimum if at least one is viable).
Where do I send my disks?+
Request a quote first. Once we know what you have and what you'd like back, we email a quote and mailing instructions with our address. We focus on spinning computer media — we don't handle tape — so this step keeps expectations right before you head to the post office.
How do I package my disks?+
One or two disks: rubber-band them to a piece of cardboard and drop them in a padded or manila envelope. More than five or six: use a cardboard box and bundle the disks (bubble wrap, a zip bag, paper) so they can't slide around. Hard drives need stiff padding — dense foam or small-bubble wrap, never packing peanuts.
How will I receive my results?+
After your invoice is settled (PayPal, or a check drawn on a US bank), we send a download link to a zip of your results from a RetroFloppy-owned server. Results over 1GB come through a private Dropbox link. You can add a CD or USB stick if you prefer something physical.
Got a box of old disks?
Tell us what you have. We'll reply with a quote and mailing instructions — quotes are good for 90 days.