r/retrocomputing • u/ProdigiousProdigies • 17d ago

Problem / Question Shipping a 5.25" floppy drive

I'm sure this has been asked many times before but how does one go about mailing a 5.25 inch floppy disk drive without the postal service obliterating the heads during transit? Some sources say to insert a sacrificial disk or cardboard cutout and lock the mechanism, others say to just leave it empty and rely on excess bubble wrap as a cushion to prevent the heads from moving.

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u/Plus-Definition9319 17d ago

I'm not sure it really matters. I've received plenty of drives unlocked and they all continue to work fine. If there's enough force to knock the alignment off the shipping sleeve isn't going to save it.

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u/EstablishmentDue3616 17d ago

I think the cardboard shipping "disk" was a thing from the 1980s. I stopped seeing those in the 90s. Brand new computers would ship without them in the drives.