SmartDisk Verbatim Titanium 2X USB 2.0 External Floppy Disk Drive FDUSB-TM2

I was looking for a floppy drive to use with my brand-new Win Vista 64-bit system and finally found a review here that stated this one would work with my operating system - and it does. After plugging it in, the hardware was instantly recognized and drivers were installed. I was ready to go in under a minute.I read somewhere here that the USB cable was extremely short but I don't think so. I just measured it and - excluding plugs - it is 24 inches. Of course if you are looking to plug this into the back of your computer and have it reside on your desk, it might be too short if the CPU is sitting under your desk. I am using it with a desktop USB hub and have plenty of cable to spare.Another plus: It actually works without having to be plugged into the CPU directly, i.e. it operates fine via the hub.The only thing I don't like all that much: the USB cable is non-removable and permanently connected to the drive, making it take up more room when taking it on the road than it would need if I could store the cable separately from the drive itself.Other than that: Great little "retro"-device :-) !

I'm sure this may work fine on an older Microsoft Product, or perhaps an earlier Mac OS. The product description (which I found was copied directly from the SmartDisk website) says, "works with Mac OSX 10.1 or greater". Mac is now up to 10.10 or greater -- and I use Yosemite. When I plugged the device in, it didn't even register as a drive, and when I attempted to find a driver, nothing was available for Mac -- only Microsoft (.exe files). So I'm sure the device WORKS great; also shipped fast, but not packaged very securely. Don't hold it against the seller -- it's mainly a fault in that the product is no longer supported.

Now that floppy drives are becoming an endangered species -- and an expensive one, with NYC stores asking $40 and up for an external drive -- it's handy to have a compact and inexpensive USB drive that can go from computer to computer like this one. At any rate, there's not much to say about this little SmartDisk drive except that it's fast and quiet. I did have minor install problems with my laptop, but the solution was to clean the USB male plug contacts. It's possible that my unit, though new, might have sat on a shelf for a while... Then the computer recognized the drive, and all was well. As others have pointed out, the "titanium" color is the gray you and I grew up with. Otherwise the unit appears to be well-built, the "in use" light glows brightly, and eject is sure and robust. A good little drive at a good price delivered to your door.

Does what you would expect a floppy drive to do with one exception: the floppy disk is difficult to remove. It doesn't really EJECT. In fact, it hardly budges when the eject button is pressed. I have to DIG IT OUT of the drive. Tweezers are handy as are long fingernails. Since it is only an occasional-use appliance, I can live with this. There is a certain security in knowing that one can read and write floppy disks and this unit provides that security. If I have to use it a lot, this drawback could be a significant problem.

My husband and I both got new CPUs recently. Neither came with the once ubiquitous floppy drive. Occasionally we still need to retrieve old data or flash a bios and the floppy drive makes it all so much easier. So for my machine I bought this usb external floppy drive. For my husband's machine I bought an internal drive. The out of pocket cost is about the same but the time and labor proved to be more than I wanted to spend on installing an internal drive. Unless you already have an internal drive harvested from an old machine and you have plenty of time to pop it in, buy this usb external floppy drive. Works great. Small form factor. Goes anywhere. Just plug it in and go to work.

Purchased from Amazon in October 2009. Installed easily and worked for about 8 weeks. Then started not working and giving odd error messages......drive not formatted, insert disk even when was in place, and etc. I went to all the trouble to contact Verbatim and was given DETAILED instructions about to get them to honor warranty......"product should have at least one inch of packaging on all sides"....Cushioning protection should be firm against the sides of the box so that it does not move....should not have direct contact with Styrofiam peanuts and other stuff". I did all that and suffered the expense of mailing it....waited 18 days for confirmation they had received it.....emailed several times and got stock reply which was the mailing instructions. Finally had to place a long distance call and spoke to a person with a minimal use of the English language. At first was told they had not received the damaged drive but then said he would make sure one got out in the mail to me....I received it today and it is a used but refurbished model....probably the one I sent. I'm very disappointed and will not buy Verbatim again.

Since my new computer didn't have a floppy drive, I was without any way to retrieve all those pictures of my family from the mid '90's. I would have them developed & put on a floppy. This was just what the Doctor ordered to save that data on newer technology...CD's/DVD's. All I did was plug it into a USB port & the WindowsXP program loaded... & I was off & running. I was able to save the data on 3 dozen floppy's without even a "burp" in the drive. I would recommend this for anyone with the same delema I was in...

Since I still use floppy disks it is handy to move from computer to computer. It is plug and play which saves time. The only gripe I have is the short cord makes an extension cord necessary on most computers.I have used this model for a few years and I purchased this one as a back up as the floppy disk is going the way of the dinosaur.

This is good value, works really well (the 2x speed is a bonus), and is extremely simple. I used mine with my Mac and didn't need the software supplied on a disc. I think only Windows 98 users need that. It comes withan attached USB cable that will reach behind your computer if you don't have ports on the front.Watch out if you have an unpowered USB hub because inevitably this needs more power than that will supply.And although it's called the Titanium edition, it's actually made of grey plastic.

There's not much I can say about this item apart from it's sold at a good price, it does its job, so could I wish for more?