Is my floppy fixable or is it over?

[reflexblue]

I accidentally my 5.25in DOS floppy in my bag. I had just picked it up off marketplace alongside a very cool IBM PC clone. It was in a protective sleeve but it still got crunched severely. I didn't put it in a hard sleeve because I didn't have one at the time, only the paper sleeve that I bought it in. Also I'm stupid. Should I hold a funeral at this point or is there anything I can do?

 

[krebizfan]

It might be possible to smooth out the disk. It is just a mylar sheet after all. You have nothing to lose by trying.

Basically, heat it up* and place it between flat weights to press it smooth. Take it out of the envelope. You probably want something thin like another set of mylar sheets to protect the disk.

Note: even if the disk doesn't smooth out, keep the envelope around. If you do any work with disks, you will find envelopes that are filled with gunk. Swapping the dirty envelope with a clean envelope after cleaning a disk will improve the chance of reading the disk.

* Careful. Hot enough to make it more flexible isn't that far from where the mylar shrinks and with many heat guns, holding the gun just a little too long leads to melting. Probably best to stay below 100C (212 F)

I have done this before and even got a readable disk out of it. Not sure I would recommend reusing the disk long term.

 

[reflexblue]

It might be possible to smooth out the disk. It is just a mylar sheet after all. You have nothing to lose by trying.

Basically, heat it up* and place it between flat weights to press it smooth. Take it out of the envelope. You probably want something thin like another set of mylar sheets to protect the disk.

Note: even if the disk doesn't smooth out, keep the envelope around. If you do any work with disks, you will find envelopes that are filled with gunk. Swapping the dirty envelope with a clean envelope after cleaning a disk will improve the chance of reading the disk.

* Careful. Hot enough to make it more flexible isn't that far from where the mylar shrinks and with many heat guns, holding the gun just a little too long leads to melting. Probably best to stay below 100C (212 F)

I have done this before and even got a readable disk out of it. Not sure I would recommend reusing the disk long term.

Thank you so much for the serious answer, I'll give it a try very carefully soon. I really appreciate it!