What brand? Sealed floppies should work well, I mean I'm using disks from mid-80's and early '90 and they all still work. Could be the boxes are sealed but were kept in storage without temperature control. Also, the ones manufactured near the the complete phase-out of the floppy drives are very poor quality. So in reality you don't want them too new. There was a reason floppies used to cost 50USD for a box of 10, and it wasn't just due to economies of scale.

Are you 100% it's the disks failing and not fouled drive heads damaging the surfaces?

Deunan wrote on 2021-09-30, 18:10:

What brand? Sealed floppies should work well, I mean I'm using disks from mid-80's and early '90 and they all still work. Could be the boxes are sealed but were kept in storage without temperature control. Also, the ones manufactured near the the complete phase-out of the floppy drives are very poor quality. So in reality you don't want them too new. There was a reason floppies used to cost 50USD for a box of 10, and it wasn't just due to economies of scale.

This. Modern (end of floppy era) diskettes were terrible quality. I’ve still got early 90s 3.5” disks that read and write perfectly so long as I use a well made and maintained drive.

Drives are fine. Heads swabbed with IPA and foam tip when i first get them, moving bits get a tiny bit of lithium grease.

So this has been my experience...

I keep all mine in a cool dark, and dry place but don't always know how they were stored before I got them. I buy in sealed plastic whenever possible.

DSDD 5.25" reputable brands like Dysan, sony, 3m, etc are pretty much solid. 180k floppies too.
HD 5.25", they are starting to fail but again with good brands still MUCH better than 3.5

Translucent rainbow colored 3.5s are almost universally garbage - if ANY were made while floppies were being phased out, it was these disks. About 90% of my stash of these is dead/dying

Highest failure rates seem to be 1.44mb disks followed by 720k/800k. Some brands fare better than others, but sometimes it just feels random.

Once in a while i see IBM branded 3.5s going for 30-40 bucks on ebay. maybe I'll bite and get a box or two.

I was just hoping one or two reputable companies still made them - i would imagine there are still some mission critical systems that depend on floppy disks.

I've got a stash of "made this millenium" Memorex, black with black plastic shutter that are doing okay. Is it Imation brand translucent rainbow ones you're having problems with? I have some junky ones of those which were possibly 21st Century too.

My stash is lower than intended... few years back, office store closing down, I'm in line with 4 boxes of floppies, then in wanders loudmouth Sister in Law, and convo goes something like "You can't buy those I'll give you all the floppies you want, I've got hundreds to get rid of... " they were dirt cheap too, but she was snatching them out of my arms and I was trying not to drop other tech I was holding, ODD and HDDs, and she was getting louder and more insistent, making a scene but I clung onto one box saying yes, I'd take all her damn floppies but I wanted at least one fresh new box... So, couple of weeks later we're at her house and I ask "Where are those floppies you promised me?" and she answers "Oh I threw them out." ... there was very nearly a murder done right then I tell you.

DaveJustDave wrote on 2021-09-30, 20:34:

Drives are fine. Heads swabbed with IPA and foam tip when i first get them, moving bits get a tiny bit of lithium grease.

Tiny amounts will not be a problem, not short-term anyway, but too much lubricants will only attract more dust and dirt, and that can even cause more wear over time. Do try to clean them up first, but keep in mind that not all places are accessible without total disassembly and that usually ends with having to re-align the heads. So you have to judge how bad it is and pick a suitable approach. I like to clean so I go for disassembly - that has bit me in the behind more than once. But on the bright side I now know a lot more about head alignment 😀

DaveJustDave wrote on 2021-09-30, 20:34:

DSDD 5.25" reputable brands like Dysan, sony, 3m, etc are pretty much solid. 180k floppies too.
HD 5.25", they are starting to fail but again with good brands still MUCH better than 3.5

That is expected. HD floppies are much more susceptible to surface damage/contamination, and there is less magnetic material on them as well to keep the flux transitions more defined (if at lower level because of that).
If you get random read errors all over the surface then the floppy is most likely gone. However the usual format errors on track 00 can also be due to using the disk in several different drives that are not aligned all that well, and the track is now spread too wide. Manual demagnetizing can help - if you don't have AC-powered coil loop for that, a strong permanent magnet can also be used (speaking from personal experience). For that you need work it in a pattern, like say small circles, like wiping dirt off, and then pull it slowly away (doing the pattern) as to not cause localized strong magnetization. Not super important though, usually the head will be able to over-write it anyway. See if that helps - this also makes HD flopies "clean" to be written by HD heads in DD pattern, and that should now work in actual DD drive for reading.

I just pick them up used by the dozen at work. Even 20 years ago 20-30% of the floppies were faulty out of the box. Otherwise I've pretty much given up on floppies. They last as long as they last. I won't mourn them.

When it comes to data transfer it's either through network, use CF card and IDE adapter or just take out the hard drive and put it in a mobil rack and a more modern PC. I'd use Gotek too if I wouldn't think they are overpriced.

BitWrangler wrote on 2021-09-30, 20:59:

So, couple of weeks later we're at her house and I ask "Where are those floppies you promised me?" and she answers "Oh I threw them out." ... there was very nearly a murder done right then I tell you.

Ohh the pain 😀 Last year my brother cleaned out his office and knew I was into old computer gear so offered me his unused floppies that had been sitting around. Got a couple of small boxes of Maxells that were probably 10 years old but work OK so far.
He would have tossed them out if I did not say yes to take them.

DaveJustDave wrote on 2021-09-30, 17:30:

Does anyone have a source for known modern era floppy disks? Do any companies even make floppies anymore?

I do not know any company that still makes floppy disks, specially not the 5.25" though rumor has it some Chinese companies may still make 3.5" but they could be as bad as many other "clone" items from there.
A few years ago got some 1/2 priced at Office Depot because they were no longer selling them and were getting rid of old stock. To my surprise they are Ok, and similar to those from some 10 years or more ago.