Jennifer Allen, Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez, Kelly Bolding, Faith Charlton, Patricia Ciccone, Yvonne Eadon, Matthew Farrell, Allison Hughes, Victoria Maches, Shira Peltzman, Alice Prael, Scott Reed, Dorothy Waugh.

For archivists working with aging floppy disks, the KryoFlux can be an incredibly powerful tool. It is not, however, an incredibly user-friendly one. Scant documentation and a somewhat advanced user forum have caused frustration for many archivists and, in some cases, hampered use. Having heard such complaints at conferences and meetings across the country, our group of digital archivists and graduate students from Duke, Emory, UCLA, the University of Texas, and Yale decided to develop this user guide, which has been written specifically with the needs of archivists in mind.

We’ve assumed that readers are already familiar with the principles underlying digital forensics and its application in an archival context, but do not assume readers to have any previous experience with the KryoFlux. A key feature of this guide is that we do not intend or expect that it be read in any particular order. Instead, we hope that users will move between sections as they are most relevant and useful.

The user guide is divided into two parts:

• Part One provides step-by-step instructions designed to get you set up and started. You may wish to start here if you already have a KryoFlux in hand and are ready to jump in. We’ve included links to relevant sections in part two so you can dip in and out as needed.
• Part Two provides a more in-depth introduction to the KryoFlux and floppy disks as a medium for data storage. You may wish to start here if you are interested in learning more about the ins and outs of how the KryoFlux works before diving in, or if you’re weighing the benefits of purchasing a KryoFlux for your institution.

This is an unofficial guide and has not been written in affiliation with the Software Preservation Society (SPS). The official KryoFlux manual is available at http://www.kryoflux.com/download/kryoflux_manual.pdf.

The KryoFlux is a floppy disk controller card developed by the Software Preservation Society that can read a wide variety of legacy floppy disks and create bit-for-bit disk images of their contents. Purchase of the KryoFlux hardware typically includes the controller board, a 3.5” floppy disk drive, the KryoFlux software, and any necessary cables, although the exact contents will vary depending on the package selected for purchase. The KryoFlux is available to buy at the KryoFlux website, where institutions may choose from a range of “pro” packages depending on their needs. An institutional license is required and is included with every order of a pro package hardware kit. This results in a cost that, while not huge, is also not insignificant. Because costs vary depending on institution size and may change over time, it is difficult to provide an estimated range here. However, institutions can contact the KryoFlux team for more information about pricing.

The KryoFlux has several features that differentiate it from an external USB floppy disk drive:

• Supports a wide variety of encoding formats: Data stored on a floppy disk is encoded using one of a number of available formats. The KryoFlux supports a wide variety of floppy disk encoding formats and can help users identify the correct one. During disk imaging, the KryoFlux software reports the degree to which image capture has been successful.
• Generates stream files where the encoding format is unknown or unsupported: In cases when the encoding format is unknown or unsupported, the KryoFlux can read the magnetic flux that represents data stored on a floppy disk and store it as raw stream files. This can also be a useful feature if disks are copy-protected. This allows users to capture an image of data stored on any disk, regardless of format. That said, the KryoFlux’s stream file format cannot be reliably rendered back to diskette due to the inherent jitter present during the reading and writing phase. It is a temporary solution for unknown or unsupported formats, and is the only solution for deliberately non-standard formats such as copy-protected disks.
• Creates disk images from stream files: This process is called “deviceless mode.” Deviceless mode allows for the creation of multiple images, without having to physically image a disk again, by using stream files. This way, it is possible to try multiple disk formats and encodings out on the same set of stream files.
• Effectively handles degraded data: There are several ways that floppy disks can become difficult or impossible to read, all of which tend to occur within 10-20 years. Magnetic storage is vulnerable to wear, and the adhesive keeping the magnetic coating in place can degrade, resulting in data loss. In addition, contaminants can stick to the magnetic storage and damage it. Floppy disks can also demagnetize over time due to changes in temperature or magnetic fields near the disk. The KryoFlux has a better rate of success than external USB floppy drives at imaging disks that have undergone this kind of damage.
• Includes built-in write-blocking functionality: Users can enable a write-blocker on the KryoFlux board to ensure a one-way information flow, removing the need for extra write-blocking hardware.

Example:

Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (formally, the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library or MARBL) experimented with a range of imaging methods, including the KryoFlux, in order to process thirty-seven 3.5” floppy disks included among the papers of writer and activist Alice Walker. The integrated setup of the KryoFlux allowed for an OS- and file system-agnostic approach that allowed for the identification and imaging of a wide variety of disks in various states of degradation. An article in the June 2014 issue of Practical Technology for Archives describes the project in greater detail.