How a Floppy Disk Boot Fiasco Taught One Company the Value of Hard Drives
Picture this: It’s the mid-90s, pastel colors and dial-up tones fill the air, and your boss just spent hundreds of dollars—per computer—to ensure that not a single byte of precious project data gets stranded on someone’s C: drive. How, you ask? By custom-ordering brand-new Compaq PCs with no hard drives, forcing everyone to boot from floppy disks like digital pioneers crossing the Oregon Trail. What could possibly go wrong?
Welcome to the world of AS/400 wizards, Netware magic, and the most creative (if ultimately regrettable) attempt at centralized computing you’ll ever hear. Today, we’re diving into a real-life tale from Reddit’s r/TalesFromTechSupport—one that’s equal parts nostalgia, facepalm, and pure IT comedy gold. Grab your 3.5" disks and let’s boot up this story.
Booting from Floppies: The Ultimate Security Policy?
Our protagonist, u/jasondbk, worked at a company that was a beautiful blend of old-school IBM AS/400 programming and bleeding-edge (for 1995) PC networking. Back then, “cloud storage” meant a cumulus with static electricity, and the real action happened on file servers running Novell Netware. The company’s policy was simple—every PC boots from a floppy disk, loads DOS, and then runs Windows (first 3.11, then 95) straight off the server. Why? Because the boss was determined that no one would ever save their work locally; everything must reside on the network, safe and sound.
It’s a clever idea… in theory. After all, if a PC has no hard drive, there’s nowhere for local files to hide, right? So when it came time to upgrade, the boss went all-in: pay Compaq $400 EXTRA per PC to remove the hard drives at the factory and deliver gleaming, empty boxes ready for floppy-booting glory.
The Floppy Disk Reality Check
For two glorious weeks, the boss lived the dream. Floppies whirred, Windows 95 loaded over the network, and not a single temp file was left behind. But then, the cracks began to show. Floppy disks have a finite lifespan—roughly as long as it takes to spill your coffee on one. Boot times were glacial. Network hiccups meant total paralysis. And let’s not even talk about the nerve-wracking process of installing new software or troubleshooting a blue screen—with no hard drive to fall back on.
Eventually, the boss caved. After confirming that jasondbk could install hard drives (IT folks everywhere, raise your hand if you’ve ever been asked this), she relented and ordered new hard drives for the team. Problem solved? Not quite.
When “Custom” Means “Complicated (and Expensive)”
Here’s where the real tech support comedy kicks in. Since the original PCs were custom-ordered without hard drives, they didn’t include the mounting brackets, IDE cables, or even power connectors you’d normally expect. Compaq, not missing a chance to upcharge, made sure nothing was included unless you paid—again—for each part. The company wound up shelling out around $600 per PC (in 1995 dollars!) just to add back the very components they’d paid extra to have removed.
As any seasoned IT pro knows, “custom” configurations often come with expensive surprises. The lesson? Sometimes, the simplest setup is the best setup—especially when “security by hardware removal” just means you’ll be buying those parts twice.
The Floppy Saga Continues
You’d think the lesson was learned, but old habits die hard. For the next batch of new PCs, the boss had jasondbk remove the hard drive cables and power connectors—just in case she wasn’t ready to fully embrace hard drives. The company limped along on floppy boots a while longer, until finally, the great migration to Windows 95 (with hard drives!) arrived.
Nostalgia, Laughter, and Lessons for Today
What makes this story so timeless? It’s a testament to the quirky ways businesses try to solve security and workflow challenges—and the law of unintended consequences that often follows. Today, we laugh about floppy disk boot-ups, but the spirit lives on: whether it’s removing USB ports, locking down cloud storage, or inventing creative compliance policies, the struggle between convenience and control never ends.
So, next time your IT team proposes a “brilliant” new policy, remember the floppy disk saga. Sometimes, the best way forward is to trust your pros, invest in the right hardware, and maybe—just maybe—keep the mounting brackets handy.
What’s Your Best Tech Support Tale?
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a “brilliant” policy that backfired? Did you ever have to boot from a floppy or rescue a project from hardware limbo? Share your stories in the comments below—or tag us on social media with your most epic tech support facepalms!
Let’s keep the laughter—and the lessons—rolling.
Original Reddit Post: Booting from floppies Win 95