Yet another good question. And if you replace the drive, with what?
It's a matter of choice.
You could replace the drive. Floppy drives are cheap. Used ones are even cheaper.
You could replace it with a LS-120, a Iomega ZIP, or a Jaz drive. Even a Sony HiFD, (a 200MB floppy) if you can find one. All of them magnetic media, with greater capacities than the older, standard 3.5 floppy drives.
Or you could just yank the drive out of the computer and forget about it. Maybe install another hard drive in the bay, or some bay fans. (Depending on your case configuration.) Or a LED temperature probe. Or just put a big flashy sticker over the hole.
There are pros and cons for all of these possibilities.
One ... it's nice to have a another way to boot the computer and access the files on the operating system. While the scenario is unlikely, it's always possible that one day you'll need to boot the system and the CD-ROM isn't recognized or isn't functional. It can happen. Devices fail.
Two ... you can back up the files with it. Sure, you can't get much on a floppy, but with some of the other drives, you can get as much as 2GB on a disk.
Three ... you can easily transport data from computer to computer, if someone has a similar device.
Four ... there are some operating systems that can be contained and run completely off a disk like this. That could be interesting, if that's up your alley. And of course, you'll have access to DOS with this method. This could be an educational experience, if you care to look at it that way.
The same applies to some programs and games. I like to run Drive Image 5 off the floppy drive to verify an image in DOS. And I've got some games I like that are on floppies. I keep a copy of my bookmarks on a floppy disk. And it can be handy for transporting just that one essential file a customer needs, without burning an entire CD. That's kind of a waste, I think, even if CD's are cheap.
Of course, there are the cons.
One ... Magnetic media is inherently unreliable because it can become corrupted. So it's not a good, permanent solution for backing up the system.
Two ... larger capacity drives of this nature are often finicky. Not the most solid and rugged of devices. And even if they function correctly ... they aren't altogether that fast. You aren't ever going to hear someone saying high-performance in the same sentence with Iomega, for example. Unless they are ornery, egotistical, and just like playing Devil's Advocate for the heck of it.
Three ... backwards-compatibility is not always a strong point. You can't just cram a Jaz disk in a floppy drive, for instance. And there's not much point to carrying your ZIP disk across town to install files on another machine unless it also has a ZIP drive.
You can see, in the end, it depends on whether you'll use it, and if so ... what for. And if you feel like spending any cash. Your choice.
I wouldn't bother to call support unless they'll replace it free of charge. It's just not that difficult to stick a floppy drive in a can. A few screws and three connections. Computers are ticker-toys ... a monkey could do it.
In the meantime, if you aren't using it, and you are sure that it's dead (i.e. it won't read a disk) ... take it out of the boot sequence in the BIOS and disconnect it from the computer.
The twisted, split end of the cable connects to the drive, if you were wondering. And who knows ... maybe the cable has gone bad, and that's all that is wrong. Or the tech forced it on backwards, because his brain was in his hip pocket. That can happen, too.
Toejam31
<font color=red>My Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=6847" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=6847</A>
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<font color=purple>"Procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."</font color=purple>
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