Floppy disk

The floppy disk is a removable magnetic storage medium. Floppy disks are used for moving information between computers, laptops or other devices. Some early digital cameras, electronic music instruments and older computer game consoles use floppy disks. Floppy disks are inserted in to a floppy disk drive or simply floppy drive to allow data to be read or stored.

Floppy disks store much less data than a CD-ROM disk or USB flash drive. A normal 3¹⁄₂ inch disk can store 1.44 megabytes of data. This is usually enough for simple text documents.

A special type of floppy disk was made in the late 1980s. It could store 2.88 MB of data. They did not become popular. Larger size floppy disks became available in the 1990s. The two most popular were the Zip drive and the Jaz drive, both made by Iomega.

Floppy disk technology has been around since the early 1970s (the 8-inch floppy was the first). Today, floppy disks have been replaced by other storage media, like USB flash drives. Floppy disks and drives are no longer manufactured, but are still widely-available as new old stock.

Asia: In 2024, authorities in Japan stopped asking people to give "documents to the government using [floppy disks - an old-style or] outdated [type of] storage devices". At least one bank will say no (starting in Spring 2025), to receiving floppy disks from customers of the bank; Those floppy disks have "bank account information".

The floppy drive

A USB floppy drive. This one can be plugged into any modern computer.

A 3+¹⁄₂-inch floppy disk

A floppy drive (often called drives “A” and “B” on a computer running DOS or Windows) can be connected to or installed in a personal computer (PC). It is the part of a computer that reads and writes the disk that can be removed. A disk, often called a floppy disk, is used to store files and carry them from one computer to another by using the floppy drive. The floppy drive reads the disk (or diskette) and the user is then able to open and change the files saved on the disk.

Capacities

Historical sequence of floppy disk formats, including the last format to be generally adopted — the "1.44 MB" 3½-inch HD floppy, introduced 1987.

Floppy disk format	Year introduced	Storage capacity (binary kilobytes if not stated)	Marketed capacity
8-inch (read-only)	1969	80	←
8-inch	1972	187.5	1.5 Mbit
8-inch	1973	256	256 KB
8-inch DD	1976	500	0.5 MB
51⁄4-inch	1976	223	←
8-inch double sided	1977	1200	1.2 MB
51⁄4-inch DD	1978	360	360 KB
31⁄2-inch HP single sided	1982	280	264 KB
3-inch	1982?	360?	←
31⁄2-inch (DD at release)	1984	720	720 KB
51⁄4-inch QD	1984	1200	1.2 MB
3-inch DD	1984?	720?	←
3-inch Mitsumi Quick Disk	1985	128 to 256	←
2-inch	1985?	720?	←
51⁄4-inch Perpendicular	1986?	100 MiB	←
31⁄2-inch HD	1987	1440	1.44 MB
31⁄2-inch ED	1991	2880	2.88 MB
31⁄2-inch LS-120	1996	120.375 MiB	120 MB
31⁄2-inch LS-240	1997	240.75 MiB	240 MB
31⁄2-inch HiFD	1998/99	150/200 MiB?	150/200 MB
Acronyms:  DD = Double Density; QD = Quad Density; HD = High Density ED = Extra-high Density; LS = Laser Servo; HiFD = High capacity Floppy Disk
Dates and capacities marked ? are of unclear origin and need source information; other listed capacities refer to: For 8-inch: standard IBM formats as used by the System/370 mainframes and newer systems For 51⁄4- and 31⁄2-inch: standard PC formats, capacities quoted are the total size of all sectors on the disk and include space used for the bootsector and filesystem Other formats may get more or less capacity from the same drives and disks.

Floppy Disk Media

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  8-inch, 5¼-inch, and 3½-inch floppy disks

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  8-inch, 5¼-inch (full height), and 3½-inch drives

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  A 3½-inch floppy disk removed from its housing

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  8-inch floppy disk, inserted in drive,(3½-inch floppy diskette, in front, shown for scale)

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  3½-inch, high-density floppy diskettes with adhesive labels affixed

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  Imation USB floppy drive, model 01946: an external drive that accepts high-density disks

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  Front and rear of a retail 3½-inch and 5¼-inch floppy disk drive cleaning kit, as sold in Australia at retailer Big W, circa early 1990s

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  A collection of removable data storage media: Floppy disks, flash memory media, tape-based media, and optical discs

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  A floppy hardware emulator, same size as a 3½-inch drive, provides a USB interface to the user.

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  Screenshot depicting a floppy disk as "save" icon