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Definition: floppy disk
An earlier, reusable magnetic storage medium. Introduced by IBM in 1971 and officially a "diskette," it was nicknamed "floppy" because the first varieties were housed in bendable jackets. In the late 1970s, the floppy was the first personal computer storage medium. Although computers with hard disks emerged in the 1980s, they had at least one floppy drive for distributing applications, backup and data transfer between machines.
Like Magnetic Tape
The floppy's recording surface is a circular platter of magnetically coated plastic similar to magnetic tape, except that both sides were recordable. The drive grabs and spins the platter inside its jacket, while the read/write head contacts the surface through an opening. At 300 RPM, floppies rotate considerably slower than a hard disk, and they come to a complete stop when there was no read/write activity.
Format Before Writing
Every new floppy has to be formatted, which divides the disk into sectors (see format program). However, by looking at the external jacket, one cannot always discern the recording format. See magnetic disk.
Almost All Gone, But Not Quite
By the mid-1990s, the floppy gave way to the CD-ROM for software distribution, while local networks and the Internet became popular for backup and data exchange. As of 2025, there are a few systems still using floppy disks, most notably the air traffic control network in the U.S. (see air traffic control). San Francisco is replacing its 1998 DOS-based transportation system that uses 5.25" floppy disks for a new wireless system with an expected completion of all phases by 2032.
The Common Floppy Versions
Anatomy of a 3.5" Floppy
A Floppy-Based Computer
Handwriting on the Wall
No Wonder They're Obsolete
Like Magnetic Tape
The floppy's recording surface is a circular platter of magnetically coated plastic similar to magnetic tape, except that both sides were recordable. The drive grabs and spins the platter inside its jacket, while the read/write head contacts the surface through an opening. At 300 RPM, floppies rotate considerably slower than a hard disk, and they come to a complete stop when there was no read/write activity.
Format Before Writing
Every new floppy has to be formatted, which divides the disk into sectors (see format program). However, by looking at the external jacket, one cannot always discern the recording format. See magnetic disk.
Almost All Gone, But Not Quite
By the mid-1990s, the floppy gave way to the CD-ROM for software distribution, while local networks and the Internet became popular for backup and data exchange. As of 2025, there are a few systems still using floppy disks, most notably the air traffic control network in the U.S. (see air traffic control). San Francisco is replacing its 1998 DOS-based transportation system that uses 5.25" floppy disks for a new wireless system with an expected completion of all phases by 2032.
FLOPPY TYPES
Storage Capacity
Highest/Lowest
Year Jacket Type MB/KB Creator
1986 3.5" rigid 1.44/400 Sony
1976 5.25" flexible 1.2/100 Shugart
1971 8" flexible 1.2/100 IBM
Although ubiquitous in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the bendable 5.25" floppy was surpassed by the rigid 3.5" floppy in the late 1980s.
The magnetic disk rotated between two liners inside the plastic jacket.
Floppy-based computers such as this Kaypro portable were the rage in the early 1980s. The computer was booted with the CP/M operating system floppy in the top drive, and the bottom drive was used for applications. See CPM.
This 1999 headline foretold the floppy's future obsolescence. (Article headline courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer.)
The arrow points to a microSD card resting on one 3.5" floppy. MicroSD capacities have reached 1TB, the equivalent of 730,000 floppies. See microSD.