What is a Floppy Disk

A floppy disk, also known as a diskette, is a type of magnetic storage medium used in the past for storing and transferring data between computers. Floppy disks were widely used from the 1970s to the early 2000s before being replaced by more modern storage devices like CDs, USB flash drives, and external hard drives. Floppy disks were available in different sizes, with the most common being the 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch formats.

The disk itself is a thin, flexible piece of magnetic material housed in a square or rectangular plastic casing. Data is stored magnetically, and the floppy disk drive (FDD) in a computer reads and writes the data. Despite their limited storage capacity compared to modern storage devices, floppy disks were essential in the early development of personal computing.

Common Sizes of Floppy Disks

• 3.5-inch floppy disk: Typically stored 1.44 MB of data and had a hard plastic shell for protection.
• 5.25-inch floppy disk: Older version, stored up to 1.2 MB, and was housed in a flexible plastic case.

Key Features of Floppy Disks

• Magnetic storage medium
• Low storage capacity (typically 720 KB to 1.44 MB)
• Used with floppy disk drives (FDD)
• Prone to physical damage and data degradation over time
• Widely used in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s

Why Floppy Disks Became Obsolete

As technology advanced, floppy disks were gradually replaced by devices with higher storage capacities, faster data transfer speeds, and more durability. CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives, and cloud storage services have made floppy disks obsolete in modern computing.