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==History== {{Main|History of the floppy disk}} {{Memory types}} [[File:Floppy Disk Drive 8 inch.jpg|thumb|left|8-inch floppy disk,<br /> inserted in drive,<br />(3½-inch floppy diskette,<br /> in front, shown for scale)]] [[File:Floppy disc.jpg|thumb|3½-inch, high-density floppy diskettes with adhesive labels affixed]] The first commercial floppy disks, developed in the late 1960s, were {{convert|8|in|mm|1}} in diameter;<ref name="Teja_1985"/><ref name="Fletcher"/> they became commercially available in 1971 as a component of IBM products and both drives and disks were then sold separately starting in 1972 by [[Memorex]] and others.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/storageengine/floppy-disk-loads-mainframe-computer-data |title=1971: Floppy disk loads mainframe computer data |website=Computer History Museum |access-date=2015-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208080520/http://www.computerhistory.org/storageengine/floppy-disk-loads-mainframe-computer-data |archive-date=2015-12-08 |url-status=live}}</ref> These disks and associated drives were produced and improved upon by [[IBM]] and other companies such as Memorex, [[Shugart Associates]], and [[Burroughs Corporation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.disktrend.com/5decades2.htm |title=Five decades of disk drive industry firsts |access-date=2012-10-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726102519/http://www.disktrend.com/5decades2.htm |archive-date=2011-07-26}}</ref> The term "floppy disk" appeared in print as early as 1970,<ref>IBM's 370/145 Uncovered; Interesting Curves Revealed, Datamation, November 1, 1970</ref> and although IBM announced its first media as the ''Type 1 Diskette'' in 1973, the industry continued to use the terms "floppy disk" or "floppy". In 1976, Shugart Associates introduced the 5¼-inch floppy disk drive. By 1978, there were more than ten manufacturers producing such drives.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watson |date=2010-05-24 |title=The Floppy Disk |magazine=[[Canadian Business]] |volume=83 |issue=8 |page=17}}</ref> There were competing [[floppy disk format]]s, with hard- and soft-sector versions and encoding schemes such as [[differential Manchester encoding]] (DM), [[modified frequency modulation]] (MFM), [[Modified frequency modulation#MMFM|M<sup>2</sup>FM]] and [[group coded recording]] (GCR). The 5¼-inch format displaced the 8-inch one for most uses, and the hard-sectored disk format disappeared. The most common capacity of the 5¼-inch format in DOS-based PCs was 360 KB (368,640 bytes) for the Double-Sided Double-Density (DSDD) format using MFM encoding.<ref>{{cite web|title=When did 5.25″ floppies exceed the capacity of 8″?|website=Retrocomputing|url=https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/22178/when-did-5-25-floppies-exceed-the-capacity-of-8|quote=Single-sided double-density (SSDD) systems used original media, 40 tracks and MFM encoding for a capacity of around 160 KB/diskette. Double-sided double-density (DSDD or sometimes "2D") systems obviously doubled the above to about 320 KB/diskette.access-date=20 November 2024}}</ref> In 1984, IBM introduced with its [[IBM Personal Computer/AT|PC/AT]] the 1.2 MB (1,228,800 bytes) dual-sided 5¼-inch floppy disk, but it never became very popular. IBM started using the 720 KB [[double density]] 3½-inch microfloppy disk on its [[IBM PC Convertible|Convertible]] laptop computer in 1986 and the 1.44 MB (1,474,560 bytes) [[High-density storage media|high-density]] version with the [[IBM Personal System/2]] (PS/2) line in 1987. These disk drives could be added to older PC models. In 1988, Y-E Data introduced a drive for 2.88 MB Double-Sided Extended-Density (DSED) diskettes which was used by IBM in its top-of-the-line PS/2 and some [[IBM RS/6000|RS/6000]] models and in the second-generation [[NeXTcube]] and [[NeXTstation]]; however, this format had limited market success due to lack of standards and movement to 1.44 MB drives.<ref>{{cite report |title=1992 Disk/Trend Report - Flexible Disk Drives |last=Porter |first=James |date=November 1992 |page=DT14-3}}</ref> Throughout the early 1980s, limits of the 5¼-inch format became clear. Originally designed to be more practical than the 8-inch format, it was becoming considered too large; as the quality of recording media grew, data could be stored in a smaller area.<ref name="Jarrett">"The Microfloppy—One Key to Portability", Thomas R. Jarrett, Computer Technology Review, winter 1983 (Jan 1984), pp. 245–7</ref> Several solutions were developed, with drives at 2-, 2½-, 3-, 3¼-,<ref>[http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/325_inch.jpg Picture of disk]<!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20170619124207/http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/325_inch.jpg --></ref> 3½- and 4-inches (and [[Sony]]'s {{convert|90|x|94|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} disk) offered by various companies.<ref name="Jarrett"/> They all had several advantages over the old format, including a rigid case with a sliding metal (or later, sometimes plastic) shutter over the head slot, which helped protect the delicate magnetic medium from dust and damage, and a sliding [[write protection]] tab, which was far more convenient than the adhesive tabs used with earlier disks. The established market for the 5¼-inch format made it difficult for these mutually incompatible new formats to gain significant market share.<ref name="Jarrett"/> A variant on the Sony design, introduced in 1983 by many manufacturers, was then rapidly adopted. By 1988, the 3½-inch was outselling the 5¼-inch.<ref>1991 Disk/Trend Report, Flexible Disk Drives, Figure 2</ref> Generally, the term floppy disk persisted, even though later style floppy disks have a rigid case around an internal floppy disk. By the end of the 1980s, 5¼-inch disks had been superseded by 3½-inch disks. During this time, PCs frequently came equipped with drives of both sizes. By the mid-1990s, 5¼-inch drives had virtually disappeared, as the 3½-inch disk became the predominant floppy disk. The advantages of the 3½-inch disk were its higher capacity, its smaller physical size, and its rigid case which provided better protection from dirt and other environmental risks. ===Prevalence=== [[File:Imation USB FDD 20060623.jpg|thumb|left|[[Imation]] USB floppy drive, model 01946: an external drive that accepts high-density disks]] Floppy disks became commonplace during the 1980s and 1990s in their use with [[personal computer]]s to distribute software, transfer data, and create [[backup]]s. Before hard disks became affordable to the general population,<ref group="nb" name="NB_Costs"/> floppy disks were often used to store a computer's [[operating system]] (OS). Most home computers from that time have an elementary OS and [[BASIC]] stored in [[read-only memory]] (ROM), with the option of loading a more advanced OS from a floppy disk. By the early 1990s, the increasing software size meant large packages like [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] or [[Adobe Photoshop]] required a dozen disks or more. In 1996, there were an estimated five billion standard floppy disks in use.<ref name="businessweek">{{cite magazine |last=Reinhardt |first=Andy |date=1996-08-12 |title=Iomega's Zip drives need a bit more zip |magazine=[[Business Week]] |publisher=[[The McGraw-Hill Companies]] |issue=33 |issn=0007-7135 |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1996/33/b3488114.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706151833/http://www.businessweek.com/1996/33/b3488114.htm |archive-date=2008-07-06}}</ref> An attempt to enhance the existing 3½-inch designs was the [[SuperDisk]] in the late 1990s, using very narrow data tracks and a high precision head guidance mechanism with a capacity of 120 [[Megabyte|MB]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://linuxcommand.org/man_pages/floppy8.html |title=floppy |publisher=LinuxCommand.org |date=2006-01-04 |access-date=2011-06-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727034443/http://linuxcommand.org/man_pages/floppy8.html |archive-date=2011-07-27}}</ref> and backward-compatibility with standard 3½-inch floppies; a [[format war]] briefly occurred between SuperDisk and other high-density floppy-disk products, although ultimately recordable CDs/DVDs, solid-state flash storage, and eventually cloud-based online storage would render all these removable disk formats obsolete. External [[USB]]-based floppy disk drives are still available, and many modern systems provide firmware support for booting from such drives. ===Gradual transition to other formats=== [[File:Disk-cleaning-kit-front-and-rear.jpg|thumb|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]] [[File:Different types of storage components.jpg|thumb|A collection of removable data storage media: Floppy disks, [[flash memory]] media, [[Magnetic-tape data storage|tape-based media]], and [[Optical storage|optical discs]]]] In the mid-1990s, mechanically incompatible higher-density floppy disks were introduced, like the [[Zip drive|Iomega Zip disk]]. Adoption was limited by the competition between proprietary formats and the need to buy expensive drives for computers where the disks would be used. In some cases, failure in market penetration was exacerbated by the release of higher-capacity versions of the drive and media being not [[backward compatibility|backward-compatible]] with the original drives, dividing the users between new and old adopters. Consumers were wary of making costly investments into unproven and rapidly changing technologies, so none of the technologies became the established standard. Apple introduced the [[iMac G3]] in 1998 with a CD-ROM drive but no floppy drive; this made USB-connected floppy drives popular accessories, as the iMac came without any writable removable media device. [[CD-R|Recordable CDs]] were touted as an alternative, because of the greater capacity, compatibility with existing CD-ROM drives, and—with the advent of [[CD-RW|re-writeable CD]]s and packet writing—a similar reusability as floppy disks. However, CD-R/RWs remained mostly an archival medium, not a medium for exchanging data or editing files on the medium itself, because there was no common standard for packet writing which allowed for small updates. Other formats, such as [[magneto-optical drive|magneto-optical discs]], had the flexibility of floppy disks combined with greater capacity, but remained niche due to costs. High-capacity backward compatible floppy technologies became popular for a while and were sold as an option or even included in standard PCs, but in the long run, their use was limited to professionals and enthusiasts. Flash-based [[USB thumb drive]]s finally provided a practical and popular replacement that supported traditional file systems and all common usage scenarios of floppy disks. As opposed to other solutions, no new drive type or special software was required that impeded adoption, since all that was necessary was an already common [[USB port]]. ===Usage in the 21st century=== [[File:Floppy hardware emulator.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Floppy disk hardware emulator|floppy hardware emulator]], same size as a 3½-inch drive, provides a USB interface to the user.]] In 2002, most manufacturers still provided floppy disk drives as standard equipment to meet user demand for [[Sneakernet|file transfer]] and an emergency boot device, as well as for the general secure feeling of having the familiar device.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Spring |first=Tom |date=2002-07-24 |title=What Has Your Floppy Drive Done for You Lately? PC makers are still standing by floppy drives despite vanishing consumer demand |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/103037/what_has_your_floppy_drive_done_for_you_lately.html |magazine=[[PC World]] |access-date=2012-04-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224033044/http://www.pcworld.com/article/103037/what_has_your_floppy_drive_done_for_you_lately.html |archive-date=2011-12-24}}</ref> By this time, the retail cost of a floppy drive had fallen to around $20 ({{Inflation|US|20|2002|fmt=eq}}), so there was little financial incentive to omit the device from a system. Subsequently, enabled by the widespread support for USB flash drives and BIOS boot, manufacturers and retailers progressively reduced the availability of floppy disk drives as standard equipment. In February 2003, [[Dell]], one of the leading personal computer vendors, announced that floppy drives would no longer be pre-installed on [[Dell Dimension]] home computers, although they were still available as a selectable option and purchasable as an aftermarket [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] add-on.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2905953.stm |title=R.I.P. Floppy Disk |work=[[BBC News]] |date=2003-04-01 |access-date=2011-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216235741/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2905953.stm |archive-date=2009-02-16 |url-status=live}}</ref> By January 2007, only 2% of computers sold in stores contained built-in floppy disk drives.<ref name="PCW">{{cite news |last=Derbyshire |first=David |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1540984/Floppy-disks-ejected-as-demand-slumps.html |title=Floppy disks ejected as demand slumps |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=2007-01-30 |access-date=2011-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522070711/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1540984/Floppy-disks-ejected-as-demand-slumps.html |archive-date=2011-05-22 |url-status=live}}</ref> Floppy disks are used for emergency boots in aging systems lacking support for other [[boot disk|bootable media]] and for [[BIOS]] updates, since most BIOS and [[firmware]] programs can still be executed from [[Boot disk#Boot floppies|bootable floppy disks]]. If BIOS updates fail or become corrupt, floppy drives can sometimes be used to perform a recovery. The music and theatre industries still use equipment requiring standard floppy disks (e.g. synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, sequencers, and [[lighting control console|lighting consoles]]). Industrial automation equipment such as programmable [[Machine industry|machinery]] and [[industrial robot]]s may not have a USB interface; data and programs are then loaded from disks, damageable in industrial environments. This equipment may not be replaced due to cost or requirement for continuous availability; existing software emulation and [[virtualization]] do not solve this problem because a customized operating system is used that has no [[device driver|drivers]] for USB devices. [[Floppy disk hardware emulator|Hardware floppy disk emulators]] can be made to interface [[floppy-disk controller]]s to a USB port that can be used for flash drives. In May 2016, the United States [[Government Accountability Office]] released a report that covered the need to upgrade or replace legacy computer systems within federal agencies. According to this document, old [[IBM Series/1]] minicomputers running on [[#8.0|8-inch floppy disk]]s are still [[nuclear command and control|used to coordinate]] "the operational functions of the United States' nuclear forces". The government planned to update some of the technology by the end of the 2017 fiscal year.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677436.pdf |title=Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems |date=May 2016 |website=Report to Congressional Requesters |publisher=United States Government Accountability Office |access-date=2016-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602113649/http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677436.pdf |archive-date=2016-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="thehill-20160525">{{cite news |first=Mario |last=Trujillo |work=The Hill |date=2016-05-25 |url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/281191-us-nuclear-emergency-messaging-system-still-uses-floppy-disks/ |title=US nuclear emergency messaging system still uses floppy disks |access-date=2016-05-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529100524/http://thehill.com/policy/technology/281191-us-nuclear-emergency-messaging-system-still-uses-floppy-disks |archive-date=2016-05-29}}</ref> Use in Japan's government ended in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swift |first1=Rocky |title=Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-declares-victory-effort-end-government-use-floppy-disks-2024-07-03/ |publisher=Reuters |date=3 July 2024}}</ref> [[Windows 10]] and [[Windows 11]] no longer come with drivers for floppy disk drives (both internal and external). However, they will still support them with a separate device driver provided by Microsoft.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thewindowsclub.com/use-floppy-disk-windows-10 |title=How to use Floppy Disk on Windows 10 |date=2016-03-09 |access-date=2019-06-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117134806/https://www.thewindowsclub.com/use-floppy-disk-windows-10 |archive-date=2018-11-17}}</ref> The [[British Airways]] [[Boeing 747-400]] fleet, up to its retirement in 2020, used 3½-inch floppy disks to load avionics software.<ref>{{cite news |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=August 11, 2020 |title=Boeing 747s still get critical updates via floppy disks: A rare look inside a 20-year-old airliner |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363122/boeing-747s-floppy-disc-updates-critical-software |website=[[The Verge]] |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=2021-02-26}}</ref> Sony, who had been in the floppy disk business since 1983, ended domestic sales of all six 3½-inch floppy disk models as of March 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sony.jp/rec-media/info/20100423.html |title=Notice of Termination of Sales of 3.5-inch Floppy Disks|date=April 23, 2010|access-date=September 14, 2022}}</ref> This has been viewed by some as the end of the floppy disk.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/04/sony-announces-the-death-of-the-floppy-disk/#:~:text=Fully%2012%20years%20after%20the,that%20it%20took%20so%20long. |title=Sony Announces the Death of the Floppy Disk|last=SORREL|first=CHARLIE |magazine=Wired |date=April 26, 2010|access-date=September 14, 2022}}</ref> While production of new floppy disk media has ceased,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/20/floppy_disk_business/ |title='Last man standing in the floppy disk business' reckons his company has 4 years left |last=Robinson |first=Dan |date=September 20, 2022 |publisher=The Register|access-date=September 23, 2022}}</ref> sales and uses of this media from inventories is expected to continue until at least 2026.<ref name="Til2026">{{cite web|url=https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/we-spoke-with-the-last-person-standing-in-the-floppy-disk-business/ |title=We Spoke With the Last Person Standing in the Floppy Disk Business|last1=Hilkmann|first1=Niek |last2=Walskaar|first2=Thomas |work=Eye on Design |date=September 12, 2022|access-date=September 14, 2022|quote=Turns out the obsolete floppy is way more in demand than you'd think. ... I expect to be in this business for at least another four years.}}</ref> ===Legacy=== [[File:Save Icon in Open Office.png|thumb|right|Screenshot depicting a floppy disk as "save" icon]] For more than two decades, the floppy disk was the primary external writable storage device used. Most computing environments before the 1990s were non-networked, and floppy disks were the primary means to transfer data between computers, a method known informally as [[sneakernet]]. Unlike hard disks, floppy disks were handled and seen; even a novice user could identify a floppy disk. Because of these factors, a picture of a 3½-inch floppy disk became an [[interface metaphor]] for saving data. {{As of|2024}}, the floppy disk [[skeuomorph|symbol]] is still used by software on user-interface elements related to saving files even though physical floppy disks are largely obsolete.<ref name="Til2026" /> Examples of such software include [[LibreOffice]], [[Microsoft Paint]], and [[WordPad]].
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