Editing SuperDrive (section)

==Floppy disk drive==<!-- This section is linked from [[Macintosh Classic]] -->
[[Image:SuperDrive Apple Mac LC II.JPG|thumb|Internal SuperDrive floppy drive on a [[Macintosh LC II]] ]]
The term was first used by Apple Computer in 1988 to refer to their 1.44&nbsp;[[megabyte|MB]] 3.5&nbsp;inch [[floppy disk|floppy drive]]. This replaced the older [[Macintosh External Disk Drive|800&nbsp;KB floppy drive]] that had been standard in the [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] up to then, but remained compatible{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} in that it could continue to read and write both 800&nbsp;KB (double-sided) and 400&nbsp;KB (single-sided) floppy disks, as well as the newer high-density floppies.

This drive was also capable of reading and writing [[MS-DOS]] formatted disks and [[File Allocation Table#FAT12|FAT12]] file formats, using [[PC Exchange]] or other software, unlike the 400&nbsp;KB and 800&nbsp;KB drives. This was made possible as the SuperDrive now utilitized the same [[Modified Frequency Modulation|MFM]] (Modified Frequency Modulation) encoding scheme used by the [[IBM PC compatible|IBM PC]], yet still retained backward compatibility with Apple's variable-speed [[zoned CAV]] scheme and [[group coded recording]] encoding format, so it could continue to read Macintosh [[Macintosh File System|MFS]], [[Hierarchical File System (Apple)|HFS]] and [[Apple II]] [[Apple ProDOS|ProDOS]] formats on 400/800&nbsp;KB disks.

Introduced in 1988 under the Trademark name ''FDHD'' (Floppy Disk High Density), the subsequently renamed SuperDrive was known primarily as an internally mounted floppy drive that was part of the Macintosh computer; however, an external version of the drive was manufactured that came in a [[Snow White design language|Snow White]]-styled plastic case.

[[File:The stylish duo (cropped).jpg|thumb|Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card & Apple SuperDrive]]
While the external drive worked on both Apple's product lines, it was mainly intended for use on the Apple II series, for which Apple introduced in 1991 a slot-based interface called the Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card for [[Apple IIe]] and [[Apple IIGS|II<small>GS</small>]] computers so they too could use 1.40&nbsp;MB storage and read/write MS-DOS. The controller card as well as the external Superdrive were discontinued in June 1994.

The SuperDrive cannot be used with the original four Mac models ([[Macintosh 128K]] through [[Macintosh Plus]]), as their disk controller (the [[Integrated Woz Machine|IWM]]) doesn't support high density. The next two models to be released ([[Macintosh II]] & [[Macintosh SE]] (1987)) also shipped with that controller; a SuperDrive connected to them will behave as an 800&nbsp;KB drive. These two models can be upgraded via the M0244 upgrade kit (which replaces the IWM disk controller with the SWIM) and gain full use of the SuperDrive. All later models shipped with the SWIM.

The first [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] model to include a SuperDrive floppy drive was the [[Macintosh IIx]] (1988). Every [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] and [[PowerBook]] introduced from 1988 to 1997 (with the exception of the [[PowerBook 100]], [[PowerBook Duo]] series, and [[PowerBook 2400c]], which offered a proprietary external floppy drive as an option), had a built-in SuperDrive floppy drive. The last model to include one was the beige [[Power Macintosh G3]] series, which was manufactured until January 1999.

The [[PowerBook G3]] 1998 model (a.k.a. Wallstreet) had an optional floppy drive module. The [[PowerBook 190]] series, [[PowerBook 5300]] Series, [[PowerBook 3400c]], and original [[PowerBook G3]] shared the same interchangeable floppy drive module as a standard feature. The drive as mounted on PowerBooks lacked the auto-inject feature of Apple's initial desktop SuperDrive implementation, requiring the user to manually insert the disk all the way into the drive. The feature was dropped throughout the lineup during 1993–94.

The [[PowerBook 1400]] series also had a floppy drive module, but was incompatible with the other PowerBooks. The end of the SuperDrive coincides with the demise of [[Old World ROM]] Macs; with the advent of the [[New World ROM]] machines, Apple stopped offering internal floppy drives on all models. The SuperDrive is not supported in [[Mac OS X]], not even on the few Old World ROM machines that can officially run OS X.