Floppy Disk Collection

Floppy disks (or diskettes) are magnetic disk data storage formats, usually composed of a thin, flexible disk sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier. In many cases the carrier is rigid, and the word floppy refers to the disc inside. Capacities can range from just a few KB (such as the Olivetti minidisc, with an initial capacity of 3 KB) to 750 MB for the largest capacity Zip disk.

The floppy disk collection is part of the Museum of Obsolete Media, which comprises over 800 media formats spanning audio, data, film and video storage media. This microsite is designed to run from a 3.5-inch High Density microfloppy and is self-contained, so requires no internet connection.

Floppy disk index and timeline

IBM introduces the 8-inch floppy disk, initially in read-only form (1971)

8-inch floppy disk (1971 - early 1980s)

IBM introduces a read/write capable 8-inch floppy disk drive (1973)

Shugart Associates introduce the 5.25-inch 'minifloppy' disk, for use on desktop computers (1976)

5.25-inch floppy disk (1976 - early 1990s)

5.25-inch 'flippy' disk (1976 - mid 1980s)

Olivetti minidisc (1977 - early 1980s)

Olympia Micro-Disk (1977 – late 1980s)

The first online bulletin board system (BBS) is launched, accessible via a modem (1978)

VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program for personal computers, is introduced for the Apple II (1979)

Seagate Technology introduces a hard-disk drive for desktop computers, the ST506, to fit in the same space as a 5.25-inch floppy disk drive (1980)

There are an estimated one million personal computers in use in the US (1980)

The IBM Personal Computer is launched (1981)

Sony introduces the initial design for a 3.5-inch microfloppy disk, which is later modified by the Microfloppy Industry Committee before widespread adoption (1981)

MCD cassette (early 1980s)

Iomega Bernoulli disk 8-inch (1982 - 1987)

3.5-inch microfloppy disk (Double Density) (1982 - 1990s)

3-inch Compact Floppy disk (1982 - early 1990s)

3.25-inch floppy disk (1983 - mid 1980s)

Apple FileWare / Twiggy disk (1983 - 1984)

Apple adopts the 3.5-inch microfloppy disk for use in its new Macintosh computer (1984)

IBM introduces the 1.2 MB high-density 5.25-inch floppy disk, for use in the IBM PC AT (1984)

Brother Micro Disc (mid 1980s)

TA Micro-Disk (mid 1980s)

Mitsumi Quick Disk (1985 - late 1980s)

2-inch floppy disk (Video Floppy) (1986 - 1990s)

2.8-inch DataDisk (1986 - early 1990s)

Nintendo Famicom Disk System (1986 - early 1990s)

Sharp Pocket Disk (1986 - early 1990s)

Sony PD-1 (1987 – early 1990s)

Iomega Bernoulli disk 5.25-inch (1987 - 1994)

The 3.5-inch HD (High Density) microfloppy disk is introduced, and is first used with the IBM PS/2 range and the Apple Macintosh IIx (1987)

3.5-inch microfloppy disk (High Density) (1987 - late 2000s)

The 3.5-inch microfloppy disk outsells the 5.25-inch floppy disk (1988)

2-inch floppy disk (LT-1) (1989 - early 1990s)

First communication between a Web browser and server via the open internet (1990)

Amstrad replaces the 3-inch 'Compact Floppy' disk drive in its PCW word-processor range, the last devices to use this size floppy disk, with a 3.5-inch microfloppy disk drive (1991)

3.5-inch microfloppy (Extended Density) (1991 - mid 1990s)

Floptical (1991 - 1993)

Microsoft releases Window 3.1 (1992)

Microsoft launches Window 95, the first version of its operating system that is not available for retail on 5.25-inch floppy disks (though it was still possible to post a coupon to obtain it on 5.25-inch disks) (1995)

Iomega Zip (1995 - 2004)

Sony introduces the MVC-FD5 and MVC-FD7 still cameras, the first to use 3.5-inch microfloppy disks for storage (1997)

SuperDisk (1997 - early 2000s)

Apple launches the iMac computer with no floppy disk drive (1998)

Caleb UHD144 / it drive (1998 - 2002)

FlashPath adaptor for SmartMedia (1998 – early 2000s)

HiFD (High capacity Floppy Disk) (1998 - early 2000s)

Iomega Clik! / PocketZip (1999 - early 2000s)

Nintendo 64DD (Dynamic Drive) (1999 - 2000)

Sony Memory Stick / Floppy Disk Adaptor (2000 – 2001)

Iomega Zip 250 (2001 - 2006)

Iomega Zip U250 (2001 - 2003)

Iomega Zip 750 (2002 - 2006)

Dell begins removing floppy disk drives from its PCs (2003)

Only 2% of PCs and laptops sold still contain a floppy disk drive (2007)

Sony ceases production of 3.5-inch microfloppy disks (2011)