Floppy Disk Drives

Although manufacturers have been trying for years to replace the floppy disk, a.k.a. diskette, with a device that holds more data, the 3.5 inch floppy disk drive is still very common on most PCs sold today. The floppy disk has survived well beyond what anyone expected. It has changed in size over the years and is available in drives that fit inside the system case as well as outside. The floppy disk has come in a variety of sizes over its lifetime, but for about the past ten years the most popular size has been the 3.5 inch diskette. Figure 9 10 contrasts the older 5.25 inch diskette to the 3.5 inch disk.

At one time, the floppy disk was the primary data storage device on the PC, but it has lately been relegated to a role of removable media for single files or small collections of files. As file sizes grow, the floppy disk is less able to serve in the role it once did. Where it once was the media on which new software was released, CD ROMs or Internet downloads are now used. The floppy disk still has a role for transferring data from one PC to another (aptly called a sneaker net), backing up small files and compressed files (zips, tars, and archives), and device driver distribution, although this is also moving to CD ROM or downloading.