Then came the 5.25 inch format which was popular for a few years. Finally the 3.5 inch floppy disk was developed which offered a hard plastic case and a sliding metal cover to protect the fragile magnetic sheet inside.
The floppy disk drive enables you
to transfer small files between computers and also to
make backup copies to protect against lost work.
It used to be one of the most common storage devices for moving data from one PC to another. However, as file sizes are becoming larger and other, more reliable storage media become increasingly common, people are using floppy disks less frequently.
A floppy disk is made of a flexible substance called Mylar. They have a magnetic surface which allows the recording of data. The disk turns in the drive allowing the read/write head to access the disk.
A standard floppy disk can store up to 1.44 Mb of data which is approximately equivalent to 300 pages of A4 text. However, graphic images are often very large, so you may well find that if you have used Word Art or a large picture, your work will not fit onto a floppy disk.
All disks must be formatted before data can be written to the disk. Formatting divides the disk up into sections or sectors onto which data files are stored. Floppy disks are usually sold pre-formatted.
Care should be taken when handling disks, to protect the data. The surface of the disk should not be touched and they should be kept away from extreme temperatures and magnetic fields such as telephones, televisions and microwaves - otherwise you might find all your data has been wiped!
Advantages
 | Portable - small and lightweight |
| Allows random access of data - (unlike tape which is serial) |
| Can provide a valuable means of backing up data |
| Inexpensive |
| Useful for transferring files between computers or home and school. |
| Private data can be stored securely on a floppy disk so that other users on a network cannot gain access to it. |
| Security tab to stop data being written over. |
| Most computers have a floppy drive |
| Can be written to many times. |
Disadvantages
| Not very strong - easy to damage |
| Data can be erased if the disk comes into contact with a magnetic field |
| Quite slow to access and retrieve data compared to a hard disk drive, but it is faster than tape. |
| Can transport viruses from one machine to another |
| Small storage capacity, especially if graphics need to be saved |
| New computers are starting to be made without floppy drives |
This is a magnetic storage device
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