

However, the magneto-optical (MO) disk is more popular for mass storage, backup, and archiving. Magnetic diskettes are convenient for storing individual files and small programs. Many people also call the newer hard-cased diskette a “floppy.” In recent years, 5.25-inch diskettes have been largely replaced by 3.5-inch diskettes, which are physically more rugged. These were sometimes called “floppy disks” or “floppies” because their housings are flexible. Some older computers provide drives for magnetic diskettes that are 5.25 inches square, about 1 millimeter thick, and capable of holding 1.2 megabytes of data.

Although many personal computers today come with a 3.5-inch diskette drive pre-installed, some notebook computers and centrally-administered desktop computers omit them. Also called a “3.5-inch diskette,” it can store up to 1.44 megabytes (MB) of data. The term usually refers to the magnetic medium housed in a rigid plastic cartridge measuring 3.5 inches square and about 2millimeters thick. Commonly the A: or B: drive on IBM compatible computers this drive allows users to read and write information to floppy disk drives.Ī diskette is a random access, removable data storage medium that can be used with personal computers. A diskette drive is a term used to describe a floppy disk drive.
