History of Computer Magnetic Tape Storage Devices

When first introduced, magnetic tape data storage was advanced.

These days computer storage comes in a lot of varieties. From portable hard drives to thumb drives and DVD burners, you can save your data in many different ways. This plethora of choices, though, is but the latest step in the evolution of data storage. Magnetic tape storage was one of the earlier methods.

The Predecessor to Magnetic Tape Storage

Before magnetic tape, paper was used for computer data storage.

While magnetic tape data storage for computers seems quaint now, at the time it was state of the art. To understand the advancement involved, you have to understand what came before the tape. Paper was the storage method of choice before magnetic tape. The first computers used punch cards, while later ones had paper tape that used holes punched in certain place to store data.

Thie First Magnetic Tape

Large magnetic tape reels were the first magnetic tape computer storage.

If you've seen old movies and the computers used in them, you've probably seen IBM magnetic tape. Large rolls of tape (similar to old reel to reel audio recorders and players) were used to store data in those machines. Introduced in 1951, IBM magnetic tape was the first magnetic tape medium and some of these devices are still in use today. Huge floor standing drives were the standard.

Cassette Tapes

Cassette tapes were introduced for data storage in the 1970's.

Anyone who owned an old Commodore 64 or TRS-80 computer is probably familiar with cassette tape for data storage. The cassette tape was, like magnetic tape reels, was first introduced for audio, but later adapted to data storage. Small cassette drives became common in the 1970s. These were much more affordable than the big IBM tape drives, making them perfect for home use.

Floppy Disks

Floppy discs are nothing more than a disc of magnetic tape in a sleeve.

It might not seem obvious, but floppy disks were also magnetic tape storage. In all their various formats (8" were first, followed by 5 1/4" and then 3 1/2") these were really nothing more than a round piece of magnetic tape encased in a protective sleeve. The 8" disks were first used in 1971 and 5.25" discs came out in 1976. The final evolution of the floppy disk, the 3.5" type debuted in 1982 and are still in use today.

Tape Backups

Tape backups were another use of magnetic tape for data storage.

Businesses started using tape backups in the 1990s. These devices used a magnetic tape enclosed in a cartridge to back up a full system to save data in case of crashes. They operated slowly, so backups were generally done overnight. There were various manufacturers (the most common was Colorado Backup), but the basic concept is the same. Many of these are still in use in business to this day.

References

• "Maximum PC": Computer Storage Through the Ages