The Capacity of a 3.5 Floppy Disk

Smaller 3.5-inch floppy disks can store more information than larger floppy disks.

The first floppy disks were 8 inches in diameter inside a rectangular case and had a maximum storage capacity of about 100 kilobytes, according to Accurite Technologies. The capacity of later versions of floppy disks increased, largely because they stored data on both sides instead of one.

History

Sony introduced 3.5-inch floppy disks and the drives required to use them in 1980, according to Accurite Technologies. Although the disks were smaller than earlier standard 8-inch and 5.25-inch versions, they were able to hold more data.

Macintosh Computers

The 3.5-inch versions of floppy disks vary in storage capacity, based on the type of disk and the operating system on the computer with the floppy disk drive. Macintosh computers can use 3.5-inch floppy disks with maximum storage capacities of 400 kilobytes, 800 kilobytes and 1.2 megabytes, according to Webopedia.

Personal Computers

Also called PCs, personal computers usually have a Windows or Linux operating system. Such computers are compatible with two common types of 3.5-inch floppy disks. Double-density 3.5-inch floppy disks can store a maximum of 720 kilobytes of data, and high-density 3.5-inch floppy disks can store up to 1.44 megabytes of data.

References

• Accurite Technologies: Floppy Disk Drive Primer
• Webopedia Computer Dictionary: What Is Floppy Disk?
• Webopedia Computer Dictionary: What Is Operating System?