Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 12, 2026

List of floppy disk formats

This is a list of different floppy disk formats.

Last revised
Jul 12, 2026
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
8-inch, 5+1⁄4-inch, and 3+1⁄2-inch floppy disks source ↗

This is a list of different floppy disk formats.

Physical formats

Size Density Sides Tracks tpi bpi Sectoring Coercivity Unformatted capacity per side
2 inch Video Floppy 52 256 >800 kB or 50 fields of analog video1
2 inch LT-1 Double 80 245
21⁄2 inch Single 1623 482 64 kB
3 inch QuickDisk
3.25 inch Single 1 804 140 4,625 250 kB
Double 9,250 500 kB
31⁄2 inch Single 2 405 67.5 8,650 Soft 665 Oe 250 kB
Double 80 135 8,717 665 Oe6 500 kB
High 80 135 17,434 720-750 Oe 1 MB
Extended 80 135 34,868 900 Oe 2 MB
Triple7 2408 406.58 36,7008 6.5 MB
4 inch DemiDiskette 19
51⁄4 inch Single/Double 2 40 48 5,876 Soft or hard 300 Oe 250 kB
Quad 77 100 300 Oe 500 kB (Micropolis-compatible)
Quad 80 96 5,922 300 Oe 500 kB
High 80 96 9,646 Soft 600 Oe 833 kB
EH10 104 125 29,560 6.5 MB11
51⁄4 inch

Apple FileWare

Double 2 80 62.5 Soft 851 kiB12
8 inch Single 77 48 3,268-3,408 Soft or hard (inner edge) 300 Oe 1 MB
Double 6,816 1 MB
HD13 154 96 20,560 600 Oe 9.6 MB14
8 inch Memorex FD 650 115 5015 2,400 Hard (outer edge) 1.5 Mb15
651 6416 3,100 2.5 Mb1617
8 inch Burroughs Double 2 139 150 7,100 218

Logical formats

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, many different logical disk formats were used, depending on the hardware platform.

Common floppy disk formats, logical characteristics by platform
Platform Size Density Sides Tracks/ side Sectors/ track Bytes/ sector Sectoring Capacity rpm Encoding Note
Acorn 51⁄4 inch Single 1 40 10 256 Soft 100 kB 300 FM
80 200 kB
Double 1 40 16 256 160 kB MFM
80 320 kB
2 640 kB
31⁄2 inch Double 2 80 16 256 640 kB 300 MFM Format L: MOS (Electron, Master Compact)
5 1024 800 kB
  • Format D: Arthur, RISC iX
  • Format E: RISC OS
High 10 1,600 kB Format F: RISC OS 3 and later. Archimedes models before the A5000 require an upgraded floppy drive.
Agat 51⁄4 inch Double 2 80 21 256 840 kB 300 MFM NB 1
Amiga 51⁄4 inch Double 2 40 11 512 Soft 440 kBNB 2 300 MFM NB 3
Quad 80 880 kBNB 4
31⁄2 inch Double 880 kB
High 19 1,520 kB GCR NB 5
22 1,760 kB 150 MFM NB 3
Amstrad CPC/PCW 3 inch Double 1 40 9 512 180 kB 300 MFM Single head drive, but double-sided floppy discs (total of 360 kB per floppy)
Amstrad PCW8512/9512 3 inch Double 2 80 9 512 720 kB 300 MFM 720 kB mode uses both sides - ensure disc inserted correct way up.
Apple II 51⁄4 inch Double 1 35 13 256 Soft 113.75 kB 300 GCR NB 6
1 16 140 kB
31⁄2 inch Double 1 80 Variable (8-12) 512 400 kB 394 - 590 GCR NB 7
2 800 kB
High 2 80 18 512 1,440 kB 300 MFM NB 8
Apple Lisa 51⁄4 inch FileWare Double 2 46 Variable (15-22) 512 Soft 851 kB 218 - 32019 GCR
Apple Lisa 2/Macintosh XL,

Macintosh

31⁄2 inch Double 1 80 Variable (8-12) 512 Soft 400 kB 394 - 590 GCR
Macintosh 2 800 kB
High 2 80 18 512 1,440 kB 300 MFM
Atari 8-bit 51⁄4 inch Single 1 40 18 128 Soft 90 kB 288 FM NB 9
Dual 26 128 130 kB MFM
Double 18 256 180 kB
Double 2 18 256 360 kB 300
Atari ST/TT/Falcon 31⁄2 inch Double 1 80 9 512 Soft 360 kB 300 MFM
2 720 kB
High 18 1,440 kB
Burroughs MD122 8 inch Double 2 139 44 256 Soft 6.26 MB18 524 MFM
Coleco ADAM 51⁄4 inch Double 1 40 8 512 soft 160 kB 300 MFM
Commodore 64 (8-bit) 51⁄4 inch Double 1 35 Variable (17-21) ZCAV 256 Soft 170 kB 300 GCR NB 10
2 340 kB
Quad 1 77 Variable (23-29) ZCAV 521 kB
2 1,042 kB
31⁄2 inch Double 2 80 10 512 800 kB MFM  
Commodore 128 (CP/M) 5 1/4 Double 2 40 26 128 Soft 260K 300 MFM Commodore 1571 20
16 256 320K
9 512 360K
5 1,024 400K
Commodore 900 51⁄4 inch High 2 80 13-16 512 Soft 1,200kB ? GCR 21
DEC RX01 8 inch Single 1 77 26 128 250 kB 360 FM
DEC RX02 8 inch Double 1 77 26 256 500 kB 360 FM/MFM
DEC RX50 51⁄4 inch Quad 1 80 10 512 400 kB 300 MFM
HP 110 31⁄2 inch Double 2 76 9 512 710kB22 600 MFM HP 9114A
HP 80 9800 1000 and 3000 8 inch Double 2 77 30 256 1.18 MB23 360 MFM HP 9895A
HP 86 51⁄4 inch Double 2 35 16 256 280 kB24 300 MFM HP 9130K
IBM 33FD 8 inch Single 1 77 26 128 240.5 kiB 360 FM Diskette 125
15 256 277.5 kiB
8 512 296 kiB
IBM 43FD 2 26 128 481 kiB Diskette 225
15 256 555 kiB
IBM 53FD Double 26 256 962 kiB MFM Diskette 2D25
15 512 1.08 MiB
8 1,024 1.16 MiB
IBM PC compatibles26 8 inch Single 1 77 26 128 Soft 250.25 kBNB 11262728 360 FM NB 12
2 500.5 kBNB 11262728
Double 1 8 1,024 616 kBNB 112728 MFM
2 1,232 kBNB 11262728
51⁄4 inch Double 1 40 8 512 160 kBNB 11 300 MFM  
2 320 kBNB 11
1 9 180 kBNB 11
2 360 kBNB 11
QuadNB 13 1 80 8 320 kBNB 11 300
2 640 kBNB 11
High 2 80 15 1,200 kBNB 11 360
31⁄2 inch Double 1 80 8 512 320 kBNB 11 300 MFM
9 360 kBNB 11
2 8 640 kBNB 11
9 720 kBNB 11
High 18 1,440 kBNB 11
21 1,680 kBNB 11 DMFNB 14
82 1,720 kBNB 11
Extended 80 36 2,880 kBNB 11
Memorex 650 8 inch Single 1 50 8 3,500 b Hard 1.4 Mb15 375 FM
Memorex 651 Single 64 32 1.056 b 2.2 Mb17
MGT SAM Coupé 31⁄2 inch Double 2 80 10 512 800 kB 300 MFM  
NEC PC-98 8 inch Single 1 77 26 128 250.25 kBNB 11 360 FM  
Double 2 77 8 1,024 1,232 kBNB 11 MFM
51⁄4 inch Double 2 80 8 512 640 kBNB 11 360 MFM
9 720 kBNB 11
High 15 1,200 kBNB 11
77 (80)NB 15 8 1,024 1,232 (1,280) kBNB 11NB 15 NB 15
31⁄2 inch Double 2 80 8 512 640 kBNB 11 360 MFM
9 720 kBNB 11
High 15 1,200 kBNB 11 3-modeNB 16NB 15
77 (80)NB 15 8 1,024 1,232 (1,280) kBNB 11NB 15
80 18 512 1.44 MBNB 11 300
Triple 240 38 512 9,120 kB 360 NEC PC-88 VA3 2TD drive only87
Osborne 129 51⁄4 inch Single 1 40 10 256 Soft 100 kB 300 FM
Double 5 1,024 200 kB MFM
Sega SF-7000 3 inch Single 2 40 16 256 160 kB ? ? Expansion unit for SC-3000 home computer. Capacity is per side.

30

SHARP X68000 51⁄4 inch High 2 77 8 1,024 1,232 kBNB 11 360 MFM  
31⁄2 inch
SHARP CE-1600F, CE-140F 21⁄2 inch23 Single drive: 1, diskette: 2 (flippable) 16 8 512 2× 64 kB 270 GCR (4/5) Internally based on FDU-250 Micro Floppy Disk Drive Unit2
Tandy TRS-80 51⁄4 inch Single 1 35 10 256 Soft 88 kB 300 FM Model 1/3/4
51⁄4 inch Double 1 40 18 256 180 kB MFM Model 1/3/4P
51⁄4 inch Double 2 40 18 256 360 kB MFM Model 4D
8 inch Double 1 77 26 256 500 kB MFM Model 2
31⁄2 inch Single 1 40 2 1,280 100 kB31 FM Tandy Portable Disk Drive (aka Brother FB-100, knitking FD-19)
31⁄2 inch Single 1 80 2 1,280 200 kB32 FM Used only in Tandy Portable Disk Drive 2
51⁄4 inch Double 1 35 18 256 157 kB33 MFM Color Computer
Thomson 51⁄4 inch Single 1 40 16 128 80 kB 300 FM Thomson UD90.070
Double 2 256 320 kB MFM Thomson DD90-320NB 17
31⁄2 inch Double 1 80 16 256 320 kB 300 MFM Thomson TO9, Thomson DD09-350
Double 2 640 kB Thomson TO8D, TO9+, Thomson DD90-352NB 18
Victor 9000 / ACT Sirius 134 51⁄4 inch Single 1 80 11-19 (variable) 512 612 kB35 252-417 (variable) GCR Disks varied sectors/track and disk speed to keep consistent bit density across tracks34
Double 2 512 1,196 kB35
Vtech Laser210/VZ200 51⁄4 inch Single ? 40 16 ? Soft 78 kB ? FM RPM: 75.
Platform Size Density Side Track Sector Byte Sectoring Capacity RPM Encoding Note
IBM PC Compatible 5 1/4 Quad 2 80 31 512 Soft 2.5MB 300 MFM Rana 2000 with Rana controller card
See also

See also

  • Zip drive (floppy-like, but incompatible medium using different technology)
  • PocketZip (floppy-like, but incompatible medium using different technology)
  • SuperDisk (floppy-like with drives also compatible with 3.5" floppy disks)
  • Magneto-optical drive (floppy-like, but incompatible medium using different technology)
  • List_of_Ecma_standards (ECMA standards 54, 59, 66, 69, 70, 78, 99, 100, 125 and 147)
Notes

Notes

  1. Custom controller with unique track layout.[1]
  2. This format was used by the Amiga 1020 external floppy drive and some third-party drives connected to the normal Amiga floppy drive bus.
  3. Though the Amiga used MFM, the format places sectors too close together for a standard IBM PC compatible floppy disk controller to read (appearing as one 5632-byte physical sector per track).
  4. Format used by rare third-party drives with quad density disks; such drives were usually switchable between 80-track and 40-track (A1520/PC-compatible) operation.
  5. Format used by third-party gcrdisk.device driver in order to use PC-standard HD floppy drives (which rotated at a fixed 300 rpm) via the Amiga floppy drive bus. The Amiga's floppy controller could not keep up with the data rate needed for MFM recording on HD floppies without reducing rotational speed, so the third party driver used an alternate GCR mode.
  6. 16 sector filesystems require a compatible disk controller (PROM update) and Apple DOS 3.3 or later.
  7. Apple II double-density 31⁄2-inch (90 mm) drives use variable sectors sizes (tracks 00-15: 12 sectors, tracks 16-31: 11 sectors, tracks 32-47: 10 sectors, tracks 48-63: 9 sectors, tracks 64-79: 8 sectors), 394 rpm to 590 rpm. [2]
  8. Apple II high-density 31⁄2-inch (90 mm) drives require a compatible disk controller and ProDOS 8.
  9. Third party drives offer up to 1440 KB.
  10. Commodore floppy drives used a fixed rotation speed with variable sector density (see: Zone bit recording).
  11. The calculated formatted capacity is based on FAT12 format.
  12. While IBM didn't include an 8-inch floppy drive option on any of their PCs and PC DOS, MS-DOS 1.25 supported 8-inch disks and added support for higher capacities in version 2.0. MS-DOS' predecessor 86-DOS used 8-inch diskettes as well.
  13. Rare format appearing on some early PC/XT clones using quad-density disks.
  14. These variations are known as DMF diskettes, used for a time to pack more data on to each disk for software distribution.
  15. Inner 3 tracks of 8 sectors/track format are unused.
  16. The PC98 31⁄2-inch (90 mm) formats are also known as "3 Mode" floppy disks, usable on IBM PC compatibles with a 3-mode floppy drive.
  17. The two sides are managed as two independent 160 KB disks
  18. The two sides are managed as two independent 320 KB disks
References

References

  1. US4609949A, Kutaragi, Ken, "Magnetic disc reproducing apparatus", issued September 2, 1986, assigned to Sony Corporation 
  2. "Model CE-1600F". Sharp PC-1600 Service Manual (PDF). Yamatokoriyama, Japan: Sharp Corporation, Information Systems Group, Quality & Reliability Control Center. July 1986. pp. 98–104. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  3. Sharp Service Manual Model CE-140F Pocket Disk Drive (PDF). Sharp Corporation. 00ZCE140F/SME. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  4. Tabor TC-500 Specifications. USA: Tabor Corp. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  5. "PF-10" (PDF). Epson. 1984. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 21, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  6. "Floppy Drive Tech Info". www.retrotechnology.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  7. NEC μPD72070 - Floppy Disk Controller Specification Version 2.0 (PDF). 2.0 preliminary. NEC Corporation. October 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  8. "ハードウエア" [Hardware]. NEC PC-88VA (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 18, 2017.
  9. US4482929A, Beck, John L.; Bornhorst, Randy J. & Smith, Donald J. et al., "Magnetic recording disk cartridge", issued November 13, 1984 
  10. "Fujitsu Sales Prospector 1986". Archive.org. 1986. p. 238. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  11. "コンピュータ・情報システム・パソコン・周辺機器" [Hitachi Computer Peripherals] (PDF). hitachihyoron.com. January 6, 1985. p. 9. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  12. Berry, D (September 7, 1982). Lisa Hardware Manual (PDF). Apple Computer Inc. pp. 9–1.
  13. "Fujitsu Sales Prospector 1986". 1986. pp. 238, 239 – via Archive.org.
  14. "FDD-441大容量フロッピーディスク駆動装置の開発" [Development of FDD-441 Large-Capacity Floppy Disk Drive] (PDF). hitachihyoron.com. August 3, 1984. p. 3. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  15. 650 Flexible Disc File OEM Manual 2944.010. Memorex Corp. 1972. p. 9.
  16. Memorex Markette Flexible Discs (PDF). USA: Memorex Corp. 1978. pp. 1–2.
  17. Memorex 651 Flexible Disc File OEM Manual. USA: Memorex Corp. 1977. p. 4.
  18. Burroughs MD 122 Brochure. USA: Burroughs Marketing. 1979. p. 2.
  19. "Apple's Twiggy Disks". www.brouhaha.com. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  20. "Commodore 1571". 1.0. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  21. Purden, Benny; Hughes, Frank (March 15, 1985). "Commodore 900 Floppy Specification" (PDF). 1.0. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  22. 9914A Disc Drive (PDF). Hewlett-Packard. June 1, 1984. p. 1-2.
  23. 9895A Flexible Disc Users Manual (PDF). Fort Collins, Colorado USA: Hewlett-Packard Desktop Computer Division. 1978. p. 6.
  24. HP 9130K Flexible Disc Drive Service Documentation (PDF). Fort Collins, Colorado USA: Hewlett-Packard Greeley Division. 1981.
  25. The IBM Diskette General Information Manual (PDF) (Reference Manual). USA: IBM. 1979. pp. 18–19.
  26. "Standard Floppy Disk Formats Supported by MS-DOS". 2.0. Microsoft. December 17, 2000. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  27. Zbikowski, Mark; Allen, Paul; Ballmer, Steve; Borman, Reuben; Borman, Rob; Butler, John; Carroll, Chuck; Chamberlain, Mark; Chell, David; Colee, Mike; Courtney, Mike; Dryfoos, Mike; Duncan, Rachel; Eckhardt, Kurt; Evans, Eric; Farmer, Rick; Gates, Bill; Geary, Michael; Griffin, Bob; Hogarth, Doug; Johnson, James W.; Kermaani, Kaamel; King, Adrian; Koch, Reed; Landowski, James; Larson, Chris; Lennon, Thomas; Lipkie, Dan; McDonald, Marc; McKinney, Bruce; Martin, Pascal; Mathers, Estelle; Matthews, Bob; Melin, David; Mergentime, Charles; Nevin, Randy; Newell, Dan; Newell, Tani; Norris, David; O'Leary, Mike; O'Rear, Bob; Olsson, Mike; Osterman, Larry; Ostling, Ridge; Pai, Sunil; Paterson, Tim; Perez, Gary; Peters, Chris; Petzold, Charles; Pollock, John; Reynolds, Aaron; Rubin, Darryl; Ryan, Ralph; Schulmeisters, Karl; Shah, Rajen; Shaw, Barry; Short, Anthony; Slivka, Ben; Smirl, Jon; Stillmaker, Betty; Stoddard, John; Tillman, Dennis; Whitten, Greg; Yount, Natalie; Zeck, Steve (1988). "Technical advisors". The MS-DOS Encyclopedia: versions 1.0 through 3.2. By Duncan, Ray; Bostwick, Steve; Burgoyne, Keith; Byers, Robert A.; Hogan, Thom; Kyle, Jim; Letwin, Gordon; Petzold, Charles; Rabinowitz, Chip; Tomlin, Jim; Wilton, Richard; Wolverton, Van; Wong, William; Woodcock, JoAnne (Completely reworked ed.). Redmond, Washington, USA: Microsoft Press. ISBN 1-55615-049-0. LCCN 87-21452. OCLC 16581341. (xix+1570 pages; 26 cm) (NB. This edition was published in 1988 after extensive rework of the withdrawn 1986 first edition by a different team of authors. [3])
  28. Xerox 16/8 Professional Computer – MS-DOS OS Handbook for 8" Floppy Disks (PDF). Xerox. November 1983.
  29. Hogan, Thom; Iannamico, Mike (1982). Osborne 1 Technical Manual (PDF). Osborne Computer Corporation. p. 39.
  30. "Sega SF-7000 Super Control Station User Guide". Sega Enterprises. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  31. Tandy Portable Disk Drive Operation Manual 26-3808. Japan: Radio Shack. 1985. p. 25.
  32. Tandy Portable Disk Drive 2 Operation Manual 26-3814. Japan: Radio Shack. 1986. p. 33.
  33. Radio Shack Hardware Manual: Color Computer Disk System Owners Manual (1981)(Tandy). 1981.
  34. "Victor 9000 Hardware Reference Manual" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  35. Lemmons, Phil (November 1982). "Victor Victorious". BYTE. p. 216. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
External links