Some manufacturers claimed the lifespan of floppy disks was three to five years, while others said they could last ten to twenty years. Of course, since floppy disks utilize magnetic storage (not unlike tape), it’s safe to say that eventually, the magnetism will wear out around the same time a tape would (ten to twenty years).
I’m kind of surprised that I’m not turning up harder information on longevity, but that sounds plausible to me. Note that they aren’t mentioning the capacity that the disk was initialized for — it was possible to, given a drive and disk that supported a higher capacity, to initialize for lower capacity. I don’t know if doing that might extend longevity. But I’d be a little skeptical that the actual contents of the disk are readable today.
In 1984, IBM introduced with its PC/AT the 1.2 MB (1,228,800 bytes) dual-sided 5¼-inch floppy disk, but it never became very popular. IBM started using the 720 KB double density 3½-inch microfloppy disk on its Convertible laptop computer in 1986 and the 1.44 MB (1,474,560 bytes) high-density version with the IBM Personal System/2 (PS/2) line in 1987. These disk drives could be added to older PC models.
Prior to CDs, AOL shipped 3.5" microfloppies. These sometimes got erased and used as free storage.
kagis
Apparently people are still selling them, decades later. Honestly, I don’t even know if, in 2025, you can read a 3.5" microfloppy that was last written in the 1990s.
kagis
https://www.arcserve.com/blog/data-storage-lifespans-how-long-will-media-really-last
I’m kind of surprised that I’m not turning up harder information on longevity, but that sounds plausible to me. Note that they aren’t mentioning the capacity that the disk was initialized for — it was possible to, given a drive and disk that supported a higher capacity, to initialize for lower capacity. I don’t know if doing that might extend longevity. But I’d be a little skeptical that the actual contents of the disk are readable today.
I’ve never heard anyone call 3.5" discs, microfloppies. They are just floppies, despite not being the original size or even floppy anymore.
Get off my lawn, whippersnappers. shakes fist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk
My gf calls me a 3.5" microfloppy :/
Yea, but that’s warranted.
Duh, everyone knows they’re called save icons.