Long before the advent of high capacity external hard drives and convenient USB sticks, the predominant storage format was 3 1/2 floppy discs. Also called micro diskettes, these plastic cards contained a meager 1.44 megabytes of data. At the time, however, that was plenty for most uses. Today, floppy disks are obsolete, unsupported, and replaced by more efficient hardware. However, there are still options out there for users that wish to use these disks.
Modern motherboards do not support internal drives for 3 1/2 floppy discs, so external drives are needed to read micro diskettes. One such device on offer is the Sabrent External USB Floppy Disk Drive. This light weight, ultra-slim disk reader will connect to any Windows or Mac OS X system via the USB port. It features a data transfer rate of 1,000 megabits per second and, naturally, a capacity of 1.44 megabytes. The Sabrent external drive comes with a 1-year warranty and is one of the best-selling floppy readers on the market.
Micro diskettes themselves can be remarkably difficult to find, as they are scarcely manufactured, if you don’t know where to look. You likely won’t find them in brick and mortar shops, but there are quite a lot available online. You can even get the classic Maxell MF2HD disks directly from Maxell. This company has been producing 3 1/2 floppy discs for decades with a stellar reputation. The multi-bound plastic shell promises remarkable durability to withstand extreme conditions. Just for extra assurance, each disk in the 10-pack comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
Micro diskettes may be obsolete, but they are not a forgotten relic. The technology can still be used, even on modern computer systems. Regain access to old games and documents. Back them up on new floppy disks, or transfer them to today’s storage mediums. Don’t throw out your old devices so hastily. Get 3 1/2 floppy discs and external readers to unlock their potential.