History

• The first floppy disc drives were made in the 1970's by Atari, IBM, and Commodore. By the 1990's, other disc drives became more popular for the storage of files, such as the compact disc drive.
  
  

Function

• A floppy disc drive operates by using magnetic heads to read the data on a floppy disc. The size of the floppy disc drive opening must match the size of the floppy disc to be compatible. For instance, a 3.5-inch floppy disc would only be compatible with a 3.5-inch floppy disc drive.
  
  

Identification

• A floppy disc drive is square or rectangular. The manufacturer of the drive is identifiable by the name of the company or the company insignia usually located on the front of the floppy disc drive.
  
  

Storage capacity

• Floppy discs store relatively small amounts of data by today's standards. For example, the standard 3.5-inch floppy only holds 1.44 MB worth of information, while a blank CD can store up to 700 MB.
  
  

Considerations

• A floppy disc drive and the floppy discs it uses must be handled with care. Both the floppy disc drive and floppy discs can be damaged by contact with liquids and by physical impact, such as dropping them.