IBM 1.44MB HD 3.5″ FLOPPY DISK 25 UNITS
The IBM 1.44MB HD 3.5″ Floppy Disks were once a staple of personal computing for data storage and transfer. Packaged in a unit of 25 disks, they provided a reliable and transportable form of magnetic storage for documents, small programs, and data backups during the late 1980s and 1990s. The “HD” stands for High Density, which gave them a capacity of 1.44 megabytes, a significant upgrade from earlier double-density formats. Each disk is housed in a rigid plastic shell with a spring-loaded metal shutter to protect the magnetic media inside from dust and damage, ensuring data integrity. The “IBM-formatted” designation indicates they were formatted specifically for use with IBM PC-compatible systems, though other brands and unformatted versions were also common. The 3.5-inch form factor became the industry standard for removable media for over a decade before being supplanted by higher-capacity formats like Zip disks, CDs, and eventually, flash drives. These disks are a historical artifact of computing and are primarily sought after today by collectors, retro computing enthusiasts, or those who need to access data from vintage computer systems.
System specification
• Format: IBM-Formatted High Density (HD)
• Capacity: 1.44MB (1.44 megabytes)
• Physical Size: 3.5 inches
• Disk Type: Double-Sided / High Density (DS/HD)
• Data Structure:
o Tracks: 80 tracks per side
o Sectors: 18 sectors per track
o Bytes per Sector: 512 bytes
• Physical Features:
o Housing: Rigid plastic casing with a spring-loaded metal shutter
o Write-Protect Tab: A sliding tab on the disk’s body to prevent accidental overwriting
• Compatibility:
o Requires a 3.5″ floppy disk drive
o Compatible with IBM PC-compatible systems and other computers that supported the 1.44MB format
• Package Contents: 25 units
