diskettstasjon

A diskettstasjon, also known as a floppy disk drive (FDD), is a device that reads and writes data to and from floppy disks. Floppy disks are portable storage media consisting of a thin, flexible magnetic disk enclosed in a protective casing. Diskettstasjoner were an essential component of personal computers for decades, from the late 1970s through the early 2000s.

The concept of the diskettstasjon was pioneered by IBM in the early 1970s. The first commercially successful diskettstasjon was the IBM 33FD, released in 1971, which used an 8-inch floppy disk. Later, smaller formats emerged, most notably the 5.25-inch diskette in the late 1970s and the more ubiquitous 3.5-inch diskette in the 1980s. The 3.5-inch diskette, with its rigid plastic shell and metal shutter, offered greater durability and data integrity compared to its predecessors.

Diskettstasjoner typically connect to a computer's motherboard via a ribbon cable and draw power from the power supply unit. They contain a read/write head that moves across the surface of the spinning disk to access data. The capacity of floppy disks varied over time, with common capacities for 3.5-inch disks including 720 KB and the more standard 1.44 MB.

The decline of the diskettstasjon began with the advent of higher-capacity and more convenient storage media, such as CD-ROMs, USB flash drives, and external hard drives. By the mid-2000s, most new computers no longer included built-in diskettstasjoner, and they are now considered obsolete technology. Despite their obsolescence, diskettstasjoner played a crucial role in the early development and widespread adoption of personal computing.