TOKYO (TR) – In the ’80s and ’90s, floppy disks had been the norm for storing knowledge. However, they shortly disappeared from houses and places of work with the emergence of bigger capability and quicker recording media.
But in Japan, at the same time as of 2025, floppy disks are nonetheless being utilized in sure industries and fields. Why has this outdated medium survived?
According to website Sumaholife-plus, the reply lies of their utilization in so-called “legacy systems” in sure industries. To transfer past these programs requires enormous investments that many companies will not be capable of tackle.
Limitations
Since their look in the marketplace as 8-inch floppies within the early ’70s, floppy disks have lengthy been established as an indispensable device for carrying knowledge and distributing software program. However, sure limitations have induced them to turn into mainly out of date.
Capacity is considered one of them. The early 8-inch floppy disks held about 80KB of storage. Manufacturers later upped that determine to 360KB and 1.2MB. However, the medium shortly turned outdated as a result of enlargement of working programs and software software program, and the unfold of multimedia information equivalent to photographs and music information taken with digital cameras.
Slow switch speeds is one other. Writing 1MB can take 30 seconds to a minute. When dealing with dozens of MB of software program, it will possibly take hours to learn and write knowledge whereas switching disks a number of occasions.
These limitations led pc producers to take away floppy disk drives from their merchandise from across the finish of the Nineteen Nineties.
Difficulty of updating present programs
Despite these limitations, some industries nonetheless use floppy disks.
For costly industrial equipment and management programs which have been operation for many years, it might not be economical to switch all the system simply to replace some elements, equivalent to floppy disk drives.
In addition, in fields the place there are strict security and precision necessities in place (e.g. precision equipment for manufacturing), adjustments to a system configuration as soon as licensed requires a recertification, which takes money and time.
For this motive, if the economic equipment has been licensed as soon as and has been working stably for many years, it’s typically preferable to proceed working the machine utilizing floppy disks with out updating the system.
For instance, floppy disks are sometimes nonetheless in use in sure manufacturing websites and analysis establishments, equivalent to injection molding machines, inspection tools and previous oscilloscopes.
As a smaller instance, floppy disks are nonetheless used to switch knowledge from embroidery machines at small firms. The motive is embroidery machines can price a number of million yen, and changing them could be a large burden for small firms.
Since even minor malfunctions will not be tolerated in plane programs, applied sciences which have been confirmed to function stably for an extended time period are prioritized, and new applied sciences are launched with warning.
Aviation is one other business that also makes use of floppy disks. Aircraft can have a life cycle extending for a number of many years from growth to retirement. In some instances, floppy disks that had been customary on the time of design proceed for use as they’re.
Similarly, floppy disks are additionally utilized by the navy. In addition to being a discipline that requires secure operation like plane, they’re additionally regarded as a dependable technique of loading knowledge in an setting remoted from exterior networks.
Difficulty of updating present programs
In Japan, there have lengthy been legal guidelines and laws that specify utilizing floppy disks for submitting software knowledge in some administrative procedures. The Digital Agency modified that. The remaining regulation requiring using floppy disks and different recording media was abolished on June 28, 2024.
Currently, home manufacturing of floppy disks has ended, with solely stock objects circulating out there. As a outcome, costs have been steadily rising. A pack of 10 disks runs about 6,600 yen. It shouldn’t be unusual for individuals who completely want them for work to go looking everywhere in the Akihabara buying district.
Emulation is likely to be the best way ahead. In response to the state of affairs, a transition to emulation programs as a substitute for floppy disks is progressing.
For instance, the German Navy is contemplating introducing a system that utterly emulates the 8-inch floppy disks used on previous ships. As properly, emulation merchandise that acknowledge Compact Flash playing cards and floppy disks have additionally appeared in Japan.
This makes it doable to switch solely the recording media with fashionable expertise with out making main modifications to the prevailing system. It is predicted that the unfold of such emulation expertise will take over the “role” of floppy disks sooner or later.