Removable storage format common on older PCs for data transport?

Removable storage format common on older PCs for data transport?

• A. USB drive
• B. CD-ROM
• C. Floppy disk
• D. SD card

Answer: (C)

Floppy disks were the standard removable media for moving data between older computers. They were inexpensive, compact to carry, and most early PCs came with built-in floppy drives, so you could easily transfer files by handing a disk to someone else or swapping disks between machines. The format made data transport practical despite its limits. The trade-off is the size. Typical high-density 3.5-inch disks held about 1.44 MB, with older formats offering even less. Speed was slow, and disks could be damaged by magnets, dust, or bending, which meant reliability was a concern for larger transfers. While CD-ROMs, USB drives, and SD cards exist, they either came later or required hardware that wasn’t standard on the oldest PCs, so floppy disks best fit the description of a common removable transport medium on that era.

Floppy disks were the standard removable media for moving data between older computers. They were inexpensive, compact to carry, and most early PCs came with built-in floppy drives, so you could easily transfer files by handing a disk to someone else or swapping disks between machines. The format made data transport practical despite its limits.

The trade-off is the size. Typical high-density 3.5-inch disks held about 1.44 MB, with older formats offering even less. Speed was slow, and disks could be damaged by magnets, dust, or bending, which meant reliability was a concern for larger transfers.

While CD-ROMs, USB drives, and SD cards exist, they either came later or required hardware that wasn’t standard on the oldest PCs, so floppy disks best fit the description of a common removable transport medium on that era.