The original floppy disk was the eight-inch. These large disks predate the desktop machine, and were mainly used for transferring data between mainframe machines. Their capacity was extremely limited, by today’s standards, with 160 kilobytes available. The reason for the name 'floppy' was that the exterior casing was only soft flexible plastic, leaving them vulnerable to manhandling.

Home computer manufacturers, who had previously been using tape (compact cassette) to save data too, saw the possibilities for this medium. Amstrad incorporated a 3-inch disk drive into their CPC664 and CPC6128 models, among other manufacturers. They remained expensive and did not become standardized. However, they had a small form factor and a rigid case with a slidable write-protect catch, features which would be seen later in the 3½" disk.