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In the early era of “portable” or luggable computers, such as the mains powered Osborne 1 and the Compaq Portable, 5¼-inch floppy drives were the standard storage medium. When battery-powered laptops came of age in the late 1980s, 90 mm (“3½-inch”) floppy drives were generally used (see for example the IBM PC Convertible, which used two of them).

A few battery powered laptops, such as the Toshiba T1100, supported the use of an external 5¼-inch floppy drive. This allowed them to access data on these larger floppies, and transfer data to & from existing desktop machines.

Was there a battery-powered laptop computer that had a 5¼″ floppy drive built into its chassis, instead of being a separate external add-on?

user3840170
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Kaz
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    Not aware of any. The closest thing, while not exactly a laptop, no screen, and no battery power, featuring a 5 1/4" drive would be the Apple IIc. – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 07:23
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    To my knowledge, there never existed a slim line form factor for 5 1/4" inch floppy drives (while it was available for CD-ROM drives). This would have helped to build laptops of acceptable size featuring 5 1/4" floppies - But their time had already passed when battery-powered laptops appeared. – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 09:07
  • In the 1980s this form factor was very common. Such devices often even had 2x 5,25" floppy drives. – Martin Rosenau Apr 11 '19 at 11:53
  • @MartinRosenau That's the "lunchbox" format discussed in comments to Raffzahn's answer. Not really a "laptop", IMHO – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 14:08
  • There is the SX64 (1986): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_SX-64 – Thomas Apr 11 '19 at 18:37
  • @Thomas - You read my mind! I remember seeing one of these in the shops when I was a kid. Because the screen was so small, the displayed text looks great. But I wouldn't want to have to read it for a long time. – Kingsley Apr 11 '19 at 23:23
  • The SX-64 is strictly mains powered. A few people have made their own DIY battery packs for them subsequently, but that wasn't an option back in the day. – Matthew Barber Apr 12 '19 at 01:44
  • Not sure if real or `shop, but https://i.imgur.com/QYwH87s.jpg – Criggie Apr 12 '19 at 22:19
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    @tofro Of course there where slim line 5.25 - after all, slim line is again one of these terms that changed and got reused over and over again. Full height is 3.25", half height is 1.625" and slim line 5.25 is 1" - and then there are the dual 5.25/5.25" and 5.25/3.5" drives with a combined height of 1.625" or 21mm per drive Much like a slim line 3.5" disk :) As usual, it helps looking past the most common computers. – Raffzahn Apr 12 '19 at 22:51
  • @Kingsley, I saw one in a shop as a kid as well, but it is the only time I have ever seen one; I don't recall any other place selling them. – Thomas Apr 13 '19 at 17:47
  • The 3,5 floppies were much smaller than the 5,25 ones. That alone may have been a strong incitament to use those in "laptops" – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen Jan 16 '20 at 14:05

8 Answers8

18

The closest thing to a modern laptop that I'm aware of featuring an internal 5 1/4 drive is the Findex of 1979 which had a fairly complete (optionally battery-powered) CP/M computer including a hard-sectored floppy drive, a 40 x 6 plasma display and even a printer in a package of about the size of a (quite large) travel typewriter, weighing 20 pounds.

The case The machine inside

I wouldn't exactly call it a laptop, but you can at least imagine it could be operated as such - I mean, literally on your laps, at least for a while... (It was designed as a portable computer and it did feature a carrying handle and optional battery - although apparently designed in more as UPS rather than operating power supply - and carrying case).

Toby Speight
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tofro
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    I had to dig as far as page 14 of the linked brochure, but it does specify an optional battery, giving "one hour plug-off work capability"! – Kaz Apr 11 '19 at 08:19
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    Why don't laptops still have carry handles? A slightly thicker laptop (so that it's a bit more robust) + a pocket + a carry handle actually sounds pretty amazing . – David Mulder Apr 11 '19 at 15:25
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    @DavidMulder Check out the Panasonic Toughbook. It's exactly what you want. The new ones are very expensive but used models can get down into reasonable territory. – JPhi1618 Apr 11 '19 at 17:32
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    @DavidMulder More things in general should have carry handles. That was my favorite feature of the GameCube. – DarthFennec Apr 11 '19 at 17:34
  • @DarthFennec if it only is to throw the darn thing out of the window;) – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 17:38
  • It's certainly closer to a laptop than a Kaypro or an Osborne, but there's no internal floppy drive. – Matthew Barber Apr 11 '19 at 23:49
  • @MatthewBarber are you sure? The link in the answer says it does have a "standard" internal floppy drive. – Aethenosity Apr 12 '19 at 00:49
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    I stand corrected. I was just looking at the bubble memory model. – Matthew Barber Apr 12 '19 at 00:58
  • This lonely picture doesn't show a 5 inch drive, it doesn't even show a computer, just a big travel case. From the looks of it, I guess inside of it is a sewing machine? – LаngLаngС Apr 13 '19 at 09:21
  • @LangLangC Please follow the link to the sales brochure above - Tere really is a computer inside. – tofro Apr 16 '19 at 19:05
  • I believe that, as I did that, and took a picture from that PDF, showing that, which I put into this post –– but you rolled that back for some reason. This post really showed the computer… – LаngLаngС Apr 16 '19 at 19:13
  • @LangLangC Not aware of a rollback - maybe was a parallel edit – tofro Apr 16 '19 at 19:25
  • Probably concurrent edit - I've resolved the conflict. – Toby Speight Mar 22 '23 at 16:40
17

As so often this depends on your definition of laptop - which is not an exact one either. There where many level of size and weight between a bulky schleppable like a Compaq Portable and a notebook sized computer. And only a few would work well on a lap. I wouldn't consider the T1100 be one of them.

Still, with the T1100 as cornerstone, I think the Morrow Pivot of 1984, and its successor, the Pivot II of 1985, also sold as Zenith Z-171, would qualify. It was an 8088-based PC clone with one or two 5.25" drives and could operate from an optional battery pack.

enter image description here

(Picture taken from Wikipedia)

Another candidate could be the Visual Commuter 1083 of 1983. While it looks more like a laptop, due the conventional style of opening the screen instead of keyboard, it's way bigger than the Morrow Pivot (*2). In fact, it's so wide (and quite low, less than half height), that it makes the 5.25" drives look like 3.5".

enter image description here

(Picture taken from Oldcomputers.net)

And then there is of course what could be called 'Lunchbox' format (*1), best known from the Compaq Portable III of 1987, but actually introduced around 1985 by Taiwanese manufacturers. Being somewhere more portable than the classic luggables and definitely more flexible due the large interior it was quite successful from the mid '80s to mid '90s, producing an endless stream of variations, many including 5.25" drives and batteries, even way into the 1990s.

enter image description here

(Taken from Oldcomputer.info)

They (the lunchboxes, not 5.25"s) cover a niche until today for special to type configuration (like for embedded systems maintenance) or portable high performance machines.

A somewhat stretched candidate would be an Apple IIc like Tofro mentioned in a comment. Unlike assumed, there was an LCD available (from Apple and third party), as well as battery-packs (third party). Still, it lacks the easy portability - at least before some glue (or a bag) is applied :)

enter image description here

(Taken from Obsolete Computer Museum)

*1 - According to Tofro :))

*2 - Sizes as width x height x depth

  • Morrow Pivot: 32 x 25 x 14 cm (12,8 x 9,8 x 5,5 inch)
  • Commuter 1083: 45 x 9 x 38 cm (18 x 3,5 x 15 inch)
  • Compaq Portable III : 41 x 25 x 20 cm (16 x 10 x 8 inch)
Toby Speight
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    I wouldn't really consider the "lunchbox format" a laptop. I'd be scared having any of them on my laps... – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 07:44
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    Erm, you may want to take a closer look, the Z171 is way smaller than the 'Lunchbox' format of that time. That would be a Compaq Portable III or alike. You're definitly right about the less than perfect fit for a 'laptop' computing. But so is the T1100 as well - explicit named in the question, isn't it? – Raffzahn Apr 11 '19 at 07:59
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    I agree that it's hard to draw a neat line between portables and laptops, hence I took the internal battery as an arbitrary distinction between the two. Plus, the dimensions of a 5 1/4 floppy drive will naturally influence the size and form-factor of any computer designed around it. But the Morrow Pivot and its descendants seem to fit the bill nicely. – Kaz Apr 11 '19 at 08:13
  • @Raffzahn It appears the Compaq III did not support a battery (http://oldcomputers.net/compaqiii.html), so while it's a good example of the "lunchbox" form factor, it doesn't meet the requirements of the question. – Kaz Apr 11 '19 at 08:23
  • @Kaz I did not state that it had such. Its used as an example for the form factor, so people get an idea. The paragraph is about the general class of machines - which where available in zillions of configurations from countless (usually noname) manufacturers. – Raffzahn Apr 11 '19 at 08:26
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    The linked Wikipedia article even mentions the Morrow/Z-171 as one of the first "lunchbox" computers. Probably depends on the size of your lunch... – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 08:42
  • @tofro Well, mine would be more like the Compaq :)) Beside that, the term is (as so many) quite debatable. Fact is that the Pivot is about half the bolume of a Compaq (11 vs 20 liter) - and more important, The size of next to all lunchbox computers over more than 20 years where that of the Compaq, so I'd say that's a rather fixed definition the Pivot not fits - or only half ways :)) – Raffzahn Apr 11 '19 at 08:50
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    @Raffzahn (re: Compaq III) Granted, just trying to clarify things. :) – Kaz Apr 11 '19 at 09:02
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    Well, I think "lunchbox" more refers to the form factor rather than specifying some definite size. "Clamshell" is another term like that where you find large and small examples. – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 09:03
  • @tofro I guess we can argue about that for quite some time. My impression is that there is a huge group of machines almost exclusive with the exact measurements of the Portable III. To me the Pivot fits the Lunchbox style about as much as a PPC does hold up the Clamshell label - doing the quote gesture before wouldn't be out of context. – Raffzahn Apr 11 '19 at 09:16
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    The Osborne Encore doesn't qualify? http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=122 – LаngLаngС Apr 11 '19 at 10:43
  • It is known that you can use an Apple //c at the beach. Hollywood doesn't lie. :) – Warren Young Aug 27 '20 at 18:02
17

If the definition sought after is very strictly speaking "integrated 5.25 inch floppy" and "battery powered", then I would like to enter the Kaypro II from August 1982:

enter image description here

Which is a luggable and has

Built In Media: Two 5.25'' SS/DD full-height floppies (190k)
Peripherals: 400 KB or 800 KB 5.25'' floppy drives, 10 MB hard disc, battery pack/charger

So instead of 5.25inch peripheral disks, we have here an external battery pack.

If for added fun we really want to stretch out this game of definitions, we might also take a look at what the military thought of as (trans-)portable computer that relies on batteries?

enter image description here enter image description here

CGS-100 AN/TYQ-63

California Microwave builds a case called the CGS-100, inside this huge , heavy box lives a ISA plane board, a LCD display and a integrated keyboard mouse.
This system has a signal board P1-166 64 Meg processor board, a APTI SCSI controller, Dolch video card with flat panel driver and network card that I have installed.
The system came with a dual 3.5/5 inch floppy that did not work so I replaced that with a standard 1.4, also you can see the SCSI CD rom I installed to put windows 98 on the system. their is a SCSI hard drive that I hung in the bay later. And you can see Windows 98 is still going strong around here.
This is maybe the heaviest computer I have bought today, what you don't see is the hard shell plastic shipping container it arrived in. a custom built shipping case for this system. everything together weighed over one hundred pounds!
Have discovered that this is a part of the AN/TYQ-63 communications system and ran NT as a operating system, I have NT but would rather run 98.

With such a toll in weight the battery was then conveniently stored on wheels, like that:

enter image description here (PDF)

But really a lot closer to what might be asked for would be the GRiD Case3 and later:

enter image description here
While the Compass 1101 had no internal floppy drive, later systems did, such as the GRiDCase3 seen above.

The rear panel of the GRiDCase3 also shows the battery compartment. Most GRiD systems released after the 1101 can run on battery-power. The internal power supply is ejected and a battery-pack is installed in its place.

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LаngLаngС
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    All your pictures except the Kaypro show 3.5" floppy drives? – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 18:12
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    @tofro, the picture doesn't show it, but the CGS-100 came with a dual 5.25"/3.5" drive, and the GRiDCase3 shows a 5.25" drive. – Mark Apr 11 '19 at 20:09
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    The drive in the Grid 3 looks suspiciously like a 3.5" drive to me. – tofro Apr 11 '19 at 20:26
  • Yeah, that's definitely a 3.5" internal drive. The oldcomputers link confirms it. There was a 5.25" drive for the system that's also shown there, but that's in an external module. +1 for the Kaypro though. – Matthew Barber Apr 11 '19 at 23:45
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Nobody has mentioned the Xerox Notetaker yet, which I'd think has to be the earliest portable machine that's both battery powered and containing a 5.25" floppy drive.

However, at a bone crunching 22kg which is about twice the weight of the Osborne-1, it's somewhat stretching the definition of a laptop. Also, only ten prototypes were ever made.

Radovan Garabík
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Didn't see anyone mention the Commodore SX-64. Another one in the luggable category, of course. It was mass produced, and marketed towards executives.

Chris W
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I do not know what this is (have a identify question posted). But it might qualify. keyboard area

side

name plate

George White
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Does it count if it was only prototype like Xerox Notetaker? On Kaypro machines only Kaypro 2000 with 3.5" drive was battery powered in wiki info. I have Kaypro 2x and no battery option on these bigger models as i know of. From https://wiki2.org/en/Kaypro "This and other Kaypro computers (except for the Kaypro 2000) run off regular AC mains power and are not equipped with a battery.

There is also a Gavilan computer. Also found Otrona Attache is reported with optional battery and price tag on it, if it counts. Osborne apparently have an official battery pack, while it is not small enough to be called a laptop but here

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The Ericsson portable computer.

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Udw3QWX2LQ8C&lpg=PA136&ots=v_BT-e4wly&dq=Ericsson%20Portable%20PC&pg=PA135#v=onepage&q=Ericsson%20Portable%20PC&f=false

ghellquist
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  • Ericsson portable computer is without battery and use only ac power? http://vintage-laptops.com/en/ericsson-portable-pc/?lang=en. Quote on translated at http://pc-museum.com/ericsson/index.htm "Power supply unit for 220 volts was built-in" – Petri-fied Nov 29 '22 at 15:38
  • I stand corrected. – ghellquist Nov 29 '22 at 19:46