Sony Wanted to Replace Floppy Disk Drives with MiniDisc Back in the 90s, Here’s a Look Back at the MDM-111

Who remembers MiniDisc, particularly the MDM-111? This internal MiniDisc (MD) Data drive designed for OEM use, primarily intended for integration into IBM ThinkPad laptops. Sony developed MD Data to replace the 3.5-inch floppy disk (1.4 MB) and compete with other removable storage media like Iomega’s Zip drive (100 MB), Imation’s SuperDisk (120 MB), and SyQuest’s EZ 135 (135 MB).

The MDM-111 was released in the mid-1990s, following the announcement of the MD Data format in 1993. With 140 MB capacity it boasted about 100 times the storage of a standard floppy, in a smaller physical format. Its magneto-optical technology combined laser-based reading with magnetic writing for rewritable, durable storage.

It could play audio MiniDiscs via an audio-out jack but couldn’t read or write their data in a computer context. Beyond laptops, MD Data saw use in multi-track audio recorders (Sony MDM-X4, Tascam 564), etc.) and specialized devices like MD-based still cameras and document scanners.


Why didn’t it succeed? Well, MD Data drives and discs were expensive compared to Zip drives and floppies. Blank MD Data discs were pricier than CD-Rs by the late 1990s. Plus, they couldn’t read or write audio MiniDiscs effectively, confusing consumers and fragmenting the MiniDisc ecosystem. Zip drives and CD-Rs were far more widely used. Sony’s habit of using exclusive tech (like with Betamax) didn’t help either.


Simply put, the Sony MDM-111 was a daring but imperfect try to bring MiniDisc tech to computers. It held 140 MB of rewritable storage, beating floppy disks but falling short Zip drives or the rapidly cheaper CD-R. It didn’t work with audio MiniDiscs and used Sony’s exclusive system, which made it fade away despite some small wins. It’s a typical example of awesome tech losing out to market trends—like Betamax, but for data storage.