On the 34th anniversary of the Linux kernel announcement, one of the system’s oldest drivers has resurfaced in the news: the floppy disk driver. Although it is practically a relic today, it still remains in the kernel source code and, surprisingly, continues to receive maintenance patches.
It had been almost three years since the last noteworthy update, but Intel developer Andy Shevchenko has now published a new patch series introducing cleanups and minor corrections to the driver.
An “orphaned” but still alive driver
The floppy disk driver in the kernel is considered “orphaned”: it has no active maintainer, but it persists for compatibility and legacy reasons. Even so, Shevchenko has updated it to modernize certain aspects:
- Removed the unused
CROSS_64KB()macro. - Replaced the custom
SZ_64Kconstant with standardized definitions. - Sorted header files alphabetically, improving code readability.
The patch series was sent for review through Andrew Morton’s tree, which usually integrates changes for subsystems that have no direct maintainer.
Floppy nostalgia in the post-floppy era
Even though in 2025 the floppy disk is a completely obsolete medium, support for it still exists in the Linux kernel. The reasons are twofold:
- Retro compatibility with older systems and virtual machines that still emulate floppy drives.
- Historical and academic value, since the driver was one of the earliest components of the kernel.
Shevchenko summed it up in the commit: “There are a few places in the architecture code for the floppy driver that may be cleaned up. Do it so.”
Technical details of the changes
The patch series affects ten files across various architectures (alpha, arm, m68k, mips, parisc, powerpc, sparc, and x86), along with the main floppy.c file. In total:
- 34 lines of new code added.
- 92 lines removed.
Although the changes do not alter the driver’s functionality, they improve code consistency and ease of maintenance.
A persistent rarity
The fact that the floppy disk driver is still receiving attention in 2025 says a lot about the Linux kernel’s philosophy: no subsystem is too small or too old to benefit from reviews and cleanups.
In practice, very few users still rely on it with physical hardware, but it remains relevant in certain scenarios:
- Emulators and virtual machines reproducing older environments.
- Retrocomputing research.
- Industrial projects with legacy equipment where floppy drives still exist.
Conclusion
In a world dominated by NVMe, SSDs, and cloud storage, the floppy disk is a digital fossil. Yet Linux once again shows its commitment to compatibility and code quality—even in drivers that most users will never use again.
The message is clear: Linux’s robustness is also built on preserving its historical roots.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is it still possible to use floppies on Linux in 2025?
Yes, the kernel still includes support, though very little modern hardware ships with floppy drives. It is possible in virtual machines or with retro hardware.
Who maintains the floppy disk driver?
It has no official maintainer; it is considered “orphaned.” Patches like Shevchenko’s go through Andrew Morton’s tree.
Why hasn’t the floppy driver been removed?
Primarily for historical compatibility, and because there are still niches where it’s needed, such as retrocomputing, research, or legacy industrial equipment.
Do these changes improve performance?
No, the patches focus on code cleanup and consistency, not on adding new functionality or performance optimizations.
vía: Kernel List
