Last modified on 22 December 2013, at 18:55

Vortex Format

Revision as of 18:55, 22 December 2013 by TFM (Talk | contribs) (DOS / OS supporting the Vortex Format:)

The Vortex Format is a standard floppy disc format for 3.5" and 5.25" floppy discs with 80 tracks and two heads. Especially in Germany it is the standard format for external drives. In other countries other formats may have a higher priority.


Characteristics of the Vortex Format:

  • 80 tracks
  • 2 sides
  • 512 byte sector size
  • sector numbers 1-9
  • 9 sectors (512 byte) per track, so 18 sectors per cylinder
  • 2 reserved tracks
  • 704 KB per disc

Further it is possible to boot CP/M 2.2 and Plus form this format, when using VDOS or XD-DOS.


DOS / OS supporting the Vortex Format: