The IBM 350, the world's first hard disk, was released in 1956. As the RAMAC computer's memory, it had space for 3.75 megabytes of data. The cradle of the magnetic hard disk lies in the ...

IBM's invention of the hard disk drive revolutionized data storage ... effectively – even if storage capacity was a minuscule 5 MB – it was a revolutionary leap at the time.

Shipped in September 1956, the first 5MB hard disk unit weighed over a ton (approximately 2,200 pounds) and was used in the IBM 305 RAMAC, the first commercial computer to feature a moving-head ...