Commodore 1541
The second-most common version of the Commodore 1541 disk drive, using a Newtronics drive mechanism | |
| Manufacturer | Commodore Business Machines |
|---|---|
| Type | Floppy disk drive |
| Release date | 1982 |
| Introductory price | US$399 (equivalent to $1,300 in 2024) |
| Discontinued | 1993 |
| Media | 5¼" DD floppy disk |
| Operating system | CBM DOS 2.6 |
| CPU | MOS 6502 @ 1 MHz |
| Memory | 2 KB RAM, 16 KB ROM |
| Storage | 170 KB |
| Connectivity | Commodore proprietary serial IEEE-488 0.4 KB/s |
| Power | 100, 120, 220, or 240 V 50/60 Hz 25 W (30 W max) |
| Backward compatibility | Commodore 64, VIC-20 |
| Predecessor | Commodore 1540 |
| Successor | Commodore 1570 & 1571 |
| Related | Commodore 2031, 4040 & 1551 |
The Commodore 1541 (also known as the CBM 1541 and VIC-1541) is a floppy disk drive which was made by Commodore International for the Commodore 64 (C64), Commodore's most popular home computer. The best-known floppy disk drive for the C64, the 1541 is a single-sided 170-kilobyte drive for 5¼" disks. The 1541 directly followed the Commodore 1540 (meant for the VIC-20).
The disk drive uses group coded recording (GCR) and contains a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, doubling as a disk controller and on-board disk operating system processor. The number of sectors per track varies from 17 to 21 (an early implementation of zone bit recording with 4 constant angular velocity zones). The drive's built-in disk operating system is CBM DOS 2.6.