# Commodore 1540

> floppy disk drive for the Commodore VIC-20 home computer

**Wikidata**: [Q337967](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q337967)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_1540)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/commodore-1540

## Summary
The Commodore 1540 is a floppy disk drive designed specifically for the Commodore VIC-20 home computer. It was developed and manufactured by Commodore International to provide expanded storage capabilities beyond the VIC-20's original cassette tape system.

## Key Facts
- The Commodore 1540 is a floppy disk drive peripheral for the Commodore VIC-20 home computer
- It was developed and manufactured by Commodore International
- The drive runs on Commodore DOS as its operating system
- It is also known by the aliases VIC-1540, VIC1540, and VC1540
- The Commodore 1540 was succeeded by the Commodore 1541, which was designed for the Commodore C64
- It is classified as a product model and a subclass of floppy disk drive
- The device has a sitelink count of 5 across different language versions of Wikipedia
- It is documented in Wikipedia languages including German (de), English (en), Spanish (es), Italian (it), and Swedish (sv)

## FAQs
### Q: What is the Commodore 1540?
A: The Commodore 1540 is a floppy disk drive peripheral designed specifically for use with the Commodore VIC-20 home computer. It was created by Commodore International to provide users with a more reliable and higher-capacity storage solution compared to the standard cassette tape system.

### Q: How does the Commodore 1540 differ from the Commodore 1541?
A: The Commodore 1540 was designed specifically for the VIC-20 computer, while the Commodore 1541 was created for the later Commodore C64. Although they share similar functionality, the 1541 was an improved version that became more widely known and used in the Commodore ecosystem.

### Q: What operating system does the Commodore 1540 use?
A: The Commodore 1540 runs on Commodore DOS, which is the disk operating system used by Commodore's floppy disk drives. This software manages the reading and writing of data to floppy disks and provides commands for file management.

## Why It Matters
The Commodore 1540 represents an important step in the evolution of home computer storage solutions during the early 1980s. As one of the first dedicated floppy disk drives for home computers, it significantly expanded the capabilities of the VIC-20 by allowing faster data access and greater storage capacity compared to cassette tapes. This development helped establish the floppy disk as a standard storage medium for personal computers, paving the way for more sophisticated software applications and data management systems. The 1540's design and functionality also influenced later Commodore products, particularly the more widely adopted Commodore 1541, which became an iconic peripheral in the history of computing.

## Notable For
- Being specifically designed for the Commodore VIC-20, unlike more generic floppy drives of the era
- One of the first dedicated floppy disk drives developed for a home computer system
- Using Commodore DOS as its operating system, establishing a standard for Commodore's storage peripherals
- Serving as the predecessor to the more widely recognized Commodore 1541 drive
- Having a distinct model identity separate from Commodore's other storage solutions

## Body
### Overview
The Commodore 1540 is a computer peripheral designed as a floppy disk drive for the Commodore VIC-20 home computer. It was developed and manufactured by Commodore International to provide enhanced storage capabilities for users of this early 8-bit computer system.

### Technical Specifications
- The Commodore 1540 is a 5¼" floppy disk drive
- It operates using Commodore DOS as its disk operating system
- The drive connects to the Commodore VIC-20 computer to provide data storage and retrieval functions
- It represents a product model within the broader category of floppy disk drives

### Development and Release
- Developed by Commodore International
- Manufactured by Commodore International
- Created specifically for use with the Commodore VIC-20 platform
- Preceded by earlier storage solutions like cassette tape systems
- Succeeded by the Commodore 1541, which was designed for the Commodore C64

### Documentation and Recognition
- The device has a sitelink count of 5 across different language versions of Wikipedia
- It is documented in multiple languages including German, English, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish
- The Wikipedia article for the Commodore 1540 has been edited and maintained by the community
- It has a Freebase ID of /m/01pr67
- It is also referenced on the C64 Wiki with the ID "Commodore_VC-1540"

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013