Hard disk drives: hardware, connection, low-level format and drivers.
Retrocomputing formats and configurations of hard disk drives.
Subjects may include the use of classic drives on either modern or classic computers.
Related floppy-disk
Questions tagged [hard-disk]
90 questions
20
votes
3 answers
Did mechanical hard drives often malfunction in high elevation places such as Bogota?
Bogota, Colombia has an elevation of 2,640m. A cable car in the city (Teleférico de Monserrate) can also take one to an elevation of 3,152m. Given that regular hard drives were usually pressurized to operate in elevations up to 3,000m, was there a…
JonathanReez
- 305
- 2
- 7
11
votes
5 answers
Do/did mechanical hard drives constantly spin the discs?
I have to admit that I didn't ever really think about how a hard drive worked until recently. I only had a vague understanding that there was (at least) one hard disc and some kind of "needle" that did "something", most likely not etching onto the…
Jyrese
- 111
- 1
- 3
5
votes
1 answer
Connecting to a Digital DSSI disc drive
I heard it is possible to "telnet to the hard disk" on VAX systems where the HD is connected with a DSSI interface. What commands are available once one establishes a connection to the disk?
0xF2
- 365
- 1
- 7
3
votes
3 answers
How do I Secure Erase a PATA hard drive without a compatible desktop motherboard?
I have a few hard drives, laptop and desktop IDE, which I would like to Secure Erase. I'm aware that other methods exist for removing the data, but this is the safest and most efficient, and it's the one I want to use.
Other than hooking them up to…
Ne Mo
- 133
- 6