28 Nov
2010
28 Nov
'10
12:46 a.m.
Not to be a party pooper, but technology and materials
have changed quite a
bit in the last 30 years of hard disk manufacturing. Exactly how easy would
it be for somebody to remanufacture that 330MB 5.25" SCSI drive (assuming
something is wrong with it like bad motor, crashed heads, etc) with current
methods?
An excellent point. I think it is completely possible to do basement
hard disk surgery with drives of this density (although semimodern
devices might throw up roadblocks, since there is magic in them).
Sure, their is precision machined parts and tight tolerances, but
these days you can get extremely nice machine tools for a fraction of
their original cost. Likewise, surplus cleanroom equipment pops up
from time to time.
Come to think of it, Ian and I did hard disk surgery on just such a
disk - a Zenith PC built up and badged as a CDC Cyber console. It had
stickion problems, if I recall properly, and the drive was popped open
on his kitchen table and unstuck. And the drive still works, even
after a full surface scan.
--
Will