Single sided HDDs [was Re: HP drives] - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

10 Jan 2011

...
  Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 19:18:46 +0000 (GMT)
 From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell)
 Subject: Re: Single sided HDDs [was Re: HP drives]
 To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
 Message-ID: <m1Pc0mv-000J48C at p850ug1>
 Content-Type: text/plain

  FWIW, there was a period about the turn of this
century when most of  
 Far too modern for me to have seen, let alone worked on... :-)

  Maxtor's production was a single disk drive
with only one side used.  In
 addition to saving the head assembly there were enuf other cost savings
 make it worthwhile.  One example is that it is relatively easy to
 load/unload a bottom head on the ID, thereby making the higher capacity
 OD real estate available.  
 Did this drive lift the head off the platter on power-down (e.g, by using
 some kind of ramp)? The most modern drive I pulled apart, admittedly
 about 5 years older, landed the heads on the platter (as the older
 winchesters I've repaired did). If it lands the head(s) on the platter, I
 can't see any mechanical benefit to having only one head, even if it does
 use the inner cylinder as the landing area.

 -tony I never saw the drives but I was told they had a head lifting ramp mechanism
on the baseplate at the ID.  Makes for a very simple mechanism compared to
other head lifters.  
Tom