19 Jul
2001
19 Jul
'01
10:16 a.m.
On July 19, Iggy Drougge wrote:
The term "winchester" (taken from the IBM 3030 disk drive) implies a
sealed HDA which cannot (or should not) be opened in an "ordinary"
environment.
-Dave McGuire
No, they're
large, heavy and winchesters (HDA which can only be repaired
in a clean room).
AFAIK winchester is just old nomenclature for fixed disks. What do you mean by
winchesters? 
19 Jul
19 Jul
10:43 a.m.
New subject: Winchester Technology (was Re: MicroVAX equipment
At 06:16 PM 7/19/01 -0400, Dave wrote:
On July 19, Iggy Drougge wrote:
Does anyone know the actual reason that IBM picked the term "winchester" ?
The revolutionary thing about this technology was that the HDA was in a
sealed compartment with a closed loop air supply. This meant you could
guarantee a low particulate count and thus safely fly the heads closer to
the surface (greater density). Previous technologies had extensive
filtration systems that purged the air inside the disk area and kept it
clean but it really wanted to operate in an environment where the air was
_already_ pretty clean. (ie a machine room with its own filtered air)
Without the step of creating a sealed HDA assembly the modern 'hard drive'
would never have been feasible!
--Chuck
AFAIK winchester is just old nomenclature for
fixed disks. What do you
mean by
winchesters?
The term "winchester" (taken from the IBM 3030 disk drive) implies a
sealed HDA which cannot (or should not) be opened in an "ordinary"
environment. 
5:43 p.m.
Winchester actually refers to a head that flys on an air cushion
above the media. Developed, one would assume, by a guy named
Winchester... Contamination inside the HDA is a major issue because
a dust particle can get between the head and media and scrape off
the coating, creating more dust, scraping off more coating, until
the head doesn't fly anymore, and scrapes off the rest of the coating
and makes a really pretty groove where your data used to be :)
Also, the HDA isn't actually sealed. There is a filtered air path
into the HDA to prevent pressure changes due to temperature and
'oilcanning'. A curious feature of sealed boxes is they collect
water... Basically, when the air inside heats up it expands and
pushes out through whatever imperfection in the sealing exists.
When in cools down, in draws in outside air (including water)
through the same path. The water condenses, and the cycle repeats.
After a few months, you end up with several inches of water in
the 'sealed' box.
Clint
On Thu, 19 Jul 2001, Dave McGuire wrote:
On July 19, Iggy Drougge wrote:
The term "winchester" (taken from the IBM 3030 disk drive) implies a
sealed HDA which cannot (or should not) be opened in an "ordinary"
environment.
-Dave McGuire
No,
they're large, heavy and winchesters (HDA which can only be repaired
in a clean room).
AFAIK winchester is just old nomenclature for fixed disks. What do you mean by
winchesters?
8557
days inactive
8558
days old
2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
-
cmcmanis＠mcmanis.com -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
vaxman＠qwest.net