Maxtor XT-2190 - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

21 Jan 2015

Al writes:
...
  On 1/19/15 10:43 AM, Tom Gardner wrote:
> FWIW, microstepping goes back to at least the CDC  SMD of the mid-70s 
> and even some stepper motor drives were microstepped.  So there is no 
> question the XT2190 can do it. 
...
  Obviously, though with the limited documentation it
would take some reverse engineering of the Maxtor servo system to do it. There is no way
provided to do it from the 34 pin edge connector that I can see. 
My belief (perhaps unfounded) always was that when a XT2190 begins emitting "squeals
and beeps" it is because the MFM interface has asserted "recovery mode" and
it is microstepping.

Oh, 20 years I was abandoning XT2190's whenever I could! I dreaded walking into the
lab to find the RD54's emitting squeaks and beeps indicating problems reading them.

Are the squeals and beeps from the head positioner, or is there a separate piezo element
for those? It was really loud and obvious and would not be surprised if there was a piezo
beeper just for making them. Then again firmware in the drive may have known how to make
the head positioner squeal too. Perhaps the squeals and beeps were not recovery mode but
simply re-calibrating on track zero.