@matigo It's likely s Seagate 4096 then. There were a few full height 80MB drives but that one was really popular for a while. Then it became very unpopular for the previously outlined reasons :)
The worst MFM hard drive was made for the original IBM-AT. A company called Lapine. Almost every single drive self destructed.
The third worst to memory was the Quantum Bigfoot drives. As a Compaq certified repair person, I made a small fortune replacing those under warranty.
// @10centuries
@matigo How? It's only links to the outside world are a DB9 serial port and a parallel printer port. It is a ISA motherboard so good luck finding a Ethernet adaptor (and associated DOS drivers) with a twisted pair connector (or a passive BNC hub with twisted pair that could tie into their network)
@matigo If the 80MB in question is a Segate ST-4096 full height, a fair amount as most of those developed "marbles and gerbils in a blender syndrome"
The head actuator would go ape and fling the heads all over the place thus making a racket that sounded just like gerbils and marbles in a blender. Then it became a heavy paperweight. I still have a functional one in an attic in WV
// @10centuries
The gateway laptop idea is looking like a bust because I cannot find a working power supply…yet. Also, I will have to employ a lot of duct tape as the front battery it cannot function without keeps shooting out of it like a mortar because the retaining clip is broken.
I have a Compaq LTE-5000 that would do the trick but I am NOT sending a collector's item with an irreplaceable hard drive across the country. Not going to happen.
I may have to build up a small, mini-tower DOS/Win98 system at the office and send that instead. I think I have an old ASUS motherboard and all the trimmings that will do the job. I have a mountain of cases and power supplies.
Just means he'll ultimately pay more for the shipping back and forth.
@10centuries Awesome! Cool stuff I will never have time to delve into because people do their bookkeeping on systems with MFM drives and have my phone number!
@jextxadore This is something I could go an at dangerous length about. We DID have it better back then because the constraints of hardware kept software in check. We had to keep it simple because we had no choice.
The reason these ancient customers suddenly crawl out of the woodwork is that WE NEVER HEAR FROM THEM. The software was that bullet-proof. This was the first time the guy called in over 20 years. He just sent his monthly payment in (We lease the software) and kept running his business.
Now, we build software on top of frameworks built atop other frameworks. Any link in the chain can be automagically updated from the Internet with the user completely unaware. Then things start flaking out.
Yes, I could take that approach with the new stuff and do everything in house. It would mean nothing because the operating system ITSELF has the problem.
We've gone backwards in many ways.
// @hybotics
@hybotics "I back up on floppies", is what I was told.
Borrowed time doesn't even begin to describe it.
// @jextxadore
@hybotics This is the kind of thing that gets thrown into my lap constantly. I'm assuming he has kept it going so long by using an old copy of Spinrite or some such because if he hasn't, the data would be a garbled mess by now. Stepper motor actuator + Florida heat and humidity.
He is running a business off that system.
That particular drive was notorious for tossing cookies. It doesn't even have autopark heads going for it. (The 251-1 revision did).
And it's is so depressing that I remember so much useless information. I need to curate a museum or something. :D
The first hard drive I was exposed to and got to use was a Corvus tabletop drive. 5MB. If you programmed it to do a lot of end to end seeks, the desk would wobble. It had a data transfer rate that wasn't much better than a floppy drive.
I'm getting all nostalgic now :D
// @jextxadore
@jextxadore It's also why, "Just put the drive in a USB caddy", is not an option.
Welcome to my world. :)
@jextxadore It's this drive right here…Behold the sound of my youth.