XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy, comp.os.linux.misc   
   From: nospam@needed.invalid   
      
   On Wed, 9/25/2024 2:57 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:   
   > [snip]   
   >   
   >>> I still have that machine, should still run. Walk.   
   >>   
   >> It's better to leave the unit in the cardboard box :-)   
   >>   
   >> The head on that drive, has probably welded itself to the surface of the   
   >> platter. Drives back then did not have plastic landing ramps, like they   
   >> do today.   
   >   
   > So you'd rather have it in "somewhat better condition" and completely   
   > useless than take a chance that you can get some use out of it?   
   >   
   > [snip]   
   >   
      
   You need to collect statistical information on the survival rate   
   of stiction drives from that era. I don't know what the chemistry   
   possibilities are, for head-to-platter contact for a couple decades.   
      
   I have a stiction drive here. It needed a tap on the side of the   
   drive housing, to release the head and allow the spindle to spin.   
   You could say, this practice made me  nervous. Because   
   if you hit it too hard, you could be doing long term damage.   
   That drive is five feet from me right now, and hasn't been powered   
   for 25 years. What "chemistry" has been going on in there ? Does   
   the platter lube suffer breakdown over time ? Dunno. You might not   
   ever be able to separate the heads from the platter, in a glove box,   
   without ruining the heads, and needing to replace the head assembly.   
      
   Drives with landing ramps, I have no problem with you starting one   
   of those. I regularly test my old 4GB IDE drive, and it still works   
   like a champ. I had a 2GB drive fail, a Barracuda 32550N, and the   
   head lock failed on that drive, destroying the heads and gouging   
   the platter. They didn't use the head lock idea (solenoid design)   
   for very long. At a guess then, anything 4GB or more capacity,   
   is likely perfectly safe to test at your convenience. But a   
   150MB-250MB drive ? Primed failure material. Already needed to be   
   whacked to make it work, on a daily basis. Hardly good gambling   
   odds. Like betting on the pony with three legs, at the track :-)   
      
      Paul   
      
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