BananaHDD

Hitachi DK505-2 26MB (1989)

by BananaHDD
Here’s a real old-timer. The Hitachi DK505-2 is a drive with a very obscure past, the likes of which yield little information in this day and age. This particular model demonstrates itself as one of Hitachi’s much earlier offerings, before their concrete reputation and market share emerged in the early 2000’s. While this drive is ... Read More

IBM Deskstar 120GXP IC35L040AVVN07-0 40GB (2002)

by BananaHDD
The 120GXP’s came fairly close after the dreaded 75GXP line, although not before being preceeded by the 60GXP line. While many have better experiences with the 120GXP’s (myself included), this one hasn’t kept its side of the bargain. One of the more uncommon experiences where the drive failed catastrophically while in use, audibly crashing in ... Read More

Fujitsu XV10 MPF3102AT 10.24GB (2000)

by BananaHDD
By the early-2000’s, Fujitsu had quite the ongoing presence in the 3.5″ drive market. Unfortunately, it would soon come to an end in 2001, but this drive demonstrates some of Fujitsu’s last drives in the space when concerning contact start-stop consumer models. The XV10 is one of many series Fujitsu had with this particular HDA ... Read More

NEC D3756 105MB (1993)

by BananaHDD
As previously discussed on my post covering several dead D-series NEC drives, NEC had quite the history in the hard drive industry. NEC’s 3.5″ designs would enter in the early 90’s, like competitors at the time, the D3756 being a drive from the early days of their original designs. After many years of experience developing ... Read More

IBM Travelstar 25GS DARA-225000 25.38GB (2000)

by BananaHDD
In late-1999, IBM released what can only be considered to be one of the most ridiculous 2.5″ hard drives in the world: the DARA-225000. These were IBM’s flagship 2.5″ drive model, coming in at 17mm with a whopping 5 platters and 10 heads. Due to their thickness at a time where 12mm and 9.5mm drives ... Read More

NEC DTLA-305030 30.7GB (2000)

by BananaHDD
The Deskstar 75GXP family should be no unfamiliar name to those reading this post, the 40GV family being the 5,400 RPM counterpart IBM released at the same time. These would be IBM’s last effort in the 5,400 RPM market, which would not return as a feature in Hitachi’s drive line-up until a few years later. ... Read More

Western Digital Caviar 1170 WDAC1170-00F 170MB (1993)

by BananaHDD
By the mid-90’s, Western Digital had gained a few years of experience building hard disk drives, after their acquisition of Tandon in late-1987. The Caviar 1170 was an example of these sleek new designs, among a number of other larger Caviar models. With a 3 year warranty, alongside incredibly respectable benchmark results, the Caviar series ... Read More