Hard Drives

Posts are shown from newest to oldest in order of release date. There’s no schedule here; each upload is spontaneous. Published posts are synchronised with a corresponding video release.

Areal Technology A260 260MB (1995)

by BananaHDD
Announced in Q4 1992, the A260 was a continued effort from Areal Technology to produce industry leading glass-platter 2.5″ hard disk drives. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Areal stand as a historically significant manufacturer, yet one which isn’t remembered by the major public. Given the rarer nature of their drives, finding one in working condition ... Read More

Fujitsu MAY2073RC 73.5GB (2007)

by BananaHDD
Released in late-2005, Fujitsu continued their ongoing presence in the 2.5″ enterprise market with the MAY2073RC and lower capacity MAY2036RC. While Fujitsu’s offerings for the enterprise space are scarcely covered, they do show some interesting things of note in an era where the company no longer produced standard 3.5″ consumer models. Drive Attributes ------------------------------------- Fujitsu ... Read More

Quantum ProDrive LPS 270AT 270MB (1994)

by BananaHDD
The Quantum ProDrive’s are fairly ubiquitous, with this one originally hailing from an IBM PS/ValuePoint 450DX2/S machine. At 270MB in 1994, it was a fairly mid-range drive, but all these years later they hide something much more sinister. While this drive currently sits in perfect health, without intervention it’s doomed to serve a short future ... Read More

Hitachi DK212A-81 810MB (1995)

by BananaHDD
The Hitachi DK212A-81 is 19mm height, 2.5″ hard disk drive, released in Q1 1995. Hitachi continued their emphasis on portable computing storage, where they were major producers of both mobile & enterprise hard drive models. The DK212A-81 is another such example of their prowess, however it isn’t all surprising that almost 30 years later that ... Read More

Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB (2009)

by BananaHDD
With mass availability in Q4 2007, the SpinPoint F1 series would be Samsung’s all-new line-up of drives, coming in a range of capacities up to 1TB with this particular model. In late-2007, these models were the performance champions of the market [1], holding a sturdy reputation well into the early 2010’s. As a result of ... Read More

Fujitsu M2903SGM 2.1GB (1997)

by BananaHDD
The Fujitsu M2903SGM was one of Fujitsu’s many SCSI offerings available in 1997, offering what the company refered to as a “high capacity specialty” drive. Over 25 years later, this monstrosity of a brick continues to function well, with this particular example being NOS. Few enterprise models survive so many years later, but looking into ... Read More

NEC D3724 426MB (1996)

by BananaHDD
The NEC D3724 was formally announced on May 10th, 1995. These drives were somewhat of a stopgap solution for NEC, in order to remain competitive in the rapidly changing drive market at the time. These drives remained in production until early-mid 1997, slowly being replaced with the DSE series as platter densities exploded. Intriguingly, NEC ... Read More

Toshiba MK1422FCV 86MB (1993)

by BananaHDD
The Toshiba MK1422FCV would release in 1992, being Toshiba’s first ever 12.5mm 2.5″ hard disk drive, holding only a single platter. As a result of this innovation, this model would have continued iterative density refreshes, such as with the later released MK1522FCV & MK1722FCV. This was the same case with models such as the 19mm ... Read More

Seagate ST3211A 210MB (1998)

by BananaHDD
Seagate finalised their acquisition of Conner Peripherals in 1996, bringing together two heavyweights in the hard drive industry. As a result, the Seagate ST3211A is, in all but one aspect, purely a Conner Peripherals CFS210A. The CFS210A has a long-history, being a very important low-cost drive in the mid-1990’s. Conner’s classic tub design would (and ... Read More

Hitachi DK329H-91WC 9.1GB (1999)

by BananaHDD
The Hitachi DK329H-91WC is a 9.1GB SCSI hard drive, released in early 1999. Hitachi’s days only a couple years before their acquisition of IBM’s hard drive division are a fascinating point of history to look back upon. Unfortunately, the unit in this post hasn’t lived to continue its story over two decades later. Drive Attributes ... Read More