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.

Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721050CLA662 500GB (2012)

by BananaHDD
The Deskstar 7K1000.C continued to deliver with the humble HDS721050CLA662, a 500GB drive where simplicity sums it up best. Over 10 years later, it still holds on strong, with this particular example being exceptionally fresh in terms of usage time. Drive Attributes ----------------------------------------- Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721050CLA662 ----------------------------------------- Capacity 500GB Mfc Date 2012-09 Format 3.5" ... Read More

Samsung WN310820A 1.08GB (1997)

by BananaHDD
The Samsung Winner series would provide a much-needed revitalisation of Samsung’s hard drive division, past a time where issues never seemed to end. Fortunately, releasing in 1996, the Winner-2 project delivers on a much more optimistic reality. Certainly, these would prove to be much more reliable drives than their ancestors. Drive Attributes ------------------------------------- Samsung WN310820A ... Read More

Seagate ST9144A 128MB (1992)

by BananaHDD
Released in 1992, the ST9144 family of drives from Seagate were their latest offerings in the 2.5″ hard drive space, competing with the likes of Toshiba & Conner Peripherals. The ST9144A, unsurprisingly, was the highest-end offering of the pack, reaching 128MB in capacity. Seagate certainly knew how to make a sleek looking 2.5″ drive. Drive ... Read More

Fujitsu MPB3021AT 2160MB (1999)

by BananaHDD
With the release of the MPA3x’s in early-1997, the MPB3x series would increase platter densities from 1.75GB (ex. MPA3017AT), to the 2.16GB densities shown on this unit, being available from Q3 1997. Their design efforts in the 90’s were simple, when putting it lightly. With a no-frills mentality, Fujitsu would keep the cast top mount ... Read More

Toshiba P300 HDWD130 3TB (2015)

by BananaHDD
After Western Digital were forced to sell part of Hitachi’s assets to Toshiba in their acquisition of HGST, some interesting 3.5″ drives would soon appear. This is clearly a Hitachi drive under the surface in most respects, but with a splash of colour for once. As is with Hitachi drives of this era, these are ... Read More

Maxtor DiamondMax 11 6H400R0 400GB (2006)

by BananaHDD
The DiamondMax 11 series was announced in Q3 of 2005, available in both 400GB & 500GB capacities. A continued development of Maxtor’s long-existing designs, yet with a difference in label layout. While these were quite fast drives for the release year, this particular example doesn’t quite meet such expectations. A failed unit is always a ... Read More

Seagate Enterprise Capacity 2.5 HDD v3 ST1000NX0313 1TB (2016)

by BananaHDD
An enterprise-grade 2.5″ drive in the modern day is something special, with this one avoiding Seagate’s ongoing story with the Rosewood’s. While “Enterprise Capacity 2.5 HDD v3” is certainly an unwieldly title, this isn’t something Seagate decided to stick with. This particular model is still available for purchase today, under Exos 7E2000 series branding, retaining ... Read More

Fuji Electric FK319A-240R 240MB (1993)

by BananaHDD
It’s worth taking some of this information lightly, as these drives offer very little documentation on the web. Fuji Electric have had a huge impact on the hard drive industry as a whole, being a massive parts supplier for many years. The company halted further internal drive development past the mid-90’s, resulting in their fully ... Read More

Hitachi DK228A-65 6.48GB (1998)

by BananaHDD
Hitachi had, since the mid-90’s, always been a fairly large player in the 2.5″ hard drive market, this drive demonstrating one of their often forgotten pre-IBM architectures. The DK228A-65 was released in May of 1998, featuring a first for Hitachi: a drive utilising GMR heads. Providing a recording capacity per-platter of roughly 30% more than ... Read More

Western Digital Expert WD100BA-60AK 10.2GB (1999)

by BananaHDD
What is in essence a Western Digital produced DPTA-371020 from the Deskstar 34GXP series, a familiar sight makes itself known, but with a more unusual story. This drive hails from the era where Western Digital really were on their knees, experiencing sharp losses. Like NEC had done only a couple years prior, Western Digital turned ... Read More