Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cwjcc!neoucom!wtm
From: wtm@neoucom.UUCP (Bill Mayhew)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Hard drive problems (Possible serious problem with Quantums)
Summary: We've been having failures on Quantum HDs for 2 years
Keywords: Quantum Hard Drive Problems Parking Mac IIcx
Message-ID: <1730@neoucom.UUCP>
Date: 28 Sep 89 15:21:12 GMT
References: <111400048@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> <3022@ur-cc.UUCP> <277@pacengr.UUCP> <32282@auc.UUCP>
Organization: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Lines: 21


We have had problems with Quantum drives of vaious sizes for the
last two years.  The drives were purchased from a wide enough
variety of sources and at different times, so as to preclude the
possibility that we were burned by one bad manufacturing run.

I guess that is what Quantum gets for pushing the envelope.  I was
suspicious that Quantum's drives had quite a bit faster seek times
than other drives in a similar price bracket.

As maligned as Seagate drives are, we've had only a few failures
out of several hundred ST 225, 238 and 251-xx drives in use.  Out
of just a handful of Quantums we've had about 1/2 of them go bad.
The problem with the Quantums seems to be 'stiction'.  It looks
like the heads stick to the platter when the drive spins down, and
thus prevents the actuator from getting out of the park position
when power is re-applied.  Seagate has had some stiction problems,
as well as have other manufacturers.  It looks like everybody but
Quantum figured out how to fix the bug.

Bill