Sounds of the Seagate Technologies ST-412

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Seagate Technologies ST-412
Country of Origin: USA
Introduced: 1981
Interface: ST-412 (MFM Nominal)
Capacity: 10MB
Form: 5.25 FH (3")
CHS: 306 / 4 / 17
LZN: 307
WPC: 128
Track-track: 15.8ms
Linear access: 58.5ms
Random access: 99.1ms
Rotational: 3600RPM
Media: Ferrous, inline TF heads
Disks: 2
Actuation: Linear rotary band stepper
Feedback: None
Lift/Lock/Park: None
Brake: Dynamic
Service life: Unknown
Related models: ST-406 (1 disk), ST-419 (3 disk)
Failures: Spindle wear
Settings: aioinc.ddns.net/HOST/TH99/h/txt/4317.txt
My thoughts:
I figured that as this drive is what created the AT "Type 1" drive type, and that it was the first drive to be factory shipped in a PC, it would only be fitting to release this as the first video of the first full year of uploads. This drive is a little worse for wear, the spindle is really noisy in this one, but it has zero bad tracks and zero bad blocks. Hopefully my microphone did a good job at picking up the interesting seeking sounds this drive has. This was the first 5.25" drive to ship with buffered seek, a real seek profile, and 10MB of storage. It's geometry became the gold standard for several years, and the basis of the next generation, which continued the trend of doubling the cylinder count. The Seagate Technologies ST-412 is a drive that will not soon be forgotten from history - Introducing the Winchester fixed disk to the PC was the right move and it's legacy is still with us today.
The performance is not very good, as you might expect, and these drives are getting very pricey in their old age as more of them get noisy. Being factory option drives for some popular retro computers, they are often coveted and very expensive. I recommend the IBM WD-12 over this any day, with it's superior performance and significantly lower cost.

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6 янв 2024

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Комментарии : 24

@bobjoe2827 9 месяцев назад

The good old ST-412, I was wondering when you were going to make a video on this drive. A fairly common drive, but one of the more historically significant drives ever made. Noisy bearings seem to plague this drive series (out of the 7 I own only 3 have quiet bearings) along with the index sensor failing (I have replaced 5 of them), but the head mechanics almost always work just fine.

@TheDiskMaster 9 месяцев назад

Yep, I had to replace the index sensor on my ST-212 not too long ago. Sadly, the bearings on this drive are very noisy. They're a little quieter on my ST-419, at least, which is yet to come. I figured I would make this the first video of the new year, and the first full year of my channel. It seemed only right.

@paulkhoury3160 6 месяцев назад

These drives seem to be indestructable. I think I've only ever seen one or two 412's that were DOA. Almost every other one I've come across worked. Even a 419 that was in an HP 9000 enclosure and stored outside for who knows how many decades still worked, though I can't remember if it required some assistance to the spindle flywheel when I tried to power it up.

@TheDiskMaster 4 месяца назад

Sadly, my ST-419 died while I was attempting to record it! Totally unresponsive now. It will spin up (controlled by a different board) but the actuator does not move. Kind of annoying!

@bobjoe2827 4 месяца назад

@@TheDiskMaster I had an ST-412 do that to me once. I always suspected that the problem was in either the index circuits, or the stepper driver circuits. I never did get around to troubleshooting the issue as I ended up with a spare board and just replaced the bad control board. I have a spare board for the ST-419 if you are interested in it.

@TheDiskMaster 4 месяца назад

@@bobjoe2827 Sure, I'll mention it in the email chain we already have going. My ST-419, when selected, does not flat TK0 or RDY, but it does flash IDX, so I believe the sensor is working.

@BenM39435 Месяц назад

interesting video! I have two ST-412 drives. Both in working condition. But only one sounds fine, the other one is loud (sometimes and sometimes the sound changes and it becomes more quiet. With some weird kinda spring noises sometimes. That one was also stuck. this evening I was trying it for the first time. At first the drive didnt do anything, but after moving the motor it started working. it passed the diagnostics check from IBM without errors. I hope the sound will become better over time and isnt indicating anything bad 😅.

@TheDiskMaster Месяц назад

@@BenM39435 Unfortunately, the sound is not likely to go away. The bearings are either dry or damaged or both. It's not too uncommon for these drives to get noisy in their old age!

@douro20 7 месяцев назад

To think this drive, as slow as it is, was made even slower by the Xebec controller used in the 5160 as shipped.

@TheDiskMaster 7 месяцев назад

This mostly came down to the interleave IBM selected as the factory default, which was mostly for good intentions. SpinRite could fix it anyways.

@thegeforce6625 9 месяцев назад

Had no idea there was a 3 platter version of this drive. I wonder why it isnt common or what.

@TheDiskMaster 9 месяцев назад

Yep, the ST-419. There was also a single platter version, called the ST-406. Additionally, a single platter version with a removable cartridge exists, called the ST-706. I've never been lucky enough to find a 406 or 706, though. They're on my bounty list! I do have an ST-419, though, which you will see in an upcoming video, certainly this year. Most 10MB full height drives offered a version with either 3 or 4 platters in addition to the standard 2 platter. This includes the CMI CM-5619, IBM WD-25, Tandon TM-503, etc.

@matthewsvideos8235 5 месяцев назад

I have an ST-412 in my collection from my 1985 5160. Pain in the ass to do a low level format with the Xebec controller and it’s slow as noted. When it is started after a while in storage it does grumble with loud bearings, but will quiet down after running for 10 mins. I did a demo of it on my channel, but using Norton utilities. Not as extensive as your test.

@TheDiskMaster 4 месяца назад

A lot of the sluggishness of the 5160 comes from the Xebec controller, which by default uses an 8:1 interleave, which is horribly inefficient, even on the XT. I think most regular XTs can handle something like 4:1 or 5:1 easily.

@matthewsvideos8235 4 месяца назад

@@TheDiskMaster I did play with the interleave on my with Norton Utilities Calibrate. With the V20 CPU I got it down to 4:1. With the WD controller and a Seagate ST-251 I can run 3:1

@TheDiskMaster 4 месяца назад

@@matthewsvideos8235 That should easily produce double the maximum throughput - each track can take a maximum of 4 revolutions to transfer, instead of 8.