Glossary

fluctuations or noise spikes.

SOFT SECTORED – Disks that mark the beginning of each sector of data within a track by a magnetic pattern.

SPINDLE – The center shaft of the disk upon which the drive’s platters are mounted.

SPUTTER – A type of coating process used to apply the magnetic coating to some high-performance disks. In sputtering, the disks are placed in a vacuum chamber and the coating is vaporized and deposited on the disks. The resulting surface is hard, smooth, and capable of storing data at high density. Maxtor disk drives use sputtered thin film disks.

STEPPER – A type of motor that moves in discrete amounts for each input electrical pulse. Stepper motors used to be widely used for read/write head positioner, since they can be geared to move the head one track per step. Stepper motors are not as fast or reliable as the rotary voice coil actuators which Maxtor disk drives use.

SUBSTRATE – The material the disk platter is made of beneath the magnetic coating. Hard disks are generally made of aluminum or magnesium alloy (or glass, for optical disks) while the substrate of floppies is usually mylar.

SURFACE – The top or bottom side of the platter which is coated with the magnetic material for recording data. On some drives one surface may be reserved for positioning information.

TERABYTE (TB) – A unit of measurement to 1,024 gigabytes (GB), or 1,099,511,627,776 bytes, except when referring to disk storage capacity. Storage capacities of one or more terabytes is achieved by installing multiple hard drive in a RAID system. 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes when referring to disk storage capacity. See also gigabyte.

THIN FILM – A type of coating, used for disk surfaces. Thin film surfaces allow more bits to be stored per disk.

TPI – Acronym for tracks per inch. The number of tracks or cylinders that are written in each inch of travel across the surface of a disk.

TRACK – One of the many concentric magnetic circle patterns written on a disk surface as a guide to where to store and read the data.

TRACK DENSITY – How closely the tracks are packed on a disk surface. The number is specified as tracks per inch (TPI).

TRACK TO TRACK SEEK TIME – The time required for the read/write heads to move to an adjacent track.

TRANSFER RATE – The rate at which the disk sends and receives data from the controller. Drive specifications usually reference a high number that is the burst mode rate for transferring data across the interface from the disk buffer to system RAM. Sustained data transfer is at a much lower rate because of system processing overhead, head switches, and seeks.

Ultra DMA – (UDMA, or, more accurately, Ultra DMA/133) is a protocol for transferring data between a hard disk drive through the computer's data paths (or bus) to the computer's random access memory (RAM). The Ultra DMA/133 protocol transfers data in burst mode at a rate of 133 MBps (megabytes per second), twice as fast as the previous Direct Memory Access (DMA) interface.

UNFORMATTED CAPACITY – The total number of bytes of data that could be fit onto a disk. Formatting the disk requires some of this space to record location, boundary definitions, and timing information. After formatting, user data can be stored on the remaining disk space, known as formatted capacity. The size of a Maxtor drive is expressed in formatted capacity.

G-8 Maxtor D540X-4G

D540X-4G specifications

The Maxtor D540X-4G, introduced in the early 2000s, is a notable hard disk drive that carved a niche in the consumer and business storage market. It is part of the D540X series, known for its reliability and substantial storage capacity for its time, boasting an impressive 4GB of storage.

One of the standout features of the D540X-4G is its advanced ATA/100 interface, allowing for a high data transfer rate of up to 100 MB/s. This was a significant leap forward in performance, enabling faster access to data and improved system responsiveness. Unlike older interfaces, the ATA/100 significantly reduced bottlenecks, making it an ideal choice for users who required efficient data management.

The D540X-4G was built on a 5400 RPM spindle speed. While this wasn't as fast as some higher-end drives available at the time, it provided a balance between speed and thermal efficiency. The combination of its rotational speed and data density allowed for a commendable average seek time, which translated into quicker file access for everyday applications, such as word processing and spreadsheet management.

Another commendable attribute of the D540X-4G is its acoustic management technology, which ensured that the drive operated quietly, minimizing distraction in office environments or home setups. This was particularly beneficial for users who needed to maintain a serene working atmosphere.

In terms of durability, the D540X-4G featured a robust design with built-in shock protection. This characteristic offered an additional layer of safety for data integrity, especially vital in portable systems where exposure to movement is frequent. Maxtor also placed a focus on providing error-correction capabilities, which further enhanced data reliability.

The D540X-4G utilized a halogen-free design in its manufacturing process, reflecting an early commitment to environmental considerations, which would become increasingly important in the years to follow.

Overall, the Maxtor D540X-4G hard drive highlighted the advancements in storage technology of the time, combining ample capacity, improved speed, and reliability in a user-friendly package. It appealed to a broad spectrum of users, from everyday home computing to small business applications, making it a valuable player in the computing landscape during its era.