Maxtor manual Maxtor Atlas 10K III 18/36/73 GB Ultra160 Scsi

ACCESS – (v) Read,￿write, or update information stored on a disk or other medium.

(n)The operation of reading, writing, or updating stored information.

ACCESS TIME – The interval between the time a request is made by the system and the time the data is available from the drive.

Includes the seek time, rotational latency, and command processing overhead time. (See also seek, rotational latency, and overhead.)

ACTIVE I/O PROCESS– An I/O process that is currently in execution (not queued).

ACTUATOR – Also known as the positioner. The internal mechanism that moves the read/ write head to the proper track. The Maxtor actuator consists of a rotor connected to head mounting arms that position the heads over the desired cylinder. Also known as rotary actuator.

AIRLOCK – A patented Maxtor feature that ensures durable and reliable data storage. Upon removal of power from the drive for any reason, the read/write heads automatically park and lock in a non data area called the landing zone. Airlock allows the drive to withstand high levels of non-operating shock. When power is applied to the drive, airflow created from the spinning disks causes the Airlock arm to swing back and unlock the actuator, allowing the heads to move from the landing zone. Upon power down, the Airlock swings back to the locked position, locking the heads in the landing zone. A park utility is not required to park the heads on drives equipped with Airlock (all Maxtor drives).

ALLOCATION – The process of assigning particular areas of the disk to specific data or instructions. An allocation unit is a group of sectors on the disk reserved for specified information. On hard disks for small computer systems, the allocation unit is usually in the form of a sector, block, or cluster. (See also allocation unit.)

ALLOCATION UNIT).–155#4;An allocation unit, also known as a cluster, is a group of sectors on the disk that can be reserved for the use of a particular file.

ANSI – Abbreviation for American National Standards Institute

ASCII – Abbreviation for American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASIC – Acronym for Application Specific Integrated Circuit.

AVERAGE SEEK TIME – The average time it takes for the read/write head to move to a specific location. Calculated by dividing the time it takes to complete a large number of random seeks by the number of seeks performed.

BACKUP – A copy ￿of a file, directory, or volume on a separate storage device from the original, for the purpose of retrieval in case the original is accidentally erased, damaged, or destroyed.

BAD BLOCK – A block (usually the size of a sector) that cannot reliably hold data due to a physical flaw or damaged format markings.

BAD TRACK TABLE – A label affixed to the casing of a hard disk drive stating which tracks are flawed and cannot hold data. This list is typed into the low-level formatting program when the drive is installed. Maxtor users can ignore bad track tables since Maxtor’s built-in defect-management protections compensate for these flaws automatically.

BANDING – A method of variable frequency recording on the media that attempts to keep the bit density constant, regardless of the track radius. Banding greatly increases capacity and data transfer rates.

Maxtor Atlas 10K III 18/36/73 GB Ultra160 SCSI G-1