Maxtor 10K III manual Basic configurations. See also low-level formatting

Glossary

HALF-HEIGHT – Standard*drive size equivalent to half the vertical space of a 5 1/4- inch drive.

HARD DISK – A type of storage medium that retains data as magnetic patterns on a rigid disk, usually made of an iron oxide or alloy over a magnesium or aluminum platter. Because hard disks spin more rapidly than floppy disks, and the head flies closer to the disk, hard disks can transfer data faster and store more in the same volume.

HARD ERROR – A data error that persists when the disk is re-read, usually caused by defects in the physical surface.

HARD-SECTORED – The most common method of indicating the start of each sector on a disk, based on information located in the embedded servo. This method is more precise than soft-sectored techniques and results in lower overhead. (See also soft-sectored.)

HEAD – The tiny electromagnetic coil and metal pole used to create and read back magnetic patterns on the disk. Also known as read/write head.

HEAD CRASH – Damage to the read/write head, usually caused by sudden contact with the disk surface. Head crash can also be caused by dust and other particles.

HEAD ASSEMBLY – The tiny electromagnetic or magneto-resistive element used to write and read back the magnetic patterns of data on the recording media. See also Diamond Head.

HEAD DISK ASSEMBLY (HDA) – The assembly made up of the spindle motor, spindle, head positioner (actuator), head preamp electronics, and magnetic disk assembly.

HIGH-CAPACITY DRIVE – By industry conventions typically a drive of 100 megabytes or more.

HIGH-LEVEL FORMATTING – Formatting performed by the operating system to create the root directory, file allocation tables and other

basic configurations. (See also low-level formatting.)

HOME – Reference track used for recalibration of the actuator. Usually the outermost track (track 0).

HOST ADAPTER – A plug-in board that acts as the interface between a computer system bus and the disk drive.

INITIALIZATION +– See low-level formatting.

INTERFACE – A hardware or software protocol, (contained in the electronics of the disk controller and disk drive) that manages the exchange of data between the drive and computer. The most common interfaces for small computer systems are AT (also known as IDE) and SCSI.

INTERLEAVE – The arrangement of sectors on a track. The Interleave Factor is the number of sectors that pass beneath the read/write heads before the next sector arrives. For example, a 3:1 interleave factor means that the heads read a sector, then let two pass by before reading another, requiring three full revolutions of the disk to access the complete data track. Maxtor drives have an interleave factor of 1:1, allowing the system to access a full track of data in a single revolution.

INTERLEAVE FACTOR – The number of sectors that pass beneath the read/write heads before the next numbered sector arrives. When the interleave factor is 3:1, a sector is read, two pass by, and then the next is read. It would take three revolutions of the disk to access a full track of data. Maxtor drives have an interleave of 1:1, so a full track of data can be accessed within one revolution of the disk, thus offering the highest data throughput possible.

INTERNAL DRIVE – A drive mounted inside one of a computer’s drive bays, or a hard disk on a card installed in one of the computer’s expansion slots.

I/O PROCESS – An I/O process consists of an initial connection (nexus) followed by zero or more reconnections, all pertaining to a single

Maxtor Atlas 10K III 18/36/73 GB Ultra160 SCSI G-5