Messerschmitt262a2a (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

what is that blue thing?

DURAMATRIX112 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

i have a old 3gb quantum fireball in a old hp computer and it works perfectly.

Volatus (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Well if you actually physically try to move the head while it was off... you'd most likely end up destroying the hard drive. There's a reason that latch is in place... the heads should only ever *touch* the platter in the "landing zone" of the drive - where that latch holds them. It shuts down and spins up in that area. I only moved that latch because the cover of the drive usually channels the air to kick it open reliably... without the cover it doesn't move properly.

tombell12 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

So say you tried to move the heads while it was off, you wouldn't be able to move it? I don't know if all drives have this mechanism as I reckon I've only seen it once before.

Volatus (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

There's a lever that holds the head assembly to the "parking" area of the drive while it's off. When the drive spins up, air pushes the lever out of the way and allows the drive to move the heads freely. When it spins down, it falls back and locks the heads in place.

tombell12 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

What is that thin blue object you are touching at the start? I've always wondered what that part is for?

overpressure (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I remember buying a 1 GB bigfoot at CompUSA back in the day. I thought 1gig was all Id ever need!