Bloody Western Digital secrecy .... again

[Tannin]

Can anyone help me with a couple of drive model numbers from 1999? Western Digital are playing their stupid pretend-we-never-heard-of-it game again. This time, the problem is with their original Expert drives - a model they have always been coy about, ever since they had their lovers tiff with IBM.

According to their web site, there was only one Expert 1, the 9.1GB model, WD AC29100. The 13.5GB and 18GB Experts don't exist. Now I know they existed: I remember selling them. But Western Digital's mania for secrecy has consigned them to oblivion. All I need is the model numbers.

13.5GB, 6 heads
18.0GB, 8 heads

-----------------------------

OK. Stop looking. I found a review of the AC418000 at SR. And it's a fair guess that the 13.5GB version was the AC313500.

Still pisses me off though. Bloody idiots. It's not as if they have anything to be ashamed of. I mean, it's not like they were rebadging 75GXPs.

Sigh.

 

[Mercutio]

Your guess is of course correct.

Here's a link[/ur].

 

[Mercutio]

Dammit!

 

[Buck]

Tannin, there were three generations of the IBM-WD collaboration, most of which bore the Expert badge and spun at 7,200 rpm.

Family #1 - no Expert Badge, but the most obvious as an IBM drive
AC514400 - 7,200 rpm - small test run for 7,200 rpm WD drives
AC516800 - 5,400 rpm - small test run to accomplish 16 GB

Family #2 - Expert
AC29100
AC313500
AC418000
(There were other odd sizes that I've seen pop up from the OEM channel, such as an AC14500, AC310000, AC313600, and an AC418200. These were all 7,200 rpm drives, but there was also a run of 5,400 rpm drives that had a 9-pin jumper block (IBM), one such drive was relabeled from an AC210200 to a WD102AA-00AC which I've received as a replacement for older 10.2 GB drives. But probably the most famous drive from this 5,400 rpm group was the AC420400; seeing as how WD's own family maxed out at an AC313000, reaching beyond 20 GB was a well hurdled milestone.)

Family #3 - Expert
WD102BA
WD136BA
WD205BA
WD273BA
(I've seen about another 9 odd model numbers for this family)

BR

 

[Tannin]

Buck, your knowledge of matters Western Digital continues to astonish me. Thankyou!

 

[Buck]

Buck, your knowledge of matters Western Digital continues to astonish me. Thankyou!

I've sold many and replaced a few WD drives.