Collection of Tools & Utilities/Collection of Tools and Utilities.iso/dskut/hdinfo10.zip/HDINFO.DOC

Text File | 1987-11-30 | 24KB | 478 lines

                  HDINFO - Hard Disk Information, Version 1.02
                       (c) Michael B. Smith, 11/30/1987

I. Introduction
HDINFO is a collection of all the information I could get my hands on about 224
different hard disk models.  It was gathered because hard disks rarely come
with any information about them, but it is often necessary to know detailed
specifications for them in order to get them working.

To make searches through this file easier, I have included a database program
called CARDFILE.  CARDFILE is a little pop-up, index-card file program that was
published in PC Magazine.  It is very simple, and was only designed for use as
a phone directory, but it is enough to allow you to browse through the file,
and to search for specific keywords.  I chose it for two reasons: (1) it is the
smallest dB program I could find, and (2) it is not a commercial program, so it
can be distributed freely with the hard disk information file.

Here is a list of all the files that should be included in HDINFO.ARC:

     HDINFO       - The data file, in CARDFILE format
     HDINFO.DOC   - These instructions that you are reading now

     CARDFILE.COM - The database program for looking at HDINFO
     CARDFILE.DOC - Documentation for CARDFILE.COM
     (both courtesy of PC Magazine)

These files may also be included.  They contain the same information that
HDINFO does, but they are formatted for use with different database programs.

HDINFO.DBF     dBASE II format
HDINFO.DB3     dBASE III format
HDINFO.DIF     DIF format
HDINFO.ASC     (specially formatted)

The dBASE and DIF files have not actually been tested with a database program;
I was only able to create them by using Lotus 1-2-3 v2.01's Translate utility.

HDINFO.ASC is set up to allow the data to be imported or translated easily into
most any other database program or format that you might want to use.  For
example, the whole file can be read into Lotus 1-2-3 as labels, simply by
typing these commands:

/ File Import Numbers HDINFO.ASC [Return]

Each line in HDINFO.ASC is 161 characters long, and contains all of the data
for one particular model of hard disk.  Each item of data on a line is enclosed
in quotes (""), and they are all separated by commas.  The specific locations
of each field on the line is listed below.

Column(s)    Length      Field
---------    ------      --------------------------------
2-20           19        Brand
24-35          12        Model
39-43           5        Capacity (MB)
47-49           3        Access time (ms)
53-55           3        # of heads
59-63           5        # of cylinders
67-71           5        Write precomp cylinder
75-79           5        Reduced write current cylinder
83-87           5        Step pulse rate (microseconds)
91-95           5        Landing Zone cylinder
99-104          6        Hard disk "Type" when used on AT
105-106         2        Power use (in Watts)
113             1        Is drive RLL-compatible? (Y/N)
117             1        Does drive have auto-park? (Y/N)
121             1        Is it a 3.5-inch drive? (Y/N)
125             1        Is drive half-height? (Y/N)
129-160        32        Notes
[End of line]


II. How to Use It
To look through HDINFO, type "CARDFILE HDINFO" at the DOS prompt.  The
following message will appear:

     C>cardfile hdinfo
     Cardfile 1.0 (c) 1987 Ziff Communications Co.
     Hotkey is ALT-RIGHT SHIFT
     C>

You can now pop up CARDFILE at any time by holding down the Alt key and the
Right Shift key together.  You will see something like this:

                  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
                  │ Name   ATASI              3033           │
                  │ Addr   28?   MB, 30  ms, 5   hds,   W    │
                  │        645   cyl, WPC:320  , RWC:        │
                  │        SPR:      µs, LZ:     , RLL:N     │
                  │ Phone  ATT:2*    , AP: , 3½":N, ½ht:N    │
                  │ Note   SPR is in range of 2.5 to 500.    │
                  │ ──────────────────────────────────────── │
                  │ F1-New F2-Ed F3-Del F4-Sch F5-Sv F6-Dial │
                  └──────────────────────────────────────────┘

These arcane abbreviations had to be used because CARDFILE only holds short
records (6 lines of 32 characters).  Use the key below to interpret their
meaning.


                  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
                  │ Name   [HD brand]         [HD model]     │
                  │ Addr   _____ MB, ___ ms, ___ hds, __W    │
                  │        _____ cyl, WPC:____ , RWC:___     │
                  │        SPR:_____ µs, LZ:____ , RLL:_     │
                  │ Phone  ATT:_____ , AP:_, 3½":_, ½ht:_    │
                  │ Note   [<==== Comments go here ====>]    │
                  │ ──────────────────────────────────────── │
                  │ F1-New F2-Ed F3-Del F4-Sch F5-Sv F6-Dial │
                  └──────────────────────────────────────────┘

At the top, on the "Name" line, is the hard disk brand and model.  The headings
on the next four lines are abbreviated as follows:

1)   ___ MB  = Size of hard disk in megabytes
2)   ___ ms  = Average access time, in milliseconds
3)   ___ hds = Number of read/write heads
4)   ___W    = Power, in Watts
5)   ___ cyl = Number of cylinders
6)   WPC:___ = Write precomp cylinder
7)   RWC:___ = Reduced write current
8)   SPR:___ = Step pulse rate
9)   LZ:____ = Landing zone
10)  RLL:_   = Can it be used with RLL? (Y/N)
11)  ATT:___ = Hard disk type (when used with an AT)
12)  AP:_    = Does the hard disk have auto-park? (Y/N)
13)  3½":_   = Is it a 3.5-inch disk? (Y/N)
14)  ½ht:_   = Is it a half-height drive? (Y/N)
15)  Note    = A special note about that drive

A more detailed explanation of these terms is given in the next section, "III.
Reference".

On most records, there are many entries that are blank.  This is because I
could not find that information in my sources.  When I gather more info, an
update for HDINFO will be released.

If there is a question mark by an entry, it is because I am not positive that
it is correct.  Unfortunately, dealers often give conflicting or incorrect
information, and the only specs I could definitely rely on were those obtained
directly from the manufacturer.

To browse through HDINFO, use the PgUp and PgDn keys to move up and down.  To
search for information on a specific brand or model, hit the F4 key to search.
The message "Find:" will appear on the bottom line of the window.  Then type in
the brand name, model number, or some other key word to look for.  CARDFILE
will find the first record that has the key word(s) you chose.  If that record
is not the one you were looking for, you can hit RETURN to continue the search,
or hit ESC to exit the search, and then use the PgUp and PgDn keys to look
around.

[For more detailed instructions on using CARDFILE, read CARDFILE.DOC.]

If you are not sure about the brand or model of your drive, take it out of the
computer and look at it.  There is usually a sticker on the back or side that
gives the manufacturer's name and/or the model number.  Sometimes the
manufacturer's name is different from the brand name the drive was sold under.
IBM itself doesn't have any drives under its name in HDINFO, because all the
drives were really made by Seagate or some other company.


III. Reference
Here are more detailed explanations of the specifications given in HDINFO.

1) Size in Megabytes
This is a fairly rough estimate.  A megabyte is really 1K x 1K, or 1024 x 1024,
or 1,048,576 bytes, but dealers (and even manufacturers) often count a hard
disk's size by millions of bytes (1,000,000).  This means they are exaggerating
by about 5%.  Also, the sizes given are often rounded off a bit.  Many 39
megabyte drives are sold as 40 megs, and 32 meg drives are sold as 30's.  So
keep in mind that there is a margin of error of 1 or 2 mega