ESDI Solid-State Drives

[MykeLawson]

I've seen MFM and SCSI drive emulators, but never one for ESDI drives. I came across this manufacturer and I've been emailing them to see if they have something for my PS/2 8560 ESDI system. Trying to find a working mechanical ESDI drive that is supported in the PS/2 machines is really hit and miss, so if this turns out to work, that will be a blessing. Stay tuned, but here is some info on them:

SSDL to Design ESDI Solid-State Drives for EDF Energy’s Heysham 2 Nuclear Power Station - Solid State Disks Ltd (SSD)

Reading, United Kingdom –Solid State Disks Ltd (SSDL), the advanced storage systems design, development and integration specialist, has won a contract from EDF Energy to design and supply solid-state swap-in replacements for a number of obsolete CDC 182MB Wren hard disk drives. These will...

solidstatedisks.com

ESDIFlash - ES2R54E5D5SE - Solid State Disks Ltd (SSD)

ESDIFlash is an integrated solution that utilizes proven ESDI drive architecture and industry-standard Compact Flash Card technology, providing a solid state, drop-in replacement for electro-mechanical hard drives.

solidstatedisks.com

 

[jafir]

I'm curious what the prices are. If they are catering to nuclear power plants and other industry, I can imagine the prices being astronomical. Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[vwestlife]

It would probably be cheaper to get a Microchannel SCSI controller, and then a SCSI-to-solid-state converter to go along with it.

 

[ggs]

I’m working on an SMD disk emulator. Once it’s complete, I’ll be working on an ESDI emulator (they’re basically the same just some minor code tweaks and a different interface board).

 

[Al Kossow]

I'm curious what the prices are. If they are catering to nuclear power plants and other industry, I can imagine the prices being astronomical. Hopefully I'm wrong.

They are out of hobbist range for prices.
Guy's solution won't be cheap either.

There are other people working the ESDI problem

 

[3lectr1c]

2.5" ESDI drives (talk about obscure) that were used in the Microchannel ThinkPads (700, 700C, 720, 720C) are even harder to find, I hope whatever solid state solution comes about ends up with a 2.5" version for those. I'd like to own one, but I don't want to put money into a system that will become useless as soon as the hard drive dies.

 

[Al Kossow]

2.5" ESDI drives (talk about obscure) that were used in the Microchannel ThinkPads (700, 700C, 720, 720C) are even harder to find, I hope whatever solid state solution comes about ends up with a 2.5" version for those. I'd like to own one, but I don't want to put money into a system that will become useless as soon as the hard drive dies.

tubetimeus has a prototype of a drive replacement running. I think he intended on modifying the current design to use the new RP2350

long thread about it here https://mastodon.social/@tubetime/110783604330499249

 

[MykeLawson]

I'm shooting for the 34/20 pin connector type for my 8560. I'd love to get a replacement for those.

 

[BeniD82]

tubetimeus has a prototype of a drive replacement running. I think he intended on modifying the current design to use the new RP2350

long thread about it here https://mastodon.social/@tubetime/110783604330499249

I wonder if he ever made any additional progress or ended up mothballing his project. Looked incredibly promising but seems at some point he shifted his attention elsewhere and haven't seen anything since. Mighty impressive work in any case.

 

[MykeLawson]

Well, the last I heard from the company is that they were looking for me to help fund their development in getting what they had to work with PS/2 machines, and provide the test hardware. I told them that, 'no, I'm looking to purchase current products'. They have not responded since them..... Oh well, it happens