How many drives looked like the st-4038?

[offensive_Jerk]

I got another drive that looks like a seagate ST-4038, but the id stickers are gone.

How many different models in that style were there?

 

[Uniballer]

I'm pretty sure the ST-4051 looked just like it. IIRC the ST-4096 had a similar looking HDA, but there was no PC board on top.

EDIT: Further research turned up the ST-4026

 

[offensive_Jerk]

This one looks like those but it has an LED on the front. Now it's giving a flashing error message. I can't seem to find the error code listings.
Anyone have them?

Actually I found these
Mine is blinking twice. It spins up, but it sounds like the slams around after a bit. It's probably a goner too. Doesn't match up with failure of hard disk interface though.


Controller Error | Controller Error Condition
Codes (LED Flashes)|
=================================================================
1 | Normal completion of controller diagnostics
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2 | Failure of hard disc drive interface
-----------------------------------------------------------------
3 | Sector Buffer error
-----------------------------------------------------------------
4 | Controller task file interface failure
-----------------------------------------------------------------
5 | Microcode ROM checksum error
-----------------------------------------------------------------
6 | Controller ECC circuits failure
-----------------------------------------------------------------


**********EDIT*********
The above must be for a controller card.
This must be for the drive. Again, the drive blinks twice then pauses. So.... That's a 0000 code?

Error Code | Description
-----------+-------------
0000 | Spindle motor failed to spin-up
0001 | No index from servo
0010 | Could not calibrate for loop offsets
0011 | Cannot find Track 0 during recalibration
0100 | Spindle motor speed out of tolerance during start up
0101 | Drive could not settle
0111 | Voice-coil motor drifting while in position loop
1001 | Failure to unlatch
1010 | Voice-coil motor circuit nonfunctional
1100 | Illegal guardband interrupt, cannot recover
1110 | Spindle motor speed out of tolerance during idle loop

 

[modem7]

This one looks like those but it has an LED on the front. Now it's giving a flashing error message. I can't seem to find the error code listings.

Mine is blinking twice.

There is no standard for error codes that a drive signals on its LED.

And what you are seeing is not necessarily an error code. Early drives don't signal error codes. You really need to identify the drive, and then only use the associated documentation.

From what I've seen, drives that do signal error codes via their LED, use short and long pulses of light to indicate 0 and 1. Otherwise, for example, if you saw one flash of the LED, you would not be able to establish if the error code was 001 or 010 or 100.

 

[offensive_Jerk]

Pretty sure it is an error code. It flashes twice, stops for a second then does it again repeating

 

[Stone]

I've got a box of FH doorstops that do that.

 

[offensive_Jerk]

I've got a box of FH doorstops that do that.

Guess there is no hope for it. Didn't have much faith after I heard the head thunking around. Do the controller cards even detect your drives?

 

[Stone]

Yes, they can be detected. They just can't be formatted (successfully).

 

[offensive_Jerk]

I'm pretty sure the ST-4051 looked just like it. IIRC the ST-4096 had a similar looking HDA, but there was no PC board on top.

EDIT: Further research turned up the ST-4026

I don't think mine is a ST-4026...That one doesn't appear to have a LED.
Maybe a ST-4051 but I can't find any front pictures.

It may be a 4051, they do have LED's.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/370915927045?lpid=82

 

[Frank S]

I attached a picture from my ST-4038 (w/o the LED).
Frank

 

[krebizfan]

I wouldn't read too much into the presence of an LED. I think my ST-4096 had the LED as an option that went with the black face plate and the LED could be unplugged/removed.

Opening the drive and counting the platters would narrow down the potential models. At least some of the 4xxx MFM hard drives had related RLL and ESDI models. Maybe slight differences in the controller board could help identify the exact model or at least which interface is used.

 

[offensive_Jerk]

It was a 4051. It said so inside written with a sharpee
And I found out what the two blinking light error means.

It means the bottom-most head is Bent over backwards and wedged underneath the platter so tight that the stepper motor can hardly move the arm...

Ugh. I'll post a pic later.

 

[SpidersWeb]

It was a 4051. It said so inside written with a sharpee
And I found out what the two blinking light error means.

It means the bottom-most head is Bent over backwards and wedged underneath the platter so tight that the stepper motor can hardly move the arm...

Ugh. I'll post a pic later.

LOL
Good old Seagate error codes eh

(Sorry about the drive though, hopefully it's the last head and not head 0)

 

[Stone]

(Sorry about the drive though, hopefully it's the last head and not head 0)

Does that even matter? Track 0 (like every track/cylinder) is a composite read from all heads & platters.

 

[SpidersWeb]

Does that even matter? Track 0 (like every track/cylinder) is a composite read from all heads & platters.

Yep. Because you can tell the computer/controller the drive has one less head, but you can't tell it to skip head 0.
After an LLF, nothing will ever be the wiser.

If you were recovering data, then you'd be screwed either way.

 

[offensive_Jerk]

The top platter had a small ring carved into it as well.
I did a destructive tear down. Kinda had to; to get that head out. It was jamming the whole arm from moving.

 

[offensive_Jerk]

If this head wasn't Head 0 before, it is now....

 

[SpidersWeb]

On the bright side, you do have a cool new seat of coasters.