Next microdrive Seagate

Evgenie Rudometov

www.rudometov.com

As result perfection of the firm processing techniques, company Seagatevypustila the next model USB  2.0 disk drives created on the basis of a 1-inch hard disk in size of 8 Gbytes

According to civilisation development the information contents, handled and stored by means of computers promptly increase. Thus growth of these sizes leads practically to their annual doubling.

Certainly, the stored information is necessary for storing somewhere. Not calling in question advantages of optical disks and the products created on the basis of the flash-memory, it is necessary to mark, that leaders among information storage arrangements are hard disk drives (HDD).

Now HDD are one of the major components of modern computer systems. These disk drives provide non-volatile storage of programs and data, and also operative operation with them resources hardware-software resources of computers.

It is necessary to mark, that the information capacity of disk drives of this type grows from year to year, having reached for arrangements from size disks in diameter of 3,5 inches already 1 Tbyte. And while there are no underplates to doubt, that in the near future there will be even more capacious arrangements.

Perfection of processing techniques and a construction of disk drives have provided appearance of compact transportable arrangements rather a high capacity. And if a fantasy disk drives with disks of 2,5-inches, got the big popularity among numerous users recently there were a reality even more compact products more recently seemed. Except small dimensions and weight, they possess rather a high capacity, high dependability and quite good productivity at rather small energopotreblenii. As their basis miniature hard disk drives of a form factor of 1 inch with speed of rotation of a spindle of 3600 rpm have served . These 1-inch products rather in mass quantity began to be released recently by the industry for the markets of consumer electronics and computers, including the transportable disk drives which are hooked up by means of serial interfaces.

One of such products is transportable disk drive USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive. This arrangement is hooked up by means of interface USB  2.0 (a transfer rate — to 480 Mbit/c). The newest model is flagged by technical index ST68022U-RK (further — model ST68022U-RK). The given product rather was released recently on the market by the known manufacturer of hard disk drives — company Seagate Technology LLC (further simply Seagate).

 

Package

The package of transportable disk drive USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive is presented model ST68022U-RK in a Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Package SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive

Delivery package:

·         the Disk drive with cable USB,

·         the Quick reference guide on hooking up,

·         the Compact disc with support programs Seagate,

·         the Instruction on technical support and warranty service.

Features of a construction and key parametres

Disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive represents the arrangement fulfilled in shape spljusnutogo of the cylinder, reminding a puck in which the 1-inch disk drive of ST1 set and an appropriate electronic stuffing is concluded.

Appearance is presented in a Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. Appearance of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive

In a disk drive construction the USB-cable, and also an USB-plug with which help hooking up of the given arrangement to appropriate USB-plugs of desktop or transportable computers is provided is provided. The given cable, which length makes about 15 sm, is allocated in a rim of an internal disk. At rotation of the given disk counter-clockwise the cable is coiled, on hour — is unwound.

Disk drive SeagateUSB 2.0 PocketHard Drive, hooked up to port USB of a compact notebook, is resulted in a Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. Disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive, hooked up to a compact notebook

In the central part of disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive, under a transparent, plastic window, the bright light-emitting diode, lighting up is allocated by bright, dark blue colour at call to the given arrangement.

The specified product is oriented to the computer market of the compact transportable disk drives which dimensions are that, that such arrangements easily are located in a breast pocket of a shirt.

As basis of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive model ST68022U-RK was served by the one-inch disk drive of Seagate corporation in size of 8 Gbytes (for 1 Gbyte at instructions of size of disk drives their manufacturers accept for a long time already 1 000 000 000 value  byte). By the way, company Seagate on the basis of own 1-inch hard disks releases variety of disk drives of different size. On a construction they completely coincide and differ models of hard disks.

Key parametres of the disk drive of the newest model Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive models ST68022U-RK are resulted in Table 1.

Table 1. Key parametres of disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive models ST68022U-RK

Size, a Gbyte	8,0
Speed of rotation of disks, rpm	3600
Size of the internal cache memory, Mb	2
The interface	USB 2.0, compatibility USB 1.1
The sizes, mm	18,0 h 76,0
Power supplies	Through USB
Weight, g	62,4
Acoustic noise, db	22
Band of an operating temperature, With	0-40
Operating systems	Win XP/2000/ME, Win 98SE, Mac OS 9.2.2 (or above)

Applied to hooking up to computers of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive interface USB 2.0 PnP does not demand driver installation, we will combine with all widespread operating systems and provides a data transfer high speed.

In arrangement SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive the tank of stylish design which provides the high dependability necessary for transportable arrangements uses. Except a construction, high dependability is reached thanks to firm processing techniques G-Force and RunOn, realised in miniature 1-inch hard disks of company Seagate. As a result the arrangement steadily works at vibrations and pushes. Moreover, it soaks considerable shock loads — to 2000 g in a non-working state.

By the way, for an illustration of high dependability of the given arrangement its creators even have made a small film with examples of nonconventional testing of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive. The arrangement dropped and threw, then showed its working capacity. Frames from this film have been shown on one of presentations of products of company Seagate.

Coming back to package SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive, it is necessary to remind once again, that together with the disk drive the set useful is delivered ON. So, for example, having installed support program SeagateToolkit it is possible to use additional functions of a pocket disk. This support program provides performance of following functions:

·         Resizing of sections on a disk,

·         Creation of the ciphered section on a disk for storage of the confidential information,

·         Protection of a disk against writing,

·         Review of the information on a current state of a disk.

In conclusion of the given short browse of disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive models ST68022U-RK some the numerical estimations received in the course of testing of the given arrangement.

Testing

Disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive models ST68022U-RK is taken up a position for sector of transportable solutions. Therefore testing is expedient for leading together with transportable arrangements.

As a computer platform for testing of transportable disk drive SeagateUSB 2.0 PocketHard Drive ST68022U-RK in size of 8 Gbytes supercompact notebook Fujitsu Siemens LIFEBOOK P7010 used. The test package is presented in a Fig. 2.

Into structure of notebook Fujitsu Siemens LIFEBOOK P7010 enter:

·         Motherboard FUJITSU FJNB189 (the processor bus of 400 MHz, Intel chip set 855GME with the built in graphics subsystem and ICH4-M),

·         Intel of Pentium M ULV 733 (1.10 GHz, 2048 Kbytes of cache memory L2, clock rate of the processor bus of 100 MHz that provides data transfer with frequency of 400 MHz),

·         Built in panel LCD of 10 inches,

·         the Disk drive on hard 2,5-inch magnetic disks HDD FUJITSU MHT2060AT in size of 60 Gbytes,

·         Units of dynamic storage DDR333 SDRAM of 512 Mb,

·         the Videoadapter presented by resources of the built in drawing of a chip set of Intel 855GME,

·         Optical drive MATSHITA UJDA755 DVD/CDRW,

·         the Operating system of Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

After hooking up of model ST68022U-RK of disk drive SeagateUSB 2.0 PocketHard Drive to notebook USB-port easily and at once it was defined by the operating system as arrangement SEAGATEST68022USB USB Device. In a window «My computer» appears a new logical disk. By means of a choice of appropriate options it is possible to output on the display screen of value of information capacity.

In a Fig. 4 fragments of screenshots of the menu of "Property" are presented.

Fig. 4. Fragments of the menu of "Property"

In Table 2 the parametres characterising a transfer rate are presented.

In a Fig. 5 graphics representations of the numerical estimations of results of testing Seagate USB resulted in tables 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST68022U-RK in comparison with earlier released models Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive and the similar disk drive of company MSI are resulted.

Table 2. The Transfer rate

Arrangements	Disk Transfer Rate:End (1000 bytes per second)	Disk Transfer Rate:Beginning (1000 bytes per second)
Seagate 8Gb	4930	9870
Seagate 6Gb	4360	7770
Seagate 5Gb	4510	7430
MSI 1,5GB	5300	6050

Fig. 5. The Transfer rate

As follows from results of the led testing, compact transportable disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST68022U-RK can represent itself as an effective remedy of carrying over and storage of programs and data.

Transportable 8 Gbytes disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST68022U-RK have been given on testing by company EASTSIDEConsulting