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From: ins845b@monu4.cc.monash.edu.au (mr  k.l. lentin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: TURN COMPUTER OFF OR LEAVE ON
Message-ID: <1991May25.150948.542@monu0.cc.monash.edu.au>
Date: 25 May 91 15:09:48 GMT
References: <1991May24.160414.3552@rodan.acs.syr.edu>
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Organization: Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3168, Australia
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In article <1991May24.160414.3552@rodan.acs.syr.edu> ldstern@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Larry Stern) writes:
>I also apologize for bringing back this somewhat tired thread, but I do have a
>question for the above poster. What is the problem with Seagate drives that
>warrants keeping them, in particular, on all night?

I am not the poster you refer to but I am the one who started this seagate
stuff. The problem turns up in the ST251 and ST250R and 2 others. Its
apparently called STICTION (like friction but worse :-) and its simply that
when you turn the drive oiff and leave it for more than a few minutes, it
won't start up again. The solution is to shake the drive in a flat circular
motion - thus causing the platters to rotate to jar them loose. Bumbing them
around sometimes fixes them The solution: leave it on (it takes me 20 minutes
to disassemble my machine to get the driveout, get it going and rebuild the
computer. I sent it to get repaird and $280 later its the same! The repairers
never detect the poblem 'cos they move the drive around too much and try it
too often! So far the only suggestion to fix this involved opening the drive
and oiling the surfaces of the p[latters. (I shall say no more :-)

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