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From: KVC@ENGVAX.UUCP.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.computers.vax
Subject: Re: Super-eagles
Message-ID: <8701271003.AA07841@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Mon, 26-Jan-87 21:04:00 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8701271003.AA07841
Posted: Mon Jan 26 21:04:00 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Jan-87 06:49:33 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
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Approved: info-vax@sri-kl.arpa

> Early production of these drives had a design fault which allowed contaminants
> to build up on the heads. This does not crash the HDA but does reach a point
> where data can no longer be read or written with any reliability. Apparently
> spinning the drive down temporarily cures the problem by scraping the crud
> off the heads onto the landing zones!
>
> Apparently production shipped after mid August 86 does not have this problem,
> and SI UK are arranging to swap all earlier HDAs with customers regardless of
> whether there are problems.

That's the story we got also.  Unfortunately, I've now had 4 out of 4 new
HDA's crash  (just had another one today).  It appears that spinning the
drive down and then back up fixes things temporarily.  Long enough, hopefully,
that you can attack the drive with BACKUP and rescue things.

        /Kevin Carosso                 kvc%engvax.UUCP@usc-oberon.usc.edu
         Hughes Aircraft Co.