OT: Microdrive reliability

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Chuck,

I'm sorry if this starts to sound like an info-mercial as that is not my
intent. I have been playing with the IBM 1.0 GB Microdrives ( CF+ Type II )
for a while now ( model number DSCM-11000 ). Tough little bastards. They've
been dropped and put thru hell and still keep working. These are new factory
sealed units that came in an IBM " travel kit " that also included a PCMCIA
adapter, travel case and a WIN98 driver disk ( floppy ). I still have about
a dozen factory sealed units if anyone on this list wants one ( or more ) at
my cost plus shipping. If you are interested please contact me offline so we
don't piss off anyone. They ( IBM ) claim sustained data rates up to 4 MB /
second ( I have not verified that yet ). I can only vouch for these IBMs, I
have not tried any other brand or any refurbs. I've always had extremely
good luck with IBM drives and especially these little 1 inch hard drives.

Best regards, Steven C.



> On Wed, Jul 02, 2008 at 08:13:00PM -0700, Chuck Guzis wrote:
> > Does anyone have any extensive experience with CF Microdrive disks--
> > in particular, the ST1 models?  On everyone's least-favorite auction
> > site, I'm seeing tons of refurbs for sale, which makes me wonder if
> > the things hold up at all...
>
> I have a no-name USB pocket drive (Tone?) with me that has an OEM ST1
> inside (it explicitly does not provide 8-bit mode, but works fine in
> 16-bit mode according to the Seagate data sheets).  It was given to
> me just over a year ago and sees weekly usage for hauling around a
> variety of files from machine to machine.  I have had no problems
> with it, but neither have I beaten the hell out of it (except to
> operate it above 10000').
>
> How cheap are the refurbs?  I don't know what mine cost last year - it
> was a going-away present from my summer job back home between seasons.
>
> If they were cheap enough, I might like to pick up a few.
>
> I also have a 340MB IBM Microdrive, but I think that was well under $10
> from some surplus vendor last year.  It hasn't seen as much usage as the
> ST1, but the ST1 was new when I got it and the IBM was not.  Neither
> have failed as of yet.
>
> -ethan