Stiction

[Dave McGuire]

On Dec 8, 2006, at 8:59 PM, Brad Parker wrote:
>> Something else I've noticed is that if a drive has stiction, that  
>> stiction
>> will return after the drive sets for a while again. Anyone know  
>> what actually
>> causes stiction?
>
> my dim recollection (back in the day I did actually talk to people  
> from
> rodime, lapine, nec, etc about 10 & 20mb 3" st-506 drives) is that it
> was combination of the media plating, coating on the platter and the
> heads themselves.
>
> since there is no landing zone the heads set down on the media.  if  
> the
> media was very smooth and the lubricant too thick, the heads would  
> glue
> themselves to the media.
>
> I suspect there is slightly more to it than that, but it's been a  
> while
> for me.  I know the firmware often did a lot to try and mitigate the
> problem but I think in the end it was changes in lubricant/coating  
> which
> made it go away.

   Ahh yes that corresponds exactly with my memory of the situation  
as well.

         -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire
Cape Coral, FL