Uncreative Labs

Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 2

Hello! I removed a Seagate ST-251 Hard drive from my mother's old computer and she was hoping I could extract the data from it before tossing it out. I am fairly certain it is in working condition.

I'd be happy to give this to anyone who wants it provided they can recover the data and make it available to me.

I have the hard drive and the controller card with the connecting strips.

I was hoping to find someone with a working machine who might find it a simple task and is interested in acquiring this vintage hard drive.

I also have some old 486 components from my first computer I'd be happy to throw in to sweeten the deal.

Raymond

Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 594 Location: Western NC

Raymond:

I'd be happy to try and recover the data (though I can't promise--given that I haven't seen the drive). I've got a 386sx16 with a MFM controller card in it already, so I would only need your drive, not your controller. I can put whatever data I can restore on CD-R and send it back. I really don't need any parts (believe me). Just cover the cost of shipping to and from your location, plus $10 for services and we'll call it a deal. Please reply before trying to ship so I can give some instructions on packing...

Let me know something...

T-R-A

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 3:15 am

T-R-A,

You might need the controller card. MFM hard drives sometimes get "mated" to their controller cards and getting them working with another card requires a low level format.

Good luck, though.

Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 2

T-R-A wrote:

Raymond:

I'd be happy to try and recover the data (though I can't promise--given that I haven't seen the drive). I've got a 386sx16 with a MFM controller card in it already, so I would only need your drive, not your controller. I can put whatever data I can restore on CD-R and send it back. I really don't need any parts (believe me). Just cover the cost of shipping to and from your location, plus $10 for services and we'll call it a deal. Please reply before trying to ship so I can give some instructions on packing...

Let me know something...

T-R-A

Sounds great. I won't need the HD back though so you can either keep it or toss it. I'll include the HD and the controller card just in case. Email me with an address to send them to: raymond@csc.lsu.edu

Thanks!

Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 594 Location: Western NC

Quote:

You might need the controller card. MFM hard drives sometimes get "mated" to their controller cards and getting them working with another card requires a low level format.

PD:

Well, hopefully not, since the 386sx already has a ST-251 in it. But since he's sending the card anyway, it doesn't really matter. I actually had 3 or 4 different drives working well with this card (A WD-1006V). Seems to take anything (MFM) I throw at it...

Raymond:

Check your e-mail...

Joined: 21 May 2006 Posts: 47 Location: London, England

Not if the HDD was taken from an XT class machine...

Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 594 Location: Western NC

Quote:

Not if the HDD was taken from an XT class machine..

Yep. Forgot that one. Been so long since I've had an XT with anything other than 8-bit IDE or SCSI that I'd forgotten....

Sad thing is the one I had spent so much money and time on (with dual 8-bit IDE HDDs, SCSI-CD/sound, VGA, 2MB LIM) hasn't been fired up in over 6 years now. First real machine I ever truly " majorly upgraded" and learned more from it than just about anything else. Got it for $30 in a company scrap sale back in '95 (and considered it a real bargain then). Gotta be over $700 invested in that machine...

Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 488 Location: pennsylvanai

first if it is an xt:
xt controllers are specific to the entire setup.
you can use the original or a newer card and it will work. I recently took a xt st225 and controller from an old pc and just plugged it in a PII-400 atx.
I just unplugged the existing ide c drive
i did NOTHING in the setup. guess what the 10 year old system booted up, remember i did NOTHING except plug it in. It is also possible that it would co-exist with the regular ide c: drive.
the xt controller sets up the drive NOT the cmos.

AT system 2.3.486. early systems had a small drive table but the 20 meg was listed but the IBM 286's did not have the st-251
a 386 or 486 should work. "autodetect" does NOT
work with mfm or rll drives.
but most mfm 16 bit controllers are wd1003 compatible,
and most any mf card, from the early at thru the later wd1006 1:1 interleave card.
do NOT use a card with a wd1007 chip
it is esdi, looks very similar but will SMOKE the drive.

remember: the low level format is different from
xt and at controllers, you MUST use the same card.
or a close relative, * but 27x cards are rll and will not work.

so if you don't have a xt class system, any newer system. except the very latest, will work with an xt controller and NONE for the hard drive selection.

it will be slow as the interleave is not right.
but you cannot reset the interl;eave when you want to recover date.
please give me a few more details and i will type in a step by step recipe.