Quantum Hard Drives - which models can be (reasonably) fixed?

[3lectr1cPPC]

Not sure whether to put this here or in the lounge...

Most of us know that old Quantum hard drives have rubber bumpers in the head assembly that go sticky and get the heads seized. Some Conner drives did as well, and I've recently heard that Toshiba drives are exhibiting the same problem now as well (laptop drives from the 90s specifically). Many drives can be revived by opening them up and either taping over the sticky rubber or replacing the bumper entirely. I have heard though that many Quantum drives put bumpers under the platters, which while possible to get to with special equipment, isn't possible to fix for most. Which models specifically do this though? It would be useful to have a list of which ones can be fixed, would be good for a wiki page or a page on my website. I recall one of them that did this was the ProDrive ELS or LPS models, can't remember which.

Share your experiences below!

 

[rollmastr]

ProDrive LPS can be fixed easily, ProDrive ELS has another bumper under the platters.

 

[Paralel]

I find Kapton to be the best choice of "tape".

 

[Nixontheknight]

ProDrive LPS can be fixed easily, ProDrive ELS has another bumper under the platters.

I saw that when I took apart a ProDrive ELS that suffered head crash

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

So it is the ELS, good to know. Any others?

 

[volvo242gt]

I wouldn't be surprised if later LPS, Maverick, Fireball, etc, drives also have those bumpers. The LPS170S and 270S drives I have look like the ELS drives externally, whereas my LPS240S drive with the fried controller board is the older design without the under platter bumper.

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

I heard somewhere that the first gen Bigfoot drives have them. It wouldn’t surprise me if all of their drives did.

 

[Vasily_A]

А simple solution to the problem of a sticky bumper on a Quantum ProDrive ELS:

Since it’s impossible to remove and put back the magnetic disk at home,
I glued a soft stop on the back of the voice coil,
which prevents the heads from touching the damaged bumper.

I doubt that this will be enough for a very long time, but it's better than a completely faulty hdd.

This disc has been working for the first time in this millennium

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

Ooh, smart! I'll give that a go if I ever find an ELS.

 

[volvo242gt]

Should also work on the later LPS drives, like the LPS170S, LPS270S, etc...