Seagate ST310011ARK?

[Allen Weiner]

This week (Apr 23 - Apr 29) Circuit City is offering a Seagate ST310011ARK
(100GB, 7200 RPM, 2MB cache, PATA) HDD for $40 after rebate. The ST310011ARK
is a 7200.7 model.

This seems like it might be useful as a second HDD for my six year old Dell
Dimension 4100.

I'm interested in downloading the technical manual for this drive. When I
visit the Seagate site, I can't find anything whatsoever about the
ST310011ARK.

In particular, the Seagate support page has a technical library. This
library lists the 7200.7 models. There is no 100 GB model at all.

What might be going on here?

 

[Rod Speed]

This week (Apr 23 - Apr 29) Circuit City is offering
a Seagate ST310011ARK (100GB, 7200 RPM,
2MB cache, PATA) HDD for $40 after rebate.

The ST310011ARK is a 7200.7 model.

Where are you getting that last bit from ?
That does show up using google on ST310011ARK

This seems like it might be useful as a second HDD
for my six year old Dell Dimension 4100.

I'm interested in downloading the technical manual for this drive.

Not a lot of point with a drive that cheap.

When I visit the Seagate site, I can't find anything
whatsoever about the ST310011ARK.

In particular, the Seagate support page has a technical library. This
library lists the 7200.7 models. There is no 100 GB model at all.

What might be going on here?

Most likely its an OEM drive that Seagate made
for someone else and they're running them out now.

 

[Allen Weiner]

Where are you getting that last bit from ?
That does show up using google on ST310011ARK

Yes, that's where I got it from, by doing a Google on ST310011ARK. The
only hits were from sites selling drives. One of those sites listed the
drive as a 7200.7.

 

[Curious George]

Yes, that's where I got it from, by doing a Google on ST310011ARK. The
only hits were from sites selling drives. One of those sites listed the
drive as a 7200.7.

The "RK" at the end means "Retail Kit". It is basically irrelevant to
this kind of search. That being said I wonder if this is a typo.
Perhaps it is the ST380011A? The other possibility is it's the drive
from the external ST3100203U2-RK released only to certain retail
venues. I'm not sure what nfo you think you're going to find that
would affect this purchase. What you want to dig up either isn't
going to be there or won't be a deal-breaking surprise.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

The "RK" at the end means "Retail Kit".

It is basically irrelevant to this kind of search.

No with warranty in mind.

That being said I wonder if this is a typo.

Yup. Following Seagate naming rules this would have to be a 10GB drive.
But then apparently Seagate doesn't always follow it's own rules.

Perhaps it is the ST380011A?

Nah. Try ST3100011-A. Not on the Seagate website either though.
The 7200.7 is 80GB per platter, the 7200.7 plus is 100GB a platter but
only lists a 200GB model, so extending the 80 GB/platter size range.
The ST3100011-A is probably the single platter version of that drive.

To come back to the ST380011A, it is possible though that the
ST3100011-A replaces the ST380011A and is shortstroked to 80GB
or that the ST310011-A is the shortstroked version of that ST3100011-A.
If that's so then a whole bunch of sellers misrepresent the size of the
ST310011-A they sell.

The other possibility is it's the drive from the external ST3100203U2-RK
released only to certain retail venues.

I'm not sure what nfo you think
you're going to find that would affect this purchase.

Could be drive speed. The 7200.7 plus may be a little faster.

What you want to dig up either isn't going to be there or won't be a
deal-breaking surprise.

80 GB or 100GB? Limited warranty or no warranty at all?
Hmm.

 

[Curious George]

No with warranty in mind.

He's looking for the "technical manual." Warranty information is
listed with the reseller.

Yup. Following Seagate naming rules this would have to be a 10GB drive.
But then apparently Seagate doesn't always follow it's own rules.


Nah. Try ST3100011-A. Not on the Seagate website either though.
The 7200.7 is 80GB per platter, the 7200.7 plus is 100GB a platter but
only lists a 200GB model, so extending the 80 GB/platter size range.
The ST3100011-A is probably the single platter version of that drive.

The Barracuda 7200.7 Plus family has 120, 160, & 200 gig units. None
of the model numbers are remotely close. This would either be a
MASSIVE typo, or more likely some related mutant in limited release.

To come back to the ST380011A, it is possible though that the
ST3100011-A replaces the ST380011A and is shortstroked to 80GB
or that the ST310011-A is the shortstroked version of that ST3100011-A.
If that's so then a whole bunch of sellers misrepresent the size of the
ST310011-A they sell.

We can do a lot of guessing here. The rebate is for the ST310011ARK &
ST3160203U2RK. That may or may not be evidence. I don't know exactly
what's in the ST3100203U2 package.

Could be drive speed. The 7200.7 plus may be a little faster.

Key word is "little".

Whenever one is willing to go back a few generations for price,
hairsplitting performance figures tends not to be a priority.

80 GB or 100GB?

Hmm indeed. Good question for the OP to follow up on.

Limited warranty or no warranty at all?
Hmm.

Normally "RK" implies 5 yr warranty with the retail packaging &
accessories. Appears to be the case in this instance:
http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/135744/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs

 

[Rod Speed]

He's looking for the "technical manual."
Correct.

Warranty information is listed with the reseller.

But it may be better if the Seagate site lists
the same warranty, that would make it simpler
if you do need to exercise the warranty.

Unlikely given the number of hits for ST310011ARK
using google which list a number of retaillers selling
it, with the same specs listed.

The Barracuda 7200.7 Plus family has 120, 160, & 200 gig units.
None of the model numbers are remotely close. This would either be
a MASSIVE typo, or more likely some related mutant in limited release.

Yep, a 120 short stroked for some reason or with
platters that didnt quite make it to 120 for some reason.

Very unlikely. Much more likely to be a special for some reason.

We can do a lot of guessing here. The rebate is for the ST310011ARK &
ST3160203U2RK. That may or may not be evidence. I don't know exactly
what's in the ST3100203U2 package.

Key word is "little".

Whenever one is willing to go back a few generations for price,
hairsplitting performance figures tends not to be a priority.

True. What matters is what is on offer basically.

Hmm indeed. Good question for the OP to follow up on.

I doubt its necessary, unlikely it isnt
100GB, just a special for some reason.

Normally "RK" implies 5 yr warranty with the retail packaging &
accessories.

And thats what the sellers list it as.

I'd prefer to have Seagate themselves say
it explicitly, but it is rather decently priced.

Be hilarious if its a maxtor with seagate dumping them on the market tho
|-)

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

He's looking for the "technical manual." Warranty information is
listed with the reseller.

The Barracuda 7200.7 Plus family has 120, 160, & 200 gig units.

Oh? I must have an old drive manual then, so let me check: Nope, it's still current.
The 40, 80, 120 and 160GB models are 7200.7, the 200GB model is 7200.7 plus.
(What exactly did you not understand in the above paragraph on platter density?)

Barracuda 7200.7 Plus
• ST3200822A
• ST3200021A
Barracuda 7200.7
• ST3160023A
• ST3160021A
• ST3120026A
• ST3120022A
• ST380013A
• ST380011A
• ST340014A

None of the model numbers are remotely close.

Told you.

This would either be a MASSIVE typo,

Yeah, one zero skipped is a massive typo, I agree.
That would never happen to you or me, right?

or more likely some related mutant in limited release.


We can do a lot of guessing here. The rebate is for the ST310011ARK &
ST3160203U2RK. That may or may not be evidence. I don't know exactly
what's in the ST3100203U2 package.


Key word is "little".

Whenever one is willing to go back a few generations for price,
hairsplitting performance figures tends not to be a priority.

But that is what's this is all about, isn't it?
Finding out whether we are talking old 7200.7 or new(er) 7200.7 plus?

Hmm indeed. Good question for the OP to follow up on.


Normally "RK" implies 5 yr warranty with the retail packaging & accessories.

Yes, but if these drives have been sold off to hardware brokers that info may have
limited value.

 

[Allen Weiner]

This week (Apr 23 - Apr 29) Circuit City is offering a Seagate ST310011ARK
(100GB, 7200 RPM, 2MB cache, PATA) HDD for $40 after rebate. The ST310011ARK
is a 7200.7 model.

This seems like it might be useful as a second HDD for my six year old Dell
Dimension 4100.

I'm interested in downloading the technical manual for this drive. When I
visit the Seagate site, I can't find anything whatsoever about the
ST310011ARK.

In particular, the Seagate support page has a technical library. This
library lists the 7200.7 models. There is no 100 GB model at all.

What might be going on here?

OP here. Thanks everyone for your replies.

When I first saw the Circuit City ad, I just wanted to confirm at the
Seagate site that this was a legitimate drive. I wanted the technical manual
in order to determine whether the drive has a temperature sensor.

I ended up emailing Seagate pre-sales to confirm that the drive was
legitimate. In their response, they claim that this drive model, a
ST310011A-RK, was inadvartantly omitted from their online literature.

Here is the text of their response:

Seagate Technician's Message,
Hello Allen,
This product is only available through the retail channel and it appears it
was overlooked on our retail page.

This page
(http://www.seagate.com/docs/pdf/datasheet/disc/ds_internal_pata.pdf )
provides a basic description of the retail products, however as you
observed the 100GB seems to be missing. .
It is a 100GB capacity drive with 2MB cache and an ATA interface.


For more details I have pasted the specifications for the drive from our
Desk Reference tool available on the website.

ST-3100011A
Barracuda 7200.7

FORMATTED CAPACITY (GB) __________________100
ACTUATOR TYPE ____________________________VOICE COIL
CYLINDERS __PHYSICAL______________________
HEADS ______PHYSICAL______________________2
DISCS (3.5 in) ___________________________1
MEDIA TYPE _______________________________THIN FILM
HEAD TYPE ________________________________GMR
RECORDING METHOD _________________________EPRML 16/17 ZBR

INTERNAL TRANSFER RATE (Mbytes/sec) ______up to 85.4
SUSTAINED TRANSFER RATE (MB/sec)__________up to 58
EXTERNAL TRANSFER RATE (Mbytes/sec) ______up to 100
PIO/DMA/UDMA MODE (max) __________________4/2/5
SPINDLE SPEED (RPM) ______________________7200
AVERAGE LATENCY (mSEC) ___________________4.16
BUFFER ___________________________________2MB
Read/Write Multiple, Read Look-Ahead,
Multi-Segmented
INTERFACE ________________________________Ultra ATA/100
SECTORS PER DRIVE (LBA mode) _____________195,371,568
TPI (TRACKS PER INCH) ____________________98,000
BPI (KBITS PER INCH) _____________________up to 671,500
AVERAGE ACCESS (ms seek/read/write) ______8.5/8.5/9.5
SINGLE TRACK SEEK (ms seek/read/write) ___/<1.0/<1.2

MAX FULL SEEK (ms seek/read/write) _______//
MTBF (power-on hours) Office _____________600,000
SHOCK (G's, 11ms/2ms):
operating (Read/Write) __________/63
abnormal ________________________
nonoperating ____________________/350
ACOUSTICS (bels)
fluid bearing (typ/max-quiet/max-perf) _<2.5/3.0/3.7
POWER DISSIPATION (watts) ________________
POWER REQUIREMENTS: +12V START-UP (amps) _2.8
POWER MANAGEMENT (Watts):
ACTIVE _______________12.5
IDLE _________________7.5
STANDBY (typ/max) ____0.7/

Physical:

Height (inches/mm): 1.028/26.04
Width (inches/mm): 4.00/101.6
Depth (inches/mm): 5.78/146.9
Weight (lb/g): 1.4/635

Seagate Technology Desk Reference February 3, 2006

I will ask the retail group to update the .PDF data sheet.

Regards,

 

[Rod Speed]

OP here. Thanks everyone for your replies.

When I first saw the Circuit City ad, I just wanted to confirm at the
Seagate site that this was a legitimate drive. I wanted the technical
manual in order to determine whether the drive has a temperature sensor.

Havent seen any that dont for years now.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

OP here. Thanks everyone for your replies.

When I first saw the Circuit City ad, I just wanted to confirm at the
Seagate site that this was a legitimate drive. I wanted the technical manual
in order to determine whether the drive has a temperature sensor.

I ended up emailing Seagate pre-sales to confirm that the drive was legitimate.

In their response, they claim that this drive model,

a *ST310011A-RK*,

That's not at all what their response reads. Better read it again.

was inadvartantly omitted from their online literature.

Which may be why it kept sitting in their warehouses.

Here is the text of their response:

Seagate Technician's Message,
Hello Allen,
This product is only available through the retail channel and it appears it

was overlooked on our retail page.

And everywhere else.

This page
(http://www.seagate.com/docs/pdf/datasheet/disc/ds_internal_pata.pdf )
provides a basic description of the retail products, however as you
observed the 100GB seems to be missing.
It is a 100GB capacity drive with 2MB cache and an ATA interface.


For more details I have pasted the specifications for the drive from our
Desk Reference tool available on the website.

Barracuda 7200.7

FORMATTED CAPACITY (GB) __________________100
ACTUATOR TYPE ____________________________VOICE COIL
CYLINDERS __PHYSICAL______________________
HEADS ______PHYSICAL______________________2
DISCS (3.5 in) ___________________________1
MEDIA TYPE _______________________________THIN FILM
HEAD TYPE ________________________________GMR
RECORDING METHOD _________________________EPRML 16/17 ZBR

INTERNAL TRANSFER RATE (Mbytes/sec) ______up to 85.4
SUSTAINED TRANSFER RATE (MB/sec)__________up to 58
EXTERNAL TRANSFER RATE (Mbytes/sec) ______up to 100
PIO/DMA/UDMA MODE (max) __________________4/2/5
SPINDLE SPEED (RPM) ______________________7200
AVERAGE LATENCY (mSEC) ___________________4.16
BUFFER ___________________________________2MB
Read/Write Multiple, Read Look-Ahead,
Multi-Segmented
INTERFACE ________________________________Ultra ATA/100
SECTORS PER DRIVE (LBA mode) _____________195,371,568

TPI (TRACKS PER INCH) ____________________98,000
BPI (KBITS PER INCH) _____________________up to 671,500

This indicates a 7200.7 Plus, not a 7200.7 as indicated above

 

[Rod Speed]

That's not at all what their response reads. Better read it again.

Which may be why it kept sitting in their warehouses.

Unlikely, I bet few bother to do any research on drives they buy.

 

[Curious George]

On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 16:57:01 +0200, "Folkert Rienstra"

Oh? I must have an old drive manual then, so let me check: Nope, it's still current.
The 40, 80, 120 and 160GB models are 7200.7, the 200GB model is 7200.7 plus.
(What exactly did you not understand in the above paragraph on platter density?)

Cut the crap. You said "the 7200.7 plus is 100GB a platter but only
lists a 200GB model."

Don't you feel silly asking that "question".

Barracuda 7200.7 Plus
• ST3200822A
• ST3200021A
Barracuda 7200.7
• ST3160023A
• ST3160021A
• ST3120026A
• ST3120022A
• ST380013A
• ST380011A
• ST340014A


Told you.

Told me shit. I told you.

So far your writing is as clear as mud. Look again. Try matching
_3_1_0_0_1_1_ to your list. Oh look the phantom 3100011A isn't there.
Lookie here: only the ST380011A (a 7200.7 actually) is one digit away.

Thanks very much for posting a list that corroborates another of my
points; what he's looking for is 2-3 dissimilar appearing digits away
from the 7200.7 Plus family as publicly documented by Seagate.
According to you the 7200.7 Plus consists of ST3200822A & ST3200021A.
Not remotely close.

Yeah, one zero skipped is a massive typo, I agree.
That would never happen to you or me, right?

Step 1: Look at your list
Step 2: Look at the model he's looking for
Step 3: Realize that you still haven't moved away from agreeing with
me that it is possible that the ad may have a typo.

Remember I never insisted it definitely was the ST380011A. But even
_your_ evidence puts the ST380011A as a top contender for possible
model behind a typo and does not document the 3100011A.

But that is what's this is all about, isn't it?

No. The OP only indicated he wanted to confirm the accuracy of the
ad. We don't know what else (if anything) the OP wants the technical
manual for. He didn't say.

<duh>
Technical manuals have lots of useful info besides platter density &
raw performance numbers.
</duh>

Whichever model it is, I still highly doubt he'll find anything that
would be a deal breaker for a cheap retail Seagate secondary drive for
an old PC. I'm still not impressed with your attempted conjecture to
the contrary.

Finding out whether we are talking old 7200.7 or new(er) 7200.7 plus?

No that's your windmill. The OP just wanted to know if it was a legit
model number.

He also seemed to believe and not really question it to be a 7200.7.
While it's fair to wrestle a little with what it might be- a 7200.7 vs
7200.7 Plus dispute is not actually the point of the thread.

Yes, but if these drives have been sold off to hardware brokers that info may have
limited value.

If?

"RK's" are not surplus (or worse) dumps. They are supposed to be
ordinary, shiny boxed mainstream retail products. _If_ you see
something that isn't, it was misrepresented or wasn't a "RK".

If there's any doubt what model they're selling, Circuit City is a
brick & mortar chain. He can easily check out the box before buying.

Are you through tripping all over yourself arguing an OT non-issue
yet?

 

[Odie]

<snip>


George, however curious you may be, I wouldn't even expend the energy on
an argument with Folkert.

He (with a capital H, as in "God") is always "right."

In his own eyes, of course.


Odie
(Hi Folkert!!! Good to see you back. Nice holiday? Boot camp?
Hospital? Hope you're well. Must arrange to visit you one day.
Fascinating experience!)

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Hey numbnuts, read the whole thread before you wet yourself all over.
Seagate just confirmed that it was a 100GB ST3100011A, just like I
expected, not a ST310011A and not a ST380011-A (80GB) either.
Obviously a 100GB ST380011-A is not a typo, not even a massive one.

You can posture all you want but the facts are that you were clueless
on the fact that drives in a series have the same platter densities and
you were clueless on the fact how Seagate organizes it's model numbers.

I was right, you were wrong, now be a good little boy and get over it.

 

[Curious George]

Hey numbnuts,

Hey Folknuts

read the whole thread before you wet yourself all over.

I nearly wet myself laughing at you.

Seagate just confirmed that it was a 100GB ST3100011A, just like I
expected, not a ST310011A and not a ST380011-A (80GB) either.
Obviously a 100GB ST380011-A is not a typo, not even a massive one.

Are you smoking something? Obviously it IS a typo. A dropped zero
like YOU said.

You can posture all you want but the facts are that you were clueless
on the fact that drives in a series have the same platter densities and
you were clueless on the fact how Seagate organizes it's model numbers.

said the poser who doesn't hasn't a clue what the "RK" in a Seagate
model number means.

I was right, you were wrong, now be a good little boy and get over it.

I truly pity you.