TITLE
    PowerBook: Hard Drive Contains Head-Parking Safety Feature 8/92
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		10023
4/7/92
5/16/94
TOPIC


    Please explain the head-parking feature of the Macintosh PowerBook hard
    drive.

DISCUSSION


    The 2.5-inch hard drives used in the PowerBook computers contain a landing zone with an actuator latch feature. The actuator arm is released from its locked position only if the read/write heads have achieved a stable flying condition. This feature ensures that there is no direct physical contact between the heads and the data area on the disk surfaces. If, for any reason, power is suddenly removed from the drive, the actuator arm automatically retracts to the landing zone before the heads have made contact with the disk surfaces and locks in place until power is restored.

    Note
    ----
    Although the hard drives have this head-parking safety feature, Apple states that the PowerBook should be shut down before transporting. For further information, search on "PowerBook and transporting".

    Support Information Services


Document Information
Product Area: Computers
Category: PowerBook
Sub Category: General Topics

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