How can I read from a very old IBM WD-387 60MB hard disk (with anESDI interface) ?

[guilbert.stabilo]

Hi all,

In my personal stuff, I retrieved an old IBM PS2 laptop. The laptop won't boot anymore and I do not plan to repair it.
I extracted the IBM WD-387 60MB hard disk which probably works and I want to extract the precious data from it.
I found that the drive interface is ESDI (an ancestor of the IDE interface).

I do not know how to read the disk. I tried the Google search for the keywords "+ESDI +PCI +controller" but I did not find any PCI/ESDI controller card yet. I only found some old ISA/ESDI controllers.

Of course, I had an computer with an ISA bus motherboard but I got rid of it a long time ago.

I do not plan to buy/build an old computer just for reading my disk.

Do you have better & costless idea ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

I do not plan to buy/build an old computer just for reading my disk.

You'll have to, if the data is that "precious" (your words) to you.

Your disk may well not be readable on any old ESDI controller. You
stand the best chance of success if you put it in a working laptop
identical to the one you took it out of.

Finally, IBM's PS/2 implementation of ESDI is proprietary - some of the
disks had a single edge connector interface (called DBA, direct bus
attachment) instead of the more conventional twin ribbon + power cables.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Small_Disk_Interface

Try a post in comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware, still active when I checked
just now.

Good luck.

 

[guilbert.stabilo]

Your disk may well not be readable on any old ESDI controller. You stand the best chance of success if you put it in a working laptop identical to the one you took it out of.

I would have prefered finding a PCI/ESDI controller but it seems like I have a very little chance to get one.

Finally, IBM's PS/2 implementation of ESDI is proprietary - some of the disks had a single edge connector interface (called DBA, direct bus attachment) instead of the more conventional twin ribbon + power cables.

Yes, it probably is the most reliable option if the IBM implementation is proprietary. Here are good pictures of my HDD which show the connectors:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBM-WD-387T-60MB-ESDI-Festplatte-HDD-Hard-Disk-Drive-/251163294778

Try a post in comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware, still active when I checked just now.

I do it.

 

[Arno]

Hi all,

In my personal stuff, I retrieved an old IBM PS2 laptop. The laptop won't
boot anymore and I do not plan to repair it. I extracted the IBM WD-387
60MB hard disk which probably works and I want to extract the precious
data from it. I found that the drive interface is ESDI (an ancestor of
the IDE interface).

I do not know how to read the disk. I tried the Google search for the
keywords "+ESDI +PCI +controller" but I did not find any PCI/ESDI
controller card yet. I only found some old ISA/ESDI controllers.

Of course, I had an computer with an ISA bus motherboard but I got rid of
it a long time ago.

I do not plan to buy/build an old computer just for reading my disk.

Do you have better & costless idea ?

Thanks in advance.

There is only one choice, and that is an ESDI controller. Nothing
else will help. They have not been manufactired for something
like a decade now, though. You can try to ask around in data-recovery
outfits, some will still have working ESDI controllers. May not be
chap though. You may also be able to get an old controller
or old, working PS/2 hardware. AFAIK, PS/2 always uses ESDI.

Arno

 

[Jerry Peters]

I would have prefered finding a PCI/ESDI controller but it seems like I have a very little chance to get one.

AFAIK, by the time PCI came along ESDI was long obsolete, so yes, your
chances of finding a PCI/ESDI controller are probably nil.

Jerry

 

[guilbert.stabilo]

You may also be able to get an old controller

I could find an old controller but it will have an ISA interface so I will also have to find an old computer with an ISA bus. And if so, I think I can also meet some computer/controller compatibility issues.

or old, working PS/2 hardware. AFAIK, PS/2 always uses ESDI.

This seems to be the most realistic solution.
The problem is I got rid of the original PS/2 which was broken and I only kept the HDD. Because I did this 10 years ago, I can not remember the PS/2 serie reference. I am just pretty sure that it was a laptop.

* Is there different ESDI version or proprietary issues with the PS/2 versions as suggested by Mike ?

* Moreover, is there a database where I could find which hard disk model was shipped with which computer ?

My ESDI hard disk is a WD-387.
This will help to find the right model.

 

[Jerry Peters]

There is only one choice, and that is an ESDI controller. Nothing
else will help. They have not been manufactired for something
like a decade now, though. You can try to ask around in data-recovery
outfits, some will still have working ESDI controllers. May not be
chap though. You may also be able to get an old controller
or old, working PS/2 hardware. AFAIK, PS/2 always uses ESDI.

Nope, I remember upgrading some IBM PS/2's that used SCSI disks. This
would have been somewhere in the early to mid 90's.

Jerry

 

[Rod Speed]

Hi all,

In my personal stuff, I retrieved an old IBM PS2 laptop. The laptop won't
boot anymore and I do not plan to repair it.
I extracted the IBM WD-387 60MB hard disk which probably works and I want
to extract the precious data from it.
I found that the drive interface is ESDI (an ancestor of the IDE
interface).

I do not know how to read the disk. I tried the Google search for the
keywords "+ESDI +PCI +controller" but I did not find any PCI/ESDI
controller card yet. I only found some old ISA/ESDI controllers.

Of course, I had an computer with an ISA bus motherboard but I got rid of
it a long time ago.

I do not plan to buy/build an old computer just for reading my disk.

Do you have better & costless idea ?

Get a dinosaur that does work that has an ESDI drive in it and swap the
drive.

Might be easier said than done tho, that's very dinosaury now.

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

There is only one choice, and that is an ESDI controller. Nothing
else will help. They have not been manufactired for somet

There's 5Mhz, 10MHz and 15MHz EDSI controllers and they have to be
matched to the disk, which further reduces the likelihood of the OP
finding a compatible controller. Then we get into the realms of
geometry - how was the OP's disk formatted?

It's a non-starter, unless OP finds a machine identical to the original.

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

My ESDI hard disk is a WD-387.
This will help to find the right model.

WD-387 is the manufacturer's model number (Western Digital).

The disk will have an IBM part number and a spares number on it in the
form "nnLnnnn" where n is a number and L is a letter, e.g. 12F3456. If
you can find both these numbers, google might throw something up.

 

[guilbert.stabilo]

Le mardi 28 mai 2013 01:56:34 UTC+2, Mike Tomlinson a écrit :

Here are some photos of my HDD:

http://webpollux.free.fr/public/hdd/wd387_frt.jpg
http://webpollux.free.fr/public/hdd/wd387_bck.jpg

WD-387 is the manufacturer's model number (Western Digital).

Yes, WD stands for Western Digital but the sticker says: "MADE BY IBM JAPANLTD.".

The disk will have an IBM part number and a spares number on it in the form "nnLnnnn" where n is a number and L is a letter, e.g. 12F3456.

On the main sticker, I can read:

P/N 6128257 60MB
FRU P/N 6128294
MLC: C27511
MODEL: WD-387

And on some other stickers:

30092367
B1AL7 038297

On the hardware controller, there also are some references:

C27527-E
38F7420

Using the first P/N, I found this list from
http://www.computermagnetics.co.uk/ibm.html :

6128250 60MB ESDI PS/2 WD-387
6128257 60MB 3.5" PS/2 WD-387 => THIS IS MY DISK
6128271 60MB 3.5" ESDI PS/2 WD-387S
6128272 60MB ESDI PS/2 WD-387T

Because the WD-387 have some ESDI declinations in the full reference, I am not even sure my disk is ESDI.

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

http://webpollux.free.fr/public/hdd/wd387_frt.jpg
http://webpollux.free.fr/public/hdd/wd387_bck.jpg

God, that takes me back years. Must be 25 years since I lastsaw those.

Yes, WD stands for Western Digital but the sticker says: "MADE BY IBM JAPAN
LTD.".

I might have been wrong - it's possible these are IBM badged Western
Digital disks, but WD may also stand for "Winchester Disk" - the
original term for hard drives.

P/N 6128257 60MB

this is the part number

FRU P/N 6128294

this is the spares number (FRU = field replaceable unit)

On the hardware controller, there also are some references:
38F7420

That looks like an IBM part number, but Google finds no hits

6128257 60MB 3.5" PS/2 WD-387 => THIS IS MY DISK

I am not
even sure my disk is ESDI.

It is.

Try and borrow a PS/2 55SX computer from somewhere. Millions of those
were made, some will still be knocking around. Your drive will plug
straight in, and it should work.

http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/alf/ps2_55sx/ps2_55sx_2_full.jpeg

You may also need to obtain the 'reference diskette' available here to
run the machine setup program before the drive is seen:

http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/ftp/mirrors/ps2supersite.homedns.or
g/pccbbs/refdisks/rf5565a.exe

Once working, you can then copy your data off onto floppy or via a
Laplink serial/.parallel cable.

 

[Tom Del Rosso]

There is only one choice, and that is an ESDI controller. Nothing
else will help. They have not been manufactired for something
like a decade now, though. You can try to ask around in data-recovery
outfits, some will still have working ESDI controllers. May not be
chap though. You may also be able to get an old controller
or old, working PS/2 hardware. AFAIK, PS/2 always uses ESDI.

It's quite possible that it would be easier to fix the laptop, if he can
find one of the remaining TV shops or somebody competent with solder.

 

[guilbert.stabilo]

Le mardi 28 mai 2013 22:17:36 UTC+2, Tom Del Rosso a écrit :

It's quite possible that it would be easier to fix the laptop, if he can find one of the remaining TV shops or somebody competent with solder.

I got rid of the laptop more than 10 years ago and only kept the HDD because I knew there was some personal data on it. Except the HDD, I have nothingleft to fix ...