History (1979): Shugart Associates SA1000

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1979: Shugart Associates SA1000
1st FDD Form factor compatible HDD,
FDD compatible interface and breakthrough in cost/box.
Early adopter of 200mm (8″) diameter disks

Why it’s important
The growth of smaller HDD markets was enabled by standard packages and with standard interfaces. The first HDD to fit into a floppy disk drive space, the SA1000 was the same size as the industry standard full height 8″ FDD. Its interface, like the earlier SA4000 interface, was designed for maximum compatibility with the floppy disk drive interface to speed integration and lower cost and like the SA4000 used an open-loop stepper motor for positioning. This combination resulted in a substantially lower cost than traditional drive design. Form factor and interface compatibility became the industry standard business practice thereafter (e.g., ST506)

Today HDD drives are manufactured in the millions; the SA1000 was one of the few early disk drives to exceed 100,000 units and its ramp was likely the fastest amongst those other early drives (i.e. IBM 62GV and CDC SMD).

Additional information

• HDD Drive Transition for Personal Computers Oral History Panel at Computer History Museum
• Winchester technology invades floppy territory with low cost 8-in drive Electronic Design, September 9, 1979, page 70-2.
• Simplify system design with a single controller for Winchester/Floppy combo, Electronic Design, October 25, 1979, pages 76-80.
• 100,000th SA1000 shipped; Shugart, Wang Celebrate, Inside Times, Shugart Corp., Oct 1983, page 7