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disk pack

 
Dictionary: disk pack

n.
A computer storage device consisting of several magnetic disks that can be used and stored as a unit.


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An early removable hard disk module used in minicomputers and mainframes that contained two or more platters housed in a dust-free container. For mounting, the protective bottom of the unit was removed, and the disk pack was placed into the drive. Then the top part of the disk pack was unscrewed and removed.

Disk Packs
Disk drives used to be huge washing machine-like devices. These were the kinds of removable disk modules that were used in them.

The Actual Devices
Taken in the 1970s, this picture shows the disk pack being loaded into the drive. Such disks held only a couple of hundred megabytes. (Image courtesy of Unisys Corporation.)

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WordNet: disc pack
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: (computer science) a portable pack of magnetic disks used in a disk storage device
  Synonym: disk pack


Wikipedia: Disk pack
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Disk pack manufactured by Nashua, USA. 3,5" modern harddrive for comparison.

'Disk pack is a layered grouping of hard disk platters (circular, rigid discs coated with a magnetic data storage surface). Disk pack is the core component of a hard disk drive. In modern hard disks, the disk pack is permanently sealed inside the drive. In early hard disks, the disk pack was a removable unit, and would be supplied with a protective canister featuring a lifting handle. Examples of a hard disks with removable disk packs are the IBM 1311, and the Digital RP04.

See also disk cartridge, history of hard disk


Best of the Web: disk pack
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Some good "disk pack" pages on the web:


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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Disk pack" Read more