Seagate ST1

Seagate 2.5 GB ST1 Drive

The Seagate ST1 is a miniature 1-inch hard drive with the CompactFlash Type II form factor, much like IBM's Microdrive. Unlike Sony and Hitachi and allegedly GS Magicstor branded drives, Seagate developed their technology from scratch.

As of 2005 most 5 gigabyte mp3 players in production have ST1 drives embedded in them.

Seagate 6 GB ST1 Drive, from MP3 player Sanyo HDP-M3000

Notable improvements over IBM's design include

• 2 megabyte data buffer
• A mechanism to hold the read-write head in place when the drive is not in use

All ST1 drives have "For Embedded Application Only" printed on the back of them, which has led some people to think that the CF mode required for use in digital cameras is disabled. This is in fact not true and was most likely put there to remind the user that the drive was not designed for continuous use in a desktop computer.

ST1 Models

ST1 Series:^[1]

• ST625211CF/FX (2.5GB) (2004)
• ST650211CF/FX (5GB) (2004)

ST1.2 Series:^[2]

• ST64022CF/FX (4GB) (2005)
• ST66022CF/FX (6GB) (2005)
• ST68022CF/FX (8GB) (2005)

ST1.3 Series:^[3]

• ST660712DE/DEG (6GB) (2006)
• ST680712DE/DEG (8GB) (2006)
• ST610712DE/DEG (10GB) (2006)
• ST612712DE/DEG (12GB) (2006)

The CF, DE, DEG, FX suffixes are for CompactFlash+ Type II, ZIF, (zero insertion force) IDE interface, Flex (IDE interface) interfaces respectively. DEG models also include an additional free-fall sensor for robust drop performance.

References

1. ST1 Series (ST650211CF, ST650211FX, ST625211CF, ST625211FX) Rev. A
2. ST1.2 Series ST68022CF ST68022FX ST64022CF ST64022FX ST66022CF ST66022FX Rev. B
3. ST1.3 Series ST612712DEG ST612712DE ST610712DEG ST610712DE ST680712DEG ST680712DE ST660712DEG ST660712DE Rev. D

External links

• Seagate ST1 Series datasheets: ST1.2, ST1.3