Item Details

Description

The Hitachi Global Storage Technologies collection on IBM hard disk storage consists of documents ranging in date from 1955 to 1992. Materials include manuals, promotional material, technical reports, internal memos, presentation materials, and conference proceedings, most of which are related to IBM’s hard disk drive research and development. Approximately half of the collection contains documents that represent the history of the hard disk drive. This portion of the collection consists of documentation related to RAMAC, direct access storage technology, magnetic recording research, the IBM Random Access Memory Program (RAMP), and the IBM Compact Storage Laboratory. Types of materials in this portion include manuals, memos, studies and research reviews, strategy and operating documents, and technical reports, many of which are associated with the IBM Corporate Technical Committee (CTC), the IBM Magnetic Recording Institute (MRI), and the IBM Advanced Magnetic Recording Technology organization (AMRT). The remainder of the collection holds information on hard disk drive technology, including head, magnetic media, channel, servo, and recording technology. There is also information on flexible disk storage, magnetic tape technology, and optical storage. The collection includes a small amount of material on magnetic bubble and film library technologies, as well as a folder of 35 mm slides. Please see the attached inventory for a listing of topics in this collection. Biographical/Historical Note Hitachi Global Storage Technologies was founded in 2003 as a merger of the hard disk drive businesses of IBM and Hitachi. The company specializes in computer storage products, such as hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and external storage devices. In 2012, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies was acquired by Western Digital, and its name was changed to HGST, Inc. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies staff maintained a hard disk drive historical collection, which was stored in the historical records storage room at the company until it was donated to the Computer History Museum in 2010.

Level of description

Collection

Date

1955-1992

Author

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Author)

Extent

17.5 linear feet in 14 record cartons

Subject

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Computer Storage Devices, RAMAC

Collection title

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies collection on IBM hard disk storage

Credit

Gift of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Catalogue number

102775036

Lot number

X5736.2010