Maxtor D540X-4G User manual






©March 5, 2002 Maxtor Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
This publication could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made
to the information herein – which will be incorporated in revised editions of the publication. Maxtor may
make changes or improvements in the product(s) described in this publication at any time and without
notice.
Maxtor®, MaxFax®and No Quibble Service®are registered trademarks of Maxtor Corporation, registered in
the U.S.A. and other countries. Maxtor D540X-4G, AutoTransfer, AutoRead, AutoWrite, DisCache, Dis-
kWare, Defect Free Interface, and WriteCache are trademarks of Maxtor Corporation. All other brand
names or trademarks are the property of their manufacturers.
Maxtor reserves the right to make changes and improvements to its products, without incurring any obliga-
tion to incorporate such changes or improvements into units previously sold or shipped.
This product or document is protected by copyright and distributed under licences restricting its use, copy-
ing, distributing, and decompilation. No part of this product or document may be reproduced in any form
by any means without prior written authorization of Maxtor and its licensors, if any.
RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject to
restrictions as set forth in subparagraphs (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software
clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 and FAR 52.227-19.
THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS”WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTIULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGE-
MENT.
You can request Maxtor publications from your Maxtor Sales Representative or order them directly from
Maxtor.
Publication Number: P/N: 1620-A

Corporate Headquarters:
510 Cottonwood Drive
Milpitas, California 95035
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Research and Development Center:
2452 Clover Basin Drive
Longmont, Colorado 80503
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]


    
Revision-A 2004052 All Initial Release March 5, 2002


Thank you for your interest in Maxtor hard disk drives. This manual provides technical information for
OEM engineers and systems integrators regarding the installation and use of Maxtor hard drives. Drive
repair should be performed only at an authorized repair center. For repair information, contact the Maxtor
Customer Service Center at 800-2MAXTOR or 1-303-678-2015.
CAUTION: Maxtor hard drives are precision products. Failure to follow these precautions and guidelines
outlined here may lead to product failure, damage and invalidation of all warranties.
1BEFORE unpacking or handling a drive, take all proper electro-static discharge (ESD) precau-
tions, including personnel and equipment grounding. Stand-alone drives are sensitive to ESD
damage.
2BEFORE removing drives from their packing material, allow them to reach room temperature.
3 During handling, NEVER drop, jar, or bump a drive.
4 Once a drive is removed from the Maxtor shipping container, IMMEDIATELY secure the drive
through its mounting holes within a chassis. Otherwise, store the drive on a padded, grounded,
antistatic surface.
5NEVER switch DC power onto the drive by plugging an electrically live DC source cable into
the drive's connector. NEVER connect a live bus to the drive's interface connector.
6ELECTRICAL GROUNDING - For proper operation, the drive must be securely fastened to
a device bay that provides a suitable electrical ground to the drive baseplate.
Please do not remove or cover up Maxtor factory-installed drive labels. They contain information required
should the drive ever need repair.
Thank you for your interest in Maxtor hard disk drives. This manual provides technical information for
OEM engineers and systems integrators regarding the installation and use of Maxtor hard drives. Drive
repair should be performed only at an authorized repair center. For repair information, contact the Maxtor
Customer Service Center at 800-2MAXTOR or 1-303-678-2015.

Maxtor D540X-4G v



1.1 Maxtor Corporation.................................................................................................. 1-1
1.2 Manual Organization................................................................................................. 1-1
1.3 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ 1-2
1.4 Conventions.............................................................................................................. 1-2


2.1 Product Description .................................................................................................. 2-1
2.2 Key Features.............................................................................................................. 2-1
2.3 Product Features........................................................................................................ 2-2
2.4 Cache Management................................................................................................... 2-4
2.5 Major HDA Components.......................................................................................... 2-4
2.6 Subsystem Configuration........................................................................................... 2-6
2.7 Cylinder Limitation Jumper Description.................................................................... 2-7


3.1 Models and Capacities............................................................................................... 3-1
3.2 Drive Configuration.................................................................................................. 3-2
3.3 Performance Specifications ........................................................................................ 3-3
3.4 Physical Dimensions.................................................................................................. 3-3
3.5 Power Requirements................................................................................................. 3-5
3.6 Power Mode Definitions........................................................................................... 3-5
3.7 EPA Energy Star Compliance.................................................................................... 3-5
3.8 Environmental Limits................................................................................................ 3-6
3.9 Shock and Vibration.................................................................................................. 3-6
3.10 Reliability Specifications............................................................................................ 3-7
3.11 EMC/EMI................................................................................................................ 3-8
3.12 Safety Regulatory Compliance .................................................................................. 3-8

Table of Contents
vi Maxtor D540X-4G


4.1 Hard Drive Handling Precautions.............................................................................. 4-1
4.2 Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) .................................................................................. 4-1
4.3 Unpacking and Inspection ......................................................................................... 4-2
4.4 Repacking................................................................................................................. 4-5
4.5 Physical Installation.................................................................................................... 4-5


5.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 6-1
5.2 MECHANICAL INTERFACE ................................................................................ 6-1
5.3 ELECTRICAL INTERFACE................................................................................... 6-1
5.4 REGISTER ADDRESS DECODING..................................................................... 6-2
5.5 COMMAND INTERFACE..................................................................................... 6-2

 
6.1 Service Policy............................................................................................................ 6-1
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A.1 Breaking the 137 Gigabyte Storage Barrier................................................................ A-1

vii Maxtor D540X-4G

Figure 2-1 PCBA Jumper Location and Configuration ...................................................2-6
Figure 3-1 Outline and Mounting Dimensions ..............................................................3-4
Figure 4-1 Multi-pack Shipping Container .................................................................... 4-3
Figure 4-2 Single Pack Shipping Container (Option A) .................................................4-4
Figure 4-3 Single Pack Shipping Container (Option B) ..................................................4-5

Maxtor D540X-4G 1-1


( $)))#)!
MaxtorCorporationhasbeenprovidinghigh-qualitycomputerstorageproductssince
1982. Along the way, we’ve seen many changes in data storage needs. Not long ago,
only a handful of specific users needed more than a couple hundred megabytes of
storage. Today, downloading from the Internet and CD-ROMs, multimedia,
networking and advanced office applications are driving storage needs even higher.
Even home PC applications need capacities measured in gigabytes, not megabytes.

Maxtor’s products meet the demanding data storage capacity requirements of today
and tomorrow. They are available in 5400- and 7200- RPM configurations with
capacity offerings from 10 to 80 GB and beyond.
The D540X-4G drive family is a 5400 RPM hard drive with capacities from 120 GB
to 160 GB.

No matter which capacity, all Maxtor hard drives are supported by our commitment
to total customer satisfaction and our No Quibble Service®guarantee. One call –or a
visit to our home page on the Internet (www.maxtor.com) –puts you in touch with
either technical support or customer service. We’ll provide you the information you
need quickly, accurately and in the form you prefer –a fax, a downloaded file
or a conversation with a representative.
( !*+,!#-#)!
This hard disk drive reference manual is organized in the following method:
Chapter 1–Introduction
Chapter 2–Product Description
Chapter 3–Product Specifications
Chapter 4–Handling and Installation
Chapter 5–ATA Bus Interface and ATA Commands
Chapter 6–Service and Support
Appendix A–Breaking the 137GB Storage Barrier
Glossary

Introduction
1-2 Maxtor D540X-4G
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( )!/!#)!0
If there is a conflict between text and tables, the table shall be accepted as being
correct.

The names of abbreviations, commands, fields and acronyms used as signal names are
in all uppercase type (e.g., IDENTIFY DRIVE). Fields containing only one bit are
usually referred to as the “name”bit instead of the “name”field.
Names of drive registers begin with a capital letter (e.g., Cylinder High register).

Numbers that are not followed by a lowercase “b”or “h”are decimal values.
Numbers that are followed by a lowercase “b”(e.g., 01b) are binary values. Numbers
that are followed by a lowercase “h”(e.g., 3Ah) are hexadecimal values.
#DDTGXKCVKQP &GUETKRVKQP #DDTGXKCVKQP &GUETKRVKQP
ATA AT attachment MB megabyte
bpi bits per inch Mbits/sec megabits per second
CHS cylinder - head - sector MB/sec megabytes per second
db decibels MHz megahertz
dBA decibels, A weighted ms millisecond
DMA direct memory access MSB most significant bit
ECC error correction code mV millivolts
fci flux changes per inch ns nanoseconds
G acceleration PIO programmedinput/output
GB gigabyte RPM revolutions per minute
Hz hertz tpi tracks per inch
KB kilobyte UDMA ultra direct memory
access
LBA logical block address(ing) µsec microsecond
LSB least significant bit V volts
mA milliamperes W watts

Introduction
Maxtor D540X-4G 1-3
 !"
Signal names are shown in all uppercase type.
All signals are either high active or low active signals. A dash character (-) at the end
of a signal name indicates that the signal is low active. A low active signal is true when
it is below ViL and is false when it is above ViH. A signal without a dash at the end
indicates that the signalis high active. A high active signal is true when it is above ViH
and is false when it is below ViL.
When a signal is asserted, it means the signal is driven by an active circuit to its true
state.
When a signal is negated, it means the signal is driven by an active circuit to its false
state.
When a signal is released, it means the signal is not actively driven to any state. Some
signals have bias circuitry that pull the signal to either a true or false state when no
signal driver is actively asserting or negating the signal. These instances are noted
under the description of the signal.

Introduction
1-4 Maxtor D540X-4G

Maxtor D540X-4G 2-1


( )"*101##)!
Maxtor hard disk drives are 1-inch high, 3.5-inch diameter random access storage
devices which incorporate an on-board Ultra ATA/133 interface controller. High
capacity is achieved by a balanced combination of high areal recording density and
the latest data encoding and servo techniques.
Maxtor's latestadvancements in electronic packaging and integration methods have
lowered the drive's power consumption and increased its reliability.
Exceptional data transfer rates, 5400 RPM spin speed and 12 ms access times make
these entry-class disk drives ideally-suited to desktop storage and consumer
electronics applications.
( %2*0
•ANSI ATA-5/6 compliant PIO Mode 4 interface (Enhanced IDE)
•Supports ATA-6 UltraDMA Mode 5 (100 MBytes/sec) and Maxtor
Ultra ATA/133 MBytes/second data transfer rates
•Supports 48-bit addressing
•2 MB buffer with multi-adaptive cache manager
•5400 RPM spin speed
•12 ms seek time
•Zone density and ID-less recording
•Outstanding shock resistance at 300 Gs
•High durability with 50K contact start/stop cycles
•Advanced multi-burst on-the-fly Error Correction Code (ECC)
•Extended data integrity with ECC protected data and fault tolerant servo
synchronization fields
•Supports EPA Energy Star Standards (Green PC Friendly) with ATA
powering savings commands
•Auto park and lock actuator mechanism
•Low power consumption
•SMART Capability

Product Description
2-2 Maxtor D540X-4G
Note: Maxtor defines 1 Gigabyte (GB) as 109 or 1,000,000,000 bytes of data.
Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment.
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# !$% 
Maxtor hard drives contain all necessary mechanical and electronic parts to interpret
control signals and commands from an AT-compatible host computer.See Chapter 3
Product Specifications, for complete drive specifications.
&
The disk capacity is increased with bit density management –common with Zone
Density Recording. Each disk surface is divided into 16 circumferential zones. All
tracks within a given zone contain a constant number of data sectors. The number
of data sectors per track varies in different zones; the outermost zone contains the
largest number of data sectors and the innermost contains the fewest.
 $'!!'
This mode is implemented per ANSI ATA/ATAPI-6 specification. Read/Write
Multiple allows the host to transfer a set number of sectors without an interrupt
request between them, reducing transfer process overhead and improving host
performance.
(! ')'*
Maxtor hard drives fully comply with the new ANSI Ultra DMA protocol, which
greatly improves overall AT interface performance by significantly improving burst
and sustained data throughput.
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Supports multi-word Direct Memory Access (DMA) mode transfers.
 ! 
All Maxtor hard drives feature a universal translate mode. In an AT/EISA-class
system, the drive may be configured to any specified combination of cylinders,
heads and sectors (within the range of the drive's formatted capacity). Maxtor hard
drives power-up in a translate mode:
'- .- /  '0-1 .
4G120J6 238,216 16 63 240,121,728 122.9GB
4G160J8 317,632 16 63 320,173,056 163.9GB

Product Description
Maxtor D540X-4G 2-3
- !1!2
The Logical Block Address (LBA) mode can only be utilized in systems that support
this form of translation. The cylinder, head and sector geometry of the drive, as
presented to the host, differs from the actual physical geometry. The host AT
computer may access a drive of set parameters: number of cylinders, heads and
sectors per track, plus cylinder, head and sector addresses. However, the drive can’t
use these host parameters directly because of zoned recordingtechniques. The drive
translates the host parameters to a set of logical internal addresses for data access.
The host drive geometry parameters are mapped into an LBA based on this formula:
LBA = (HSCA - 1) + HHDA x HSPT + HNHD x HSPT x HCYA
= (HSCA - 1) + HSPT x (HHDA + HNHD x HCYA)
where HSCA = Host Sector Address, HHDA = Host Head Address
HCYA = Host Cylinder Address, HNHD = Host Number of Heads
HSPT = Host Sectors per Track
The LBA is checked for violating the drive capacity. If it does not, the LBA is
converted to physical drive cylinder, head and sector values. The physical address is
then used to access or store the data on the disk and for other drive related
operations.
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Each drive model has a fixed number of spare sectors per drive, all of which are
located at the end of the drive. Upon detection of a bad sector that has been
reassigned, the next sequential sector is used.
For example, ifsector3 is flagged, data that would havebeen stored thereis “pushed
down”and recorded in sector 4. Sector 4 then effectively becomes sector 3, as
sequential sectors are “pushed down”across the entire drive. The first spare sector
makes up for the loss ofsector 3,and so maintains the sequential order of data. This
push down method assures maximum performance.
)5)#!/ + 34
>14 symbols, single burst, guaranteed
%+ 
24 symbols, single burst, guaranteed
  2 -2 
Immediately following power down, dynamic braking of the spinning disks delays
momentarily allowing the read/write heads to move to an inner mechanical stop. A
small fixed magnet holds the rotary actuator in place as the disk spins down. The
rotary actuator is released only when power is again applied.

Product Description
2-4 Maxtor D540X-4G
( 1!,3!
1%% 
The data buffer is organized into two segments: the data buffer and the micro
controller scratch pad. The data buffer is dynamically allocated for read and write
data depending on the commands received. A variable number of read and write
buffers may exist at the same time.
 )5 '
Normally, this mode is active. Following a read request, disk read-ahead begins on
the first sector and continues sequentially until the allocated buffer is full. If a read
request is received during the read-ahead operation, the buffer is examined to
determine if the request is in the cache. If a cache hit occurs, read-ahead mode
continues without interruption and the host transfer begins immediately.
  !! 34
This feature is part of the write cache and reduces the risk of data loss during
deferred write operations. If a disk error occurs during the disk write process, the
disk task stops and the suspect sector is reallocated to a pool of alternate sectors
located at the end of the drive. Following reallocation, the disk write task continues
until it is complete.
 5 2
Normally, this mode is active. Write cache mode accepts the host write data into
the buffer until the buffer is full or the host transfer is complete. A command
complete interrupt is generated at the end of the transfer.
A disk write task begins to store the host data to disk. Host write commands
continue to be accepted and data transferred to the buffer until either the write
command stack is full or the data buffer is full. The drive may reorder write
commands to optimize drive throughput.
( 4))3)!!0
"'5 
A brushless DC direct drive motor rotates the spindle at 5400 RPM (±0.1%). The
dynamically balanced motor/spindle assembly ensures minimal mechanical run-out
to the disks. A dynamic brake provides a fast stop to the spindle motor upon power
removal. The speed tolerance includes motor performance and motor circuit
tolerances.
  
All Maxtor hard drives employ a rotary voice coil actuator which consists of a
moving coil, an actuator arm assembly and stationary magnets. The actuator moves
on a low-mass, low-friction center shaft. The low friction contributes to fast access
times and low power consumption.

Product Description
Maxtor D540X-4G 2-5
 $!
An integrated circuit mounted within the sealed head disk assembly (near the read/
write heads) provides up to eight head selection depending on the model. It also
provides read pre-amplification and write drive circuitry.
 $/  '
Low mass, low force giant magneto-resistive read/write heads record data on 3.5-
inch diameter disks. Maxtor uses a sputtered thin film medium on all disks for
Maxtor hard drives.
#! 
All Maxtor hard drives are assembled in a Class 100 controlled environment. Over
the life of the drive, a 0.1 micron filter and breather filter located within the sealed
head disk assembly (HDA) maintain a clean environment to the heads and disks.
Maxtor drives are designed to operate in a typical office environment with
minimum environmental control.
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The microprocessor controls the following functions for the drive electronics:
•Command execution
•Cache management
•Data correction and error recovery
•Diagnostic execution
•Data sequencing
•Head positioning (including error recovery)
•Host interface
•Index detection
•Spin speed control
•Seeks
•Servo
•SMART
•48-bit addressing

Product Description
2-6 Maxtor D540X-4G
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Two drives may be accessed via a common interface cable, using the same range of
I/O addresses. The drives have a jumper configuration as device 0 or 1 (Master/
Slave), and are selected by the drive select bit in the Device/Head register of the
task file.
All Task File registers are written in parallel to both drives. The interface processor
on each drive decides whether a command written to it should be executed; this
depends on the type of command and which drive is selected. Only the drive
selected executes the command and activates the data bus in response to host I/O
reads; the drive not selected remains inactive.
A master/slave relationship existsbetweenthe twodrives: device 0 is the master and
device 1 the slave. When the Master is closed (factory default, figure 2-1),the drive
assumes the role of master; when open, the drive acts as a slave. In single drive
configurations, the Master jumper must be closed.
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CSEL (cable select) is an optional feature per ANSI ATA specification. Drives
configured in a multiple drive system are identified by CSEL’s value:
–If CSEL is grounded, then the drive address is 0.
–If CSEL is open, then the drive address is 1.
Figure 2-1 PCBA Jumper Location and Configuration

Product Description
Maxtor D540X-4G 2-7
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On some older BIOS', primarily those that auto-configure the disk drive, a hang
may occur. The Cylinder Limitation jumper reduces the capacity in the Identify
Drive allowing large capacity drives to work with older BIOS. The capacity
reported when J45:J46 is closed will be as follows: drives less than or equal to 32GB
will report 2.1GB. Drives greater than 32GB will report 32GB.
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6*: 68; 68< 68* 68= 68> 688 68? 68,
Master/Slave
Only drive in single drive system*
Master drive in dual drive system*
Slave drive in dual drive system
C
C
O
Cable Select
Disabled*
Enabled O C
Cylinder Limitation
Disabled*
Enabled O C
Factory Reserved O O
Key * = Default C = Closed (jumper installed) O = Open (no jumper installed)

Product Description
2-8 Maxtor D540X-4G