MAGNETIC DISK HERITAGE CENTER

Magnetic disk storage has been and is indispensable to further advances in computing systems and storage systems applications that are having a huge impact on society with future consequences we cannot yet anticipate.

The Magnetic Disk Heritage Center (MDHC), then at Santa Clara University (SCU), believed the restoration of an original RAMAC disk drive would provide a very special way to interest and educate the general public to the story and historical legacy of magnetic disk storage, which started in San Jose in 1952.

Discussions with IBM led to the loan of one of four RAMC disk drives still in existence specifically in support of this proposed restoration project.

Our RAMAC Restoration Project started at Santa Clara University in 2003 and was viewed as both a great educational and challenging senior design project in the school of Engineering.  During first two years the projects focused on the accessing mechanisms and reading and writing of data.  A microprocessor controller was developed and the original components refurbished as necessary. These efforts demonstrated the feasibility of restoring the disk drive to a fully operational state.

In the summer of 2005 MDHC was transformed into a non-profit C3 organization and relocated to the Computer History Museum, where the restoration project is continuing with the goal of completing the engineering design to achieve a fully functional RAMAC that will be placed on public exhibit.

Further reports on this undertaking will be included on our website as progress goes forward.