5MB Hard Disk in 1956

The Volume and Size of 5MB memory storage in 1956. In September 1956 IBM launched the 305 RAMAC, the first computer with a hard disk drive (HDD). The HDD weighed over a ton and stored 5MB of data.





The IBM 350 Disk Storage Unit provides storage capacity of the disk drive was 5MB (referred to at the time as 5 million characters). It was configured with 50 magnetic disks containing 50,000 sectors, each of which held 100 alphanumeric characters.

With the cabinet covers on, the IBM 350 Disk Storage Unit measured 5’ 8” tall, 5’ wide and 2’ 5” deep, whilst it weighed in at massive 250kgs. The unit comprised fifty 24” platters, one pair of read/write heads and a pulley system that provided both the vertical and horizontal head movement.






Foreground, two IBM 350 Disk Storage Units in operation






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References:
Disk Storage Unit – 50 years

IBM - 350 disk storage unit

Newsweek - The Hard Disk That Changed the World

Wikipedia - Early IBM disk storage




[Tags] IBM, Hard Disk, RAMAC 305, IBM 350, Disk Storage [/Tags]