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Glossary Hard Disk Drive Terminology: From Letter A to Letter Z. If you enjoy it, just add it to your favorite!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Zoned Recording
Increases the number of sectors on the outer tracks of the drive since the circumference of the outside tracks is greater. This type of recording affords more disk capacity because there can be more sectors on the larger outer tracks than would be possible if the number of sectors per track were constant for the whole drive.

Year 2000 Problem, or Y2K
The risk that computers will be disabled or perform incorrectly if they read the two-digit abbreviation “00” to mean the year 1900 instead of the year 2000, as intended. The problem is said to have originated when early computer programmers abbreviated year dates to save storage space that was scarce and costly at the time. Western Digital hard drives are designed to be “Year 2000-compliant,” and the company’ suppliers are required to demonstrate that their WD-linked communications and products are compliant as well.

WD Caviar®
The trade name for Western Digital’s line of hard drives for desktop personal computers.

WD Enterprise
The trade name for Western Digital’s line of enterprise hard drives.

Winchester Disk
Former code name for an early IBM hard disk model, sometimes still used to refer to the technology and design of most traditional hard drives.

Windows
Microsoft’s series of operating systems for personal computers. Currently popular versions are Windows 95 and Windows 98.

Word
Two bytes that are processed together in a single operation.

Workstation
A personal computer with exceptional capacity and performance capabilities for use mainly in engineering, design and audiovisual applications demanding immediate access to data and the ability to manipulate it in technically sophisticated ways.

Write
The recording of flux reversals onto the magnetic surface of a disk.

Write Cache
High speed RAM used to buffer data transfer from the host to the hard drive.

Write Verify
Immediately after writing data to the disk, a drive with the Write Verify feature will verify that it can read the data it just wrote to the disk to ensure that it will be able to retrieve it later. If the drive is unable to read the data, it writes it to another area of the disk, where it attempts to write verify it again.

Value-added Reseller (VAR)
Often referred to as a “Var” or “Reseller.” The independent professionals who market computer systems and components and who add value by performing assembly, upgrades, training and other services.

Viterbi Detection
An algorithm used in read channel technology that detects an entire sequence of data bits at a time and determines the most likely sequence of data bits by comparing actual sequence of data bit samples with sequences of possible data bit sample to accurately detect that data written to disk.

Voice Coil
An actuator motor; the force of the magnetic rotary voice coil produces a movement of the head that is proportionate to the force exerted by the coil.