The word "hard drive" is often used when naming a computer hard drive. It may seem that this device received a second name from the surname of its developer. However, this is not at all the case.
What is another name for hard drives?
Hard drives have managed to get a lot of different names, and the hard drive is not the only one among them. So, in old textbooks on computer science, the abbreviation HDD appeared, which stands for "hard drive". The price tags of computer stores contain another abbreviation - HDD (Hard Disc Drive). It is also used in computer memory. A shortened name is also possible - Hard Drive. But users still hear the word "winchester", as well as derivatives from it - "screw" and "winch".
The true answer to the word "Winchester"
In fact, the Winchester was an American rifle that was used during the Wild West. This information will seem surprising to many, because a metal box with magnetic disks can hardly be compared with a firearm.
The drive was named a hard drive thanks to the American firm IBM, which released a hard drive in 1973. The company's specialists working on similar products created the 3340. For the first time, it contained disk platters and readheads in a single housing. They did not touch each other due to the interlayer of the incoming air stream formed during fast rotation. While working on the device, the engineers used the internal name - "30-30". These numbers indicated the presence of 30 sectors and tracks.
In those days, the Winchester hunting rifle was produced in the USA. It was loaded with cartridges that had a caliber of 7.62 mm. This cartridge was marked as follows: Winchester 30-30. The numbers contained in this marking coincided with the working title given to the hard drive. Continuing the analogy, engineers also began to call their development a hard drive.
As for the rifle itself, it was called the Winchester model 94. At the same time, such weapons were produced by other companies, in particular Remington. In most cases, the rifle was used when hunting big game. Then the US authorities limited the use of cartridges for this weapon for hunting purposes. As a consequence, the demand for the gun plummeted. Currently, it is purchased mainly by collectors.
In Europe and the USA, the word "hard drive" is no longer used in relation to a hard disk. In Russian, the name remains semi-official, but in slang the words “screw”, “vinch” and even “broom” are usually used.
