<s>
The	O
Quantum	B-Device
Bigfoot	I-Device
brand	O
was	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
produced	O
by	O
Quantum	O
Corp	O
.	O
from	O
1996	O
through	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
series	O
was	O
notable	O
for	O
deviating	O
from	O
the	O
standard	O
form	O
factor	O
for	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
most	O
desktop	B-Device
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
at	O
that	O
time	O
used	O
a	O
3.5-inch	O
physical	O
format	O
,	O
Quantum	B-Device
Bigfoot	I-Device
drives	O
used	O
a	O
larger	O
5.25-inch	O
form	O
factor	O
more	O
commonly	O
seen	O
in	O
older	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
and	O
other	O
optical	O
disc	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
form	O
factor	O
allowed	O
Quantum	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
capacity	O
of	O
their	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
without	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
data	B-Device
density	I-Device
,	O
thus	O
lowering	O
costs	O
compared	O
to	O
a	O
3.5-inch	O
drive	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
capacity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
allowed	O
manufacturers	O
and	O
owners	O
to	O
install	O
the	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
above	O
or	O
below	O
the	O
optical	O
drive	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
typical	O
computer	O
had	O
multiple	O
5.25-inch	O
bays	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
rationale	O
behind	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
5.25-inch	O
form	O
factor	O
was	O
that	O
the	O
typical	O
PC	B-Device
user	O
already	O
owns	O
cases	O
that	O
supports	O
5.25-inch	O
drives	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
using	O
lower	O
data	B-Device
densities	I-Device
and	O
fewer	O
moving	O
parts	O
,	O
Quantum	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
deliver	O
the	O
products	O
at	O
lower	O
prices	O
,	O
thus	O
more	O
competitively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
performance	O
in	O
the	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
drives	O
generally	O
lagged	O
behind	O
most	O
other	O
drives	O
of	O
the	O
era	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
large	O
data	O
capacities	O
earned	O
inclusion	O
in	O
many	O
OEM	O
PCs	B-Device
such	O
as	O
ones	O
manufactured	O
by	O
Compaq	O
and	O
HP	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
popularity	O
with	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
enthusiast	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
also	O
used	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
drives	O
in	O
some	O
of	O
their	O
Aptiva	O
PCs	B-Device
even	O
though	O
they	O
were	O
also	O
a	O
major	O
manufacturer	O
of	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
data	B-Device
density	I-Device
(	O
and	O
therefore	O
the	O
overall	O
capacity	O
)	O
of	O
the	O
drives	O
increased	O
,	O
culminating	O
in	O
the	O
19.2	O
GB	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
TS	O
,	O
easily	O
the	O
largest	O
consumer-grade	O
drive	O
available	O
at	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
side	O
effect	O
of	O
the	O
increased	O
data	B-Device
density	I-Device
was	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
speed	O
,	O
moving	O
the	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
to	O
middle-of-the-pack	O
status	O
amongst	O
its	O
contemporaries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unfortunately	O
,	O
the	O
increased	O
manufacturing	O
cost	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
higher	O
density	O
also	O
caused	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
price	O
,	O
moving	O
the	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
towards	O
a	O
premium	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bigfoot	B-Device
drives	O
were	O
produced	O
by	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
different	O
plants	O
in	O
Malaysia	O
,	O
Singapore	O
,	O
Japan	O
and	O
other	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
among	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
support	O
Logical	B-Device
Block	I-Device
Addressing	I-Device
(	O
LBA	O
)	O
and	O
Self-Monitoring	O
,	O
Analysis	O
,	O
and	O
Reporting	O
Technology	O
(	O
S.M.A.R.T.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
distinct	O
series	O
of	O
Quantum	B-Device
Bigfoot	I-Device
drives	O
were	O
produced	O
over	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
differences	O
in	O
capacity	O
,	O
spindle	O
speed	O
,	O
access	B-General_Concept
time	I-General_Concept
and	O
supported	O
interface	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
generation	O
Quantum	B-Device
Bigfoot	I-Device
drives	O
were	O
introduced	O
around	O
May	O
1996	O
and	O
offered	O
in	O
capacities	O
of	O
1.2	O
GB	O
(	O
1	O
platter	O
,	O
2	O
heads	O
)	O
and	O
2.5	O
GB	O
(	O
2	O
platters	O
,	O
4	O
heads	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
suggested	O
retail	O
prices	O
of	O
$225	O
and	O
$370	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
drives	O
offered	O
only	O
ATA-2	B-Protocol
PIO	O
Mode	O
4	O
and	O
DMA	O
mode	O
2	O
support	O
(	O
16.6	O
MB/s	O
)	O
and	O
had	O
an	O
average	O
seek	O
time	O
of	O
15	O
ms.	O
Actual	O
transfer	O
rate	O
from	O
the	O
platters	O
was	O
much	O
lower	O
,	O
measured	O
at	O
813	O
KB/s	O
by	O
PC	B-Device
Magazine	O
using	O
Disk	O
WinMark	O
96	O
,	O
slower	O
than	O
a	O
same-capacity/similar	O
-capacity	O
Quantum	B-Device
Fireball	I-Device
(	O
3.5	O
"	O
)	O
drive	O
,	O
which	O
delivered	O
1170	O
KB/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
series	O
was	O
the	O
Quantum	B-Device
Bigfoot	I-Device
CY	O
series	O
,	O
introduced	O
around	O
December	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bigfoot	B-Device
CY	O
drives	O
shared	O
the	O
characteristics	O
of	O
a	O
3,600	O
RPM	O
spindle	O
speed	O
and	O
an	O
ATA-2	B-Protocol
interface	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
access	B-General_Concept
time	I-General_Concept
was	O
advertised	O
as	O
being	O
"	O
as	O
low	O
as	O
12ms	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
they	O
had	O
128	O
KB	O
of	O
cache	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
largest	O
drive	O
of	O
the	O
CY	O
series	O
could	O
transfer	O
about	O
6	O
MB/sec	O
from	O
the	O
platters	O
when	O
tested	O
with	O
hdparm	B-Application
-t	O
in	O
Linux	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
third	O
series	O
of	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
drives	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Quantum	B-Device
Bigfoot	I-Device
TX	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
series	O
increased	O
the	O
drives	O
 '	O
spindle	O
speed	O
to	O
4,000	O
RPM	O
and	O
upgraded	O
their	O
interface	O
capabilities	O
to	O
ATA-66	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
CY	O
series	O
,	O
access	B-General_Concept
time	I-General_Concept
was	O
advertised	O
as	O
under	O
12	O
ms.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
12	O
GB	O
model	O
is	O
noteworthy	O
for	O
being	O
the	O
first	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
to	O
attain	O
a	O
capacity	O
in	O
the	O
double	O
digits	O
of	O
gigabytes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fourth	O
and	O
final	O
series	O
of	O
Quantum	B-Device
Bigfoot	I-Device
drives	O
produced	O
was	O
the	O
Bigfoot	B-Device
TS	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
performance	O
enhancement	O
was	O
a	O
reduction	O
in	O
access	B-General_Concept
time	I-General_Concept
,	O
to	O
"	O
less	O
than	O
10.5	O
ms.	O
"	O
It	O
was	O
produced	O
in	O
capacities	O
of	O
6.4	O
GB	O
,	O
8.4	O
GB	O
,	O
10.0	O
GB	O
,	O
12.7	O
GB	O
and	O
19.2	O
GB	O
.	O
</s>
