Vintage SyQuest SQ3270S 270MB Removable Hard Disk Cartridge Drive - Spin-up & Spin Down
The SyQuest SQ3270S was released in the early 90s. Able to use 270 MB hard disk cartridges, it was SyQuest's second 3 1/2" drive after the earlier 105 MB version, and part of SyQuest's 3rd generation of removable hard disk storage devices (the first being the full height 5 1/4 drives that held between 5-20 MB cartridges, the second being half-height versions of those that held 44-200 MB).
From what I can tell, this series of drive is the SyQuest sweet spot. It's from their reliable days before quality control fell apart with the EZ drives (and worst of all, the SparQ), and of the reliable drives, the 3270S holds the most data. The fact that this one still works flawlessly after nearly 30 years is a testament to when a superb idea is superbly implemented.
I use this drive to back up important software for classic Mac collection, as well as a boot drive for a wide range of them (from the Mac Plus to the beige Power Mac G3) for maintenance purposes. Every Mac released between those systems have a 25-pin SCSI port in the back, so this drive is pretty much universal. Being able to use this drive for every Mac released between '86 and '97 has its advantages. It's also much faster and far more reliable than floppy and Zip drives, and my cartridges take up far less space because I don't need as many.
Enjoy the spin up, seek test, and spin down sounds of the drive.