In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Franc Zabkar wrote:
I came across a reference to this Russian forum thread in a WDC forum:
http://maccentre.ru/board/viewtopic....70953&start=15

Here is Google's translator:
http://translate.google.com/translate_t?sl=ru&tl=en

The thread discusses oxidisation of contact pads in current Seagate
and Western Digital hard drives. The drives were used in typical
office and home environments, and are about a year old. The thread has
several detailed photos. All except the older tinned PCB appear to
show evidence of serious corrosion.

Is this the fallout from RoHS? Surely it's not the result of some cost
saving measure?

The silver ones are not oxydized. Silver reacts with sulphur,
not oxygen. It is normal and cannot really prevented. It is
also not a problem in contacts that are not used, as the
process stops itselft after at thin coating is reached.

The golden ones look like the same thing to me. Maybe the
used a high silver content gold here. Sorry, I am noch a
chemist. But my parents used to deal in silver jewelery
and the look is characteristic.

I suspect air pollution as the root cause. As I said, it is
not a problem in this case, the sulphurisarion (?) process
will not eat through the traces. They are rather better
protected with this.

It would be a problem on the connectors though. But they will
have better and thicker gold anyways.

Arno
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Arno Wagner, Dr. sc. techn., Dipl. Inform., CISSP -- Email:
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Cuddly UI's are the manifestation of wishful thinking. -- Dylan Evans