SyQuest SparQ drive
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The SparQ drive was a removable drive made by SyQuest Technology The drive was available as an internal version with IDE interface, and an external version for the parallel port. The cartridge could store 1 GB of data and, as removable-disk hard drive, contained a solid hard disk platter on which the data are stored.
When the SparQ drive was launched, it was primarily noticed for its relatively low price. Compared to the Zip drive, a 100 MB disk could cost $22 USD while a 1 GB SparQ disk could cost $39 USD.
Just a few months after the launch, people began to complain that the drives had serious quality issues, causing them to break down. The damage to its public image and warranty obligations of Syquest were major factors behind the company's bankruptcy.
After the bankruptcy, Syquest kept its rights to make and sell the drive, which is still sold from the company's website. The price has been raised, compared to when the drive was launched, so it is primarily for businesses that still rely on the drive and people who want to read old SparQ disks.
The SparQ was noteworthy for a bizarre failure mode which damages SparQ disks in a way that causes them to damage subsequent SparQ drives in which they are placed. Simply put, putting a broken disk in a SparQ drive will cause the drive to break any new disks placed in that drive. These (now broken) disks can break new drives, breaking most of the drives in an office in short order.
