
Fireball lct20
Top Value and Reliability
10.0 AT
20.0 AT
30.0 AT
40.0 AT 
The Market 
What the industry presently demands 
from hard drives are reliability, quiet 
operation, low total cost of ownership, 
and the ability to support the most 
popular applications: word processing, 
sending and receiving e-mail, and 
browsing the Internet. The Quantum 
Fireball™ lct20, part of a family of 
hard drives expressly created to 
enhance and improve the end-user 
experience, efficiently meets these 
industry demands. Building on the
Key Features and Benefits
• The End-User Experience. The Fireball
lct20 is a drive designed to enhance
and improve the end-user experience
Data
• Lower Total Cost of Ownership.
Quantum’s exclusive Shock Protection
System II and Data Protection System
help deliver a lower total cost of
ownership by protecting against
physical damage, data loss, and
unnecessary drive returns 
• Quiet Drive Operation. Quantum’s
new Quiet Drive Technology provides
a heightened user experience by
reducing the level of acoustics and
improving its quality
proven Fireball platform, the Fireball 
lct20 drive uses advanced, integrated 
electronics combined with numerous 
design innovations to achieve a wide 
range of capacity points, solid reliability, 
and quiet operation all at very 
competitive prices. Optimized RPM and 
seek provide these benefits that the end 
user truly values. As a result, these 
drives are today’s premier value in 
desktop storage for consumer and 
business applications.
New Quantum-Developed Ultra 
ATA/100 Interface
The new Quantum-developed Ultra 
ATA/100 interface has a data transfer 
rate of up to 100 megabytes-per-second. 
With this leading-edge interface, end 
users should be protected from 
obsolescence for the next 
several years.
Quantum Quiet Drive Technology
Quantum developed its exclusive 
Quiet Drive Technology (QDT) to 
provide users with the lowest possible 
disk drive acoustics and best overall 
sound quality from their drives. Through 
innovative technology, QDT reduces 
the drive noise by improving the sound 
quality while at the same time reducing 
the sound measurement. 
Delivering Reliability
Like previous Fireball generations, the 
Fireball lct20 takes reliability and data 
integrity to an even higher level with 
Quantum’s Shock Protection System II 
(SPS II) and Data Protection System 
(DPS). SPS II gives the user enhanced 
protection against both operating and 
non-operating shock. DPS verifies 
essential functions in seconds to eliminate 
costly and unnecessary drive returns. 
Together, these systems deliver higher 
reliability and improved data integrity, 
while reducing drive returns and cutting 
processing and replacement costs.
• Wide Range of Capacities. Available
with 10.0 to 40.0 GB capacity in a 
3.5-inch form factor to handle a 
wide range of applications, from
home PCs to commercial systems

Specifications 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0
Form Factor 3.5” (low profile) 3.5” (low profile) 3.5” (low profile) 3.5” (low profile)
Interface Ultra ATA/100 Ultra ATA/100 Ultra ATA/100 Ultra ATA/100
Formatted Capacity (MB1) 10,262 20,416 30,020 40,027
Disk Drive Configuration
Recording Surfaces 1 2 3 4
ATA Logical
Cylinders 16,383 16,383 16,383 16,383 
Heads 16 16 16 16 
Sectors 63 63 63 63
Acoustics
Sound Power (bels, typ)
Idle 2.7 
Seek <3.0
QDT (Quiet Drive Technology) yes
Power Specifications
Nominal Voltage (V) +5/+12
Voltage Margin (%) ±5/±10
Typical Power Draw (W)
Idle <5.0 
Operating
3
<8.5
Peak Current (mA on +5/+12 V)   700/1,700
Reliability Specifications
Start/Stop Cycles (ambient) 50,000
Nonrecoverable Data Errors (per bits read) <10 per 10
Non-Op Shock @ 2 ms 300 Gs
AFR projection (%) <1.0
SPS II yes
DPS yes
Physical Specifications
Dimensions-inches (mm)
Width 4.00 (101.6) 
Length 5.75 (146.1) 
Height 1.00 (25.4)
Weight— pounds (g) 1.1 (500)
Environmental Limits
Operating
Temperature (˚C) 5 to 55 
Non-Condensing Humidity (%) 10 to 85
Non-Operating
Temperature (˚C) -40 to 65 
Non-Condensing Humidity (%) 5 to 95
Performance Specifications
Typical Seek Times
15
Average 12.0 
Track-to-Track 2.0 
Full Stroke 24.0
2
(ms)
Drive Class (RPM) 4,500
Internal Data Rate (Mb/sec) Up to 248
Data Transfer Rates (Buffer-to-Host) (MB/sec)
Ultra ATA/100 100 
Ultra ATA/66 66.6 
Ultra ATA/33 33.3 
PIO Mode 4 16.6 
PIO Mode 2 16.6
Buffer Size (KB) 128
Typical Power On to Drive Ready (sec) ~8
1. GB = 1 billion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment 2. Seek times are at nominal conditions and include settling. 3. Operating is defined as
40% seek, 30% read, 20% active, and 10% write. Note: Warranty is standard when products are purchased directly through authorized Quantum distributors/dealers. Unless otherwise
agreed, a one-year warranty is provided to all OEM purchasing directly from Quantum. End-user warranties provided by computer manufacturers may vary. 
For more information on Maxtor’s data storage products, 
please visit our web site at www.maxtor.com
Maxtor Corporation
500 McCarthy Boulevard 
Milpitas, California 95035 
U.S.A. 
Specifications subject to change without notice.
©2001 Maxtor Corporation. All rights reserved. Fireball is a trademark of Maxtor 
Corporation. Printed in the U.S.A. LC20DS WEB