Are notebook HDD's more shock resistant?

[gregulator]

I am wondering if notebook HDD's are more shock proof during operation than regular ones (one would think this is an obvious question but i am not sure and would like some input). or do notebooks have some form of suspension for the drives. i have found some connectors to convert them to 40 pin and work in desktops so this might be a better solution for my car computer. any links are appreciated as well... thanks

 

[DesignDawg]

I can answer SOME of your questions:

Notebook HDDs are smaller, so inherently, they would be more shock resistant, because of the much smaller inertia. I don't know, however, if they are built in a way that would make them more shock resistant, other than the smaller size. As for your question of whether notebook PCs have some sort of shock-absorbing suspension for HDDs... Not mine. I've taken it apart, and what I found was that the HDD was mounted in a little plastic case so as to make it a proprietary interface for the notebook (Compaq). Inside the little case, though, it was a regular HDD, and there was no sort of shock absorption in the case, nor int he body of the notebook itself. So, I would assume that, besides the size factor, if there is any anti-shock feature built in for notebooks, it's in the drive itself.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[DesignDawg]

One more thing:

If you didn't already know this, this will be helpful no matter what HDD you use. Mount the HDD so that the plattersinside are in the SAME orientation as your car's wheels. That way, any rotation along your car's X axis and any shocks and bumps (which are almost always vertical in a car) will not disturb the rotation of the platters. Unfortunately, because of the gyroscope-like properties of any spinning disk, mounting it this way will increase torquing on the platter when you turn. --But there's no way to mount it to protect it against ALL hazards in a moving vehicle. It's best to protect it from the ones that are most sudden and possible violent - bumps and such.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[Gunbuster]

I think you should be fine with just about any modern HDD (lappy or full size) a few bumps in the road are not the same as a drop from 5 feet to the floor

New drive can take a moderate amount of abuse

 

[jschuk]

Yes, laptop drives are meant to take harder shocks and keep running. Go to IBM and lookup specs on the laptop drives and then desktop drives and compare the shock ratings. Plus, your "car" computer will not be as big. Make sure you secure the HDD adapter to the laptop drive. In my experience the connection loosens up with movement.
As far as orientation, keep in mind that all (well I have never seen otherwise) laptops have their HDD's mounted horizontal/flat.

Jason