external drives

[kile22]

I'm thinking of buying a dell d420 and I was wondering if the external dvd drives are safe for in use the car, like shock prove?

 

[Brainonska511]

I doubt that they are too shock proof. External drives are basically cases for 3.5" internal hdd, so it would basically be as resiliant as a standard internal desktop drive.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I assume you're referring to the optional, external DVD drive? It will work, but have less shock insulation so if you go over some heavy bumps it may skip. You'd need a pretty hefty crash to damage it I'd say.

 

[corkyg]

Within the next year you will see external hard drives ruggedized for use in cars. Seagate is already working on a series. worse than bumps in a car are the possible temperature extremes.

Mobile

 

[cheesehead]

If you want to use this in a car on a regular basis, try to get a floating platform for it. I recall seeing quite a few for portable CD players for use in cars.

(Bungee cords and PVC don't work too badly, actually.)