Will hard drive damage laptop screen if it is attached behind laptop screen?

[daiaenna]

I have always hated plugging in an external hard drive every time I boot up my laptop, so... what if the external hdd was attached to a laptop in someway? (If the laptop had no optical drive I can replace with an additional hard drive & main drive is SSD) So what if I attach a hard drive to the back of the laptop screen by attaching 2.5" brackets to a hard crystal case or a rubber case so I can easily slide in my additional hard drive. (MBPro-like cases)

Here's a quick drawing I did so you can get a clearer pic of what I'm trying to describe:
http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n227/Shot_gunn/?action=view&current=20120719_233235.jpg

However, I'm afraid some parts in the HDD might damage the laptop screen. Maybe a magnet or something like that. I'm not too keen on what is inside a hard drive or an LCD screen... that's why I'm asking you.

Can attaching a hard drive disk behind the laptop screen cause damage to the screen itself?

Thanks!!

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EDIT: I will remove the hard drive everytime it's not in use. It's just if I need to move my laptop closer to another desk, different area, etc without the need to worry that the wire won't disconnect while the transport.

 

[oynaz]

The biggest concern is physical stress. If you carry your laptop around with you a lot, I can see quite a few ways to quickly build up wear and tear. The display hinges, especailly, can take a beating.

 

[thescreensavers]

The Plastic on the back of laptops is quite thin, it would probably hold but then you'll start to see issues with the plastic giving away. Use a washer on the inside to spread the load.

Also, taking apart laptops especially the LCD Bezel part might and most probably will break a snap or something might have to glue the bezel back on. You also might have to remove the hinges from the base to remove the rear cover.

The Magnets do effect the LCD but only when the picture changes and its so small you cant really see it. Though long term? No idea.

IMO Id pass on the idea and just get a bigger internal drive or just carry it around.

OR you can try putting stuff on dropbox that you need.

 

[ericloewe]

Nothing inside the HDD should cause any trouble. However, adding mass to the screen might not be a good idea - the effects could be minimized by mounting the drive as close to the bottom as possible. I'd also advise against moving your laptop with a drive attached to the cover while the drive is powered - with some bad luck, the vibrations the drive experiences could be problematic.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

I would never do this myself, and certainly wouldn't guarantee that you'd not have a problem, but I think it unlikely.

 

[corkyg]

Nice drawing! It really made your question clear. I definitely would not travel with such an arrangement. At home, for movement as you describe, a more elegant solution would be a wireless NAS device such as:
http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Wireless...m/B0044WX0K2/2
Of course, elegance comes at a price. I have 2 external drives connected to my T510 Thinkpad. One is eSATA and the other connects via a small powered hub. They stay there and do not travel.
To answer your question, I see no danger to your system as used in your description. I would also consider fastening with Velcro strips.

 

[mfenn]

Wow, a real "back of the envelope" calculation!

Anyway, I agree with the other posters, nothing inside the hard drive will affect the screen. What you really need to worry about is adding mass to the screen and how it will affect the hinges long-term. I do like corky's idea of using Velcro as a fastener. A reasonably-sized patch of the stuff is more than strong enough to hold your typical 2.5" drive (3.5" is gonna be mains-powered which kind of defeats the purpose).

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah, get a wifi router with bad functions and plug your external had into that instead.