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Worried about the laptop hard disk

Started by SyZy , May 02 2012 07:57 AM

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12 replies to this topic

#1 SyZy

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Posted 02 May 2012 - 07:57 AM

This is the first time I'm using a laptop; all these years I've used only a desktop.

I read full books on the laptop. What I do is I lie down on the bed and keep the laptop on the side - not resting on its bottom(!) - and read books this way. Sometimes I hold the laptop on my chest and my arm keeps swaying from time to time.

From what I know, hard disks should not be moved when they are running. So considering the way I'm using the laptop, will the hard disk get damaged?

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#2 dpunisher

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Posted 02 May 2012 - 04:19 PM

Essentially, as long as you don't drop it, you are fine. Only thing I worry about when I have the lappy in the sack is keeping the cooling slots uncovered.

Now the old, old hard drives (20+ years ago) could run into problems with changing positions, much like the wife, but it is not a concern with younger models.

I am a retired Ford tech. Next to Fords, any computer is a piece of cake. (The cake, its not a lie)

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#3 rotor123

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Posted 02 May 2012 - 04:46 PM

To extend the reply by dpunisher.

When you lay it on its side make sure that you are not blocking the cooling air exhaust ports. You'll know if you block the intake or exhaust as you will hear the cooling fan speeding up in am attempt to keep the CPU cool.

My take is that you have to be careful not to knock it off the bed.

As far as hard drive protection, some brands have a feature to stop the hard drive if the laptop detects a impact. Mostly business models. My Toshiba business model for example if I bump it will display a hard drive stopped warning.

Also a SSD drive is pretty much immune to impact as it has no moving parts. Expensive however.

Dropping a laptop can damage the hard drive, or the screen or the DC in connection or any combination of those.
so be careful.

You can lay the laptop in a normal orientation if you have a hard surface under it to prevent blocking the air flow. A thin sheet of plywood for example or a laptop cooling pad.

My next Upgrade, USB 3 on my remaining desktop. The only External storage devices I currently Buy are USB3 devices

How Does a computer get Infected? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/

My first Computer had a Whopping 16K of memory @ 0.89MHz. My first hard drive held 20 Megabytes and never filled up.
My Oldest Motherboard and Hard Drive are a 80286 @ 8Mhz and a Seagate 20 Megabyte MFM drive.

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#4 rotor123

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Posted 02 May 2012 - 04:50 PM

Essentially, as long as you don't drop it, you are fine. Only thing I worry about when I have the lappy in the sack is keeping the cooling slots uncovered.

Now the old, old hard drives (20+ years ago) could run into problems with changing positions, much like the wife, but it is not a concern with younger models.

Ha, Been there done that. My first hard drive a Seagate 20Mb MFM model (ST 225 I think) I forgot to park the heads before turning it off and then turning the computer over to do something. After I did that I had to start it over with a Low Level format and then partition and high level format. Reload DOS etc.

So yup, the new drives are so much more durable. The first improvement being autopark for the heads.

Cheers
Roger

My next Upgrade, USB 3 on my remaining desktop. The only External storage devices I currently Buy are USB3 devices

How Does a computer get Infected? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/

My first Computer had a Whopping 16K of memory @ 0.89MHz. My first hard drive held 20 Megabytes and never filled up.
My Oldest Motherboard and Hard Drive are a 80286 @ 8Mhz and a Seagate 20 Megabyte MFM drive.

Forum Rules, The BC Welcome Guide

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#5 SyZy

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Posted 04 May 2012 - 06:29 AM

Thanks, I'm not worried about the HDD now.

btw, if I disable the HDD in the BIOS, and then boot Linux through a Live CD, the HDD won't spin at all, will it?

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#6 kisk

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Posted 04 May 2012 - 08:00 AM

Since its still plugged up to power, it *may* spin up during the power-on phase. Not something I'd really worry about though.

How old is the system/drive? If you'd like to check the SMART values of the drive, you could post a Speccy snapshot here for us to look at.

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#7 SyZy

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Posted 05 May 2012 - 01:22 AM

The laptop's a new one, two months old.

The HDD is a Toshiba MK6475GXS:

http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/hdd.php?hdd=TOSHIBA+MK6475GSX

http://storage.toshiba.eu/cms/en/hdd/multimedia/product_detail.jsp?productid=415

Because its new, I don't want to mess it up. The two drives on my desktop are both SMART fail. I'll download something to check the SMART for this one.

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#8 rotor123

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Posted 07 May 2012 - 12:01 PM

I would expect the hard drive to spin if disabled in the bios, or in Linux off of a boot CD.

Just from curiosity what is the Make and Model of the laptop? Some models of Toshiba and Lenovo laptops for example have Hard Drive protection software and sensors. (mostly business models.)

Enjoy the new laptop.
Roger

My next Upgrade, USB 3 on my remaining desktop. The only External storage devices I currently Buy are USB3 devices

How Does a computer get Infected? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/

My first Computer had a Whopping 16K of memory @ 0.89MHz. My first hard drive held 20 Megabytes and never filled up.
My Oldest Motherboard and Hard Drive are a 80286 @ 8Mhz and a Seagate 20 Megabyte MFM drive.

Forum Rules, The BC Welcome Guide

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#9 SyZy

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Posted 10 May 2012 - 08:56 AM

Its a Toshiba Satellite L755 - S5107.

When it spins (disabled in BIOS or booted off a Linux live CD), would the head also be above the platter, or would it be at rest, at the side, what they call parking. Sorry, I don't know much about hard disks.

Edited by SyZy, 10 May 2012 - 08:59 AM.

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#10 rotor123

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Posted 10 May 2012 - 09:40 AM

Look and see if it is loading the Toshiba HD/SSD Alert.

I believe that is the software that monitors for vibration.

You can run it and look at the settings. By Default it should be loaded.

My next Upgrade, USB 3 on my remaining desktop. The only External storage devices I currently Buy are USB3 devices

How Does a computer get Infected? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/

My first Computer had a Whopping 16K of memory @ 0.89MHz. My first hard drive held 20 Megabytes and never filled up.
My Oldest Motherboard and Hard Drive are a 80286 @ 8Mhz and a Seagate 20 Megabyte MFM drive.

Forum Rules, The BC Welcome Guide

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#11 SyZy

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Posted 11 May 2012 - 06:29 AM

There is an HDD SSD Alert.

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#12 rotor123

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Posted 11 May 2012 - 09:35 AM

Did you open it? I was just curious if it has settings or not. I'd look at my Toshiba but I don't have it with me right now.
I believe that is the one that stops the hard drive if it needs to be protected.
If so you are good

Cheers
Roger

Edited by rotor123, 11 May 2012 - 09:42 AM.

My next Upgrade, USB 3 on my remaining desktop. The only External storage devices I currently Buy are USB3 devices

How Does a computer get Infected? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/

My first Computer had a Whopping 16K of memory @ 0.89MHz. My first hard drive held 20 Megabytes and never filled up.
My Oldest Motherboard and Hard Drive are a 80286 @ 8Mhz and a Seagate 20 Megabyte MFM drive.

Forum Rules, The BC Welcome Guide

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#13 SyZy

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Posted 13 May 2012 - 09:09 AM

I looked at it, but it has no settings. It just checks the drive silently and gives the message that everything is fine. I don't think my laptop has this feature where the hard disk is stopped if the laptop falls.