Free-fall sensors

Do they ACTUALLY work? Are they really worth it?

Because if the delay is on 250GB HDs, I may call and see if I can switch back to the 320GB 5200RPM drive. Still, I wanted the free-fall sensor just for added protection.

I just want to know from anyone who has one or knows someone who does and whether or not it has worked.

I'm not in the habit of dropping my electronic devices, but it seemed worth the extra $100 for a slightly faster drive with a free-fall sensor.

 

PC Mag claims is it a "must have" option if you're ordering a new laptop.

Do a search on PC Mag for the article.

 

I have a T42 and it has this system.It stops the HDD when it detects a motion,not just when dropped but even when jerked or pushed across the table.

If you ask me if this would increase the life or reliability,I don't know.But seems like it would.

 

Looking for the article now.

 

So it's ultra-sensitive? Has that ever become an issue for you?

 

go to the hardware forum and search - I asked this same question a month ago when I was thinking of ordering one for the 1720 I had. Most of the experts there said it was not that big of deal. I think if it truly was a great add-on, there would be more drives with it. IMHO.

 

Went back and found that thread and finished reading it a few minutes ago. Later today I'm probably going to call Dell and try to get the HD switched.

 

The difference is the Thinkpad series have the ThinkVantage Protection built in so it works with any drives.

The main reason for this feature is to park the drive heads during a fall so that the platters don't sustain damage. Does nothing (or very little) for reliability or to increase the life of your drive in regular operation.

I've never dropped any of my Thinkpads (X24, X40, T40, T60) but if I did I'm quite sure the drive would have been fine.

I think it's a great feature in a laptop if you move it often.

 

Well, that is what I'm worried about. I'll be taking this thing EVERYWHERE. It will be my main computer for three years or so. So that leads me to believe that the extra protection, no matter how little it actually does, may come in handy one day.

The thing is that it really doesn't matter how large the HD space is - I can always get an external and plug it in. But if I get Dell to switch the order, then I get the 320GB but no free-fall sensor and if something ends up happening that MIGHT have been protected by the free-fall sensor and my HD breaks, well, that'd be entirely my own fault for not having the patience to wait for Dell.

So maybe I'll just wait for the free-fall even if it isn't the greatest accesory only because it may be better than not having it. Ordering the free-fall still fit within my budget and so I don't really care financially speaking.

 

It sounds like it is a good decision for you - that's all that matters! There is no real downside, particularly if that size fits your needs (it did for me, but I do not move my laptop that much).

 

At the end of the day it's just a sensor and doesn't offer any physical protection blessing your harddrive in the case of a fall. It's not a miracle technology or anything like that, so don't be dissapointed if your hard are jammed if someone accidentally drops your laptop on the ground.

 

The one main issue I do have is that it's not phsyically possible for the drive to shut down before the laptop hits the ground UNLESS you're dropping from a great height, in which case you've got more than just an HD to worry about.

Considering I have a three-year onsite warranty, if I have any hard drive issues I'll be covered.

No, I never thought it was a miracle technology - I certainly wouldn't test it, LOL.

 

According to PC Mag, the hard drives, when they sense drastic movement, retract into a case, much as a turtle withdraws it's head when it senses danger.

That is how THEY discribed it, that the hard drives retract and park, then move back out when in use.

 

Right, and that works, but the problem is it doesn't do it fast enough for an average drop (three or four feet off a desk, knocked off the bed, etc). The laptop hits the ground before the hard drive has time to shut down all the way.

 

I just tested my T60 and the drive parked its heads after falling less than 5 inches.

Don't know how the FFS works in the M1530 though.

 

I just think it's cool that you tested it! Now THAT'S confidence! :-D

 

Well it's not like I let it drop on the floor... I let it drop and caught it so there was minimal impact...

 

I'm under the impression that you don't understand how this works. The free fall sensor does not shut down the HDD. It's just a mechanism that thru signal interruption makes the heads retract to the landing zone. What this accomplishes is avoiding a head crash on the read write/zone of the hdd, which would cause data loss. Remember that when the hdd is operating, the heads are hovering over the hdd platters at somewhere in the vicinity of 1/4th of a hair's thickness. A shock would make the heads travel that distance and actually make contact with the platters, which at 5400 or 7200 rpm would not go very well. Instead, the landing zone is outside of the read/write zone and therefore there'd be no data loss.

In summary, the free fall sensor will have enough time - once the free fall starts to occur - to retract the heads and avoid damage.

 

I'm not sure there is that much point in the free-fall sensors, you're hard drive will still smash if you drop it from a great height.

I would say that shock-protection is far more useful: I've dropped my Latitude D420 from waist height several times and it sustain absolutely no damage.

 

Well if you want to go all the way then this is the best for that :



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Most laptop drives offer very good shock tolerance.

This is from the Seagate Momentus 5400rpm drives.
325 Gs of operating shock tolerance and 900 Gs of nonoperating shock tolerance make the drive ideal for laptop PCs and industrial applications.

Still you can see that if the drive is operational the tolerance is much lower. The free fall sensor can significantly increase the shock tolerance of an operational drive.

 

Yeah, that rocket boost shock technology(RBST) is great but have you checked the price of rocket fuel lately. I can't afford to refill my booster packs after the last fall.

 

Techincally, that is certainly correct, but I would question how significant the real-world benefits are. If you drop your machine from a second floor window, then it isn't just the hard drive you should be worried about.

It's certainly something to get if it's available, but I wouldn't call it a must-have.

 

Mea culpa for utilizing improper vernacular.

 

For a second floor drop you don't need FFS, you need a parachute....

FFS and IBM ThinkAvandtage Protection are for times when your laptop falls of a table or other such similar, and more likely, mishaps.

 

hehe, true enough

What I'm thinking is that for small drops such as a table you may find that the laptop survives with or without FFS. For larger drops, FFS ensures that your smashed hard drive won't be scratched. It's basically a question of: At what point do you stop worry about scratching and start worrying about breaking; and is that margin wide enough for FFS to make a difference? I admit I don't actually know that answer to that, but it's something to consider.

 

Yeah, second-floor drops, I'd say better hope you're under warranty...

Whether or not the FFS is worth it does not matter anymore, I am locked into acquiring one. And no, I'm not planning on testing it.

 

Well I wouldn't say it's a bad idea to acquire one, but I would advise it's not something to wait for if you were in a hurry. Dell actually test the machines for you, checking their handywork isn't advised

 

Does anyone know of any way to harness the FFS signal to shut down other equipment (like CD/DVD, for example) during free fall?

 

Again, shut down is not the correct term since that is not what happens with the hdd, and there is no use in retracting the reader on a CD/DVD drive, since there is no real danger of it touching the CD/DVD as it'd be the case with the head of a hdd.

 

why waste the money on the damn drive, use that money to get the ext warrenty? just back up your HD on regular bases and have dell replace it if it stoped working

 

Already got the 3-year onsite warranty. With sales and all I spent roughly $1700 on the system and another $56 on my bag.