Can external vibrations harm my laptop?

I work on a laboratory, and I have my laptop on a desk which also has a vortex mixer, which is a device used to mix/shake test tubes (see picture). Basically, when you turn it on is shakes very fast, causing the whole table surface to vibrate.

It's not a vibration hard enough to move things around, or to make it difficult to read something on the screen, but I can feel it when touching the table surface...

could this vibration hurt my laptop? should I try to relocate things around to prevent both thing to be on the same table?

Thanks.

 

The only thing it could mess with would be the hard drive. It should be ok, if you're worried, just isolate your laptop with a sheet of rubber or something under it (make sure it doesn't block the vents).

 

I'm not an expert or anything but I do not believe it would cause any harm unless the shaking is really excessive. That's just my opinion and I've only been really involved with the technical side of laptops for a little while.

 

It would have to be a decent amount of vibrations to damage your hard drive. If your working in an environment with a lot of vibrations try looking for a notebook with a shock mounted hard drive or a solid state drive (SSD's are still pretty pricey).

 

Also a thing to consider is harmonics. If the vibrating stuff on your desk is oscillating at the right frequency it could cause vibrations within your notebook. Very unlikely but it can happen.

 

Sustained small vibrations might eventually cause problems.

I support the suggestion of a rubber mat. It needs to have a little flexibility so the mat moves but not the computer. Maybe a couple of old mouse mats.

John

 

I don't know about my new XPS (order, not yet arrived), but my old Toshiba has little rubber things on every corner, which raises the laptop a bit to allow for ventilation.

What if I replace these rubber pieces with a bit larger ones?

Anyway, the vibrations are not constant... in average, the vortex is on about 15-20 times a day, for 10 seconds each time...

 

You should be fine then. I don't think there would be any cause for concern with that small amount of time and no need to replace the rubber pieces.

 

If you feel your laptop does it shake?

The little rubber feet should be enough to lower the vibration and should not effect it at all.

 

Should be ok, aslong as its not prolonged...

Buy an SSD if you dont want to take a chance

 

put a piece of foam under the corners, but do not block the cooling vents. This will isolate your laptop from the vibrations. i do believe that the vibrations could loosen components and cause malfunctions.

lab equipment often comes packed in high quality foam.

Happy Vortices!

 

generally speaking; it i best to avoid any type of vibration.

however if you dont feel that the vibration is shaking/vibrating your laptop, then it shoud be fine. consider this; the cd drive and the laptop speaker, both generates vibration. you should find the specification for g-force and vibration tolerance of each drive on the manufacturer's page; the easiest one to find is WD (western digital).

i do suggest that you avoid subjecting your laptop to any further vibration if its possible.

 

buy a sheet of neoprene... or in Home Depot, there's these kitchen drawer liners that come in sponge sheets... and it also comes in some floral designs and whatnot...

Linens & Things or Bed Bath and Beyond will have these pads that is meant to use to provide cushion when you stand over the sink and do dishes... you can cut that up to size...

you can get these to provide additional ventilation..

 

You should really do something to protect your harddrive.
for example, on one of my machines I mixed some asphalt filler and I permanently affixed large rubber grommets to the bottom of my laptop, giving 1.25" of clearance in the back and 0.75" in the front.
Rubber has great antivibration properties, and will help decrease/cut out any vibrations from your lab equipment.
On another system I hot glued felt pads to the bade to help cut vibrations.
They are normally used to prevent furniture from scratching the ground, but they work great at alleviating vibrations

K-TRON