Hard Drive Removal

Could someone clarify something for me? I'm sending in my laptop for repairs and I was planning to remove the hard drives.

My question is, after I receive my laptop back from HP, can I just plug my hard drives back in and everything will be working as before? Or would I need to do something special to get the hard drives to function again?

 

Also, just to be on the safe side, I was planning to do entire disk backups onto an external hard drive using Acronis True Image Home 11.

To do so I just do the My Computer --> Disks and Partitions option when choosing to Backup, correct?

 

Shound be able just plug it back in but won,nt hurt do second backup just in case

for acronis they shound be option to do disk clone or something like that

 

Nothing will happen to the Hard drive even if you remove it..!!
Just remove the drive from the laptop alongwith the caddy and keep it in a safe place..!! HDDs dont like to be pushed around.. and when you get the laptop back, replace it the way you removed it..it will work fine..!! I have removed and replaced my HDD many times..!!

 

What's a good place to keep my hard drives? And in what kind of container?

 

Static dissipative bag would be the best. If you dont have one then any plastic container thats dry and store it somewhere cool

 

Static dissipative bag...would probably not be something an average person would have at home, right?

So a plastic container like tupperware or the likes should be fine? And does it need to be wrapped in anything before going in the container? Any lining on the container for protection?

 

Tupperware is a go?

 

best go for the anti-static bag, they dont cost much.

 

Where can I find those?

 

on ebay, look for them in PC Components or Drives/Storage....
or any computer hardware store will have 'em....

 

any respectable PC REPAIR SHOP should have one they would be willing to give you... almost all parts come in such bags... and anytime they go a PC build or replace a bad part they have bags left over...

 

Since I probably can't obtain one of these bags in the near future...what kind of containers would work? Wood?

Also, what should I wear (on my hands) while handling the hard drives?

 

Anyone? Need to ship pretty soon.

 

*ahem* shipping tomorrow and I still haven't taken out my HDs.

Wood box, yes / no?

Gloves, yes / no? Rubber? Latex?

 

Notebook HDDs aren't that fragile - they have to survive the rough-and-tumble of living inside a notebook.

The anti-static bag is the ideal. If you don't have that I would wrap the HDD in some newspaper and then put it somewhere where it will keep dry.

John

 

Newspaper it is then!

Wood box in a dry location seems best for non-staticness...right?

And gloves when handling hard drives?

 

I totally agree.

 

I've never gone to those extremes. A dry location means don't get it wet, which is probably why a plastic box was suggested. Just don't drop it, so bare hands are probably better than gloves. I try to remember to touch the nearest grounded metal object (eg a radiator) before handling electronics.

John