How much "bumping" can a hard drive take?

I'm thinking about getting a small notebook but I wonder if I should get one with a small SSD or one with a bigger HDD?

I have a laptop and I'm pretty careful with it. I try to avoid any bumping or vibrations. I also use a laptop for work and I notice that people bump it around a lot. I was surprised when I took it to a tech and he turned it on and carried it around and put it on a table not very carefully. He was bumping it around pretty good. Of course... soon after my work laptop's harddrive died... not sure if that was coincidence or not.

So, now I am wondering what kind of bumpage can a normal harddrive take while it is on and off? I'm sure it can take pretty good bumps when off but some examples might give me a better idea.

 

It can be bumped around moderately. It the drops (1-2ft+) that can make them fail.

The little 2-4inch bumps wont usually cause any problems.

It will have much more tolerance off, than on.

 

It also depends on the on-state.

If the head is retracted and is in parking position, the hdd can handle much larger bumps than the state where the heads are flying on the platters...


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Sounds like an SSD is the way to go. Or maybe a HDD and buy an SSD later?

 

it can take a lot of hits and shaking(from experience) i remembered the first time i dropped my laptop, whew everything was fine granted i dropped it on it's side but the hdd was fine

 

I depends...
I smashed my Medion with a Samsung drive while on onto a windowsill...
It worked for a few more months, then prediceted a SMART failure...

Normal use - the odd bump here and there won't kill it.

After any seriously strong "bang" or any drop you should be a touch worried though.

 

Depends along which axis.
A bump to the side or front of the computer would not affect the hard drive as much as one vertically.

 

Normally the detailed specs for the Notebook and/or HDD will give the maximum G loadings for bump/impacts and vibrations, for example mine was 7G/60G Operating/Non-operating for impact and 0.2/1G for vibration. But it is never easy to get an idea of what a 7G shock is. But like mentioned the direction of the force does make a difference too.

 

Hmmm.....Hadn't really thought about the direction of the force. I'm wanting to carry a netbook with me for long distance off road motorcycle adventuring. It would be stored in a saddlebag, and in that orientation I would think most shock would be from the front, back and sides. Have been concerned about the HHD that come in most netbooks and upgrading to an SSD. The only time I can think of that it might see shock from the top or bottom direction is if I laid the bike over.