laptop hard drive overheating

ronald.helpdesk

Hello guys, I've got a little problem with a laptop from a client, it's a compaq "presaurus" hahahaha 1200, my client wanted a bigger hard drive, and he had a death dell inspiron 5150 with a usable hdd (60gb) so, he wanted the 60 gb's hdd in the CP 1200, we intalled it, it works just fine, but heats more than it did in the previous system, and from time to time, my client got a little nervous about losing his files. I fully understand his concern, but I would like you to tell me if I am right when I think that it is perfectly normal... should I recommend a smaller hdd with few rpm's? is it just a housing issue? is my client somehow being wrongfully concerned ? am I being dummy enough as to not offering him a brand new laptop? (I had)

Please helpme.

Q5U8

is it just a housing issue?

It could be a design issue. Maybe the Dell has a better air ventilation.

is my client somehow being wrongfully concerned ?

If you put a running laptop over a blanket, papernews or book, you'll get a high temperatures inside of it.

How much high is the temperature?

cvkien

what is the reading? i mean how high is the temperature is?? actually compaq get heat easily, a very simple solution, why not suggest him to use a notebook fan?? with some product build with aluminium or some better material. if it can run, then i guess that is not a problem. if he wants more space, offer him external harddisk.

benjad

heat does depend on the surface you put it on. My old laptop baked HD's when left on an flat/unventilated surface. In this case it was a real design problem, since the cpu & fan were on one side, and the HD on teh other away from any ventilation.

Find a taskbar program called HDHealth (or Drive Health). It puts the HD temp in the taskbar, allowing you to keep an eye on it. Surprisingly, the newer (last few years) HD's have a higher operating heat tolerance(5C more!), so a little more room to play. Research your individual model's tolerance, and then see what you can do to keep it inside those tolerances.

Good solutions:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4216991

Rubbermaid also sold a non-powered one with a USB extender + power outlets... neat idea... can't find a link for at the moment.