Hard drives at high altitude
Replies: 10 - Last Post: Sep 11, 2012 4:30 PM Last Post By: Justin23
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Hard drives at high altitude
Hi,I read somewhere (wikitravel i think?) that hard drives can crash at high altitude. I'll be going to South America (Peru and Bolivia) and some very high altitude places ie La Paz.
I'll be taking a Google Nexus 7 and an oldish ipod, will they be safe or is there any truth in this claim? :-)
1
Yes HDs can crash at high altitudes (it has to do with the thickness of the air and the reading head on the hard drive, too thin of air and the head doesn’t engage the drive properly), I know computers are common in La Paz so that isn’t a problem, but in the high passes and on mountains, don’t use the computer. Get a flash iPod no problem with them, many people I know who trek high use SSDs in their computers so as to never have a problem. Your tablet is Flash so it will not have a problem, HDs are the problem.2
HD's are the problem. Solution .. turn off the lap top when you are crossing passes and the like. don't 'sleep' them ... power them down.I've used MacBook Pro's at 12 - 14 thousand feet without any issues, also transported them over 18000 ft ... powered them down, they booted up fine at 14000. Mileage may vary ...
3
I´ve seen a number of hard drives crash above 4000 in Ladakh & Tibet. Standard warranty says 3000 meters , but computers did fine in Lhasa , Kaza & Leh and La Paz is not higher than these : lowest parts are are around 3200 , highest same as Lhasa. The spinning drive is the issue. My Macbook also did well on the Manali-Leh route , up to 5300+.
