Laptop hard disks

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I tend to use laptops like desktops. They're on all the time, and I'm
always moving data around. A brand new laptop hard disk usually lasts me
about 6 months, and then it dies of some sort of failure. Its been this
way for six years of laptop use, and I've tried every brand of disk that I
am aware of. I don't sleep my laptops and the disks basically spin 24/7
until they fail.

Something has just caught my eye. The IBM BladeCenter HS20 server uses
laptop hard disks. This is supposed to be an "enterprise" class server.
I'm thinking uptime here. Suppose I use this as my email server. Even if
the local blade's disks are OS only, and my big mailspool is sitting on
an attached array, those laptop disks are still going to get beat up with
tons of seek and access.

So what's the deal? Is IBM using high-speed, low-drag, "server class"
laptop hard disks in its blade servers? How can those disks be expected
to last? Are they constructed using crashed Roswell technology?

I'd like to get a balls-dead reliable laptop hard disk, or twenty. I've
had no luck at all. I'm curious what IBM is doing putting laptop disks in
a server... I'd love to know the model they're using, and I'd love to have
it last me five years of constant use.

Thanks for any suggestions or thoughts.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

bolt thrower <tucansam@whodis.org> writes:
> I'd like to get a balls-dead reliable laptop hard disk, or twenty. I've
> had no luck at all.

They don't exist, which is why RAID servers are built. However, I've
been having better luck with Toshiba laptop disks than with IBM ones
recently. Travelstars have had an awful failure rate.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

bolt thrower <tucansam@whodis.org> wrote:
> Is IBM using high-speed, low-drag, "server class" laptop
> hard disks in its blade servers?


Probably. There are "Enhanced Availability" 2.5" hard drives
specifically designed for heavy use and high uptime:
http/www.google.com/q=hitachi+%22Enhanced+Availability%22


--
Enhanced Availability models

Hitachi also offers enhanced availability features on
selected new Travelstar models. These industry-first models
increase the hard disk drive's available "power-on" hours
for emerging applications with continuous operation. At a
read/write or data access rate of up to 50 percent—a typical
usage cycle for 24x7 blade server environments —the drives
are designed to allow users to leave these drives powered on
around-the-clock.
--



-Chris

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

bolt thrower <tucansam@whodis.org> wrote:
> I tend to use laptops like desktops. They're on all the time, and I'm
> always moving data around. A brand new laptop hard disk usually lasts me
> about 6 months, and then it dies of some sort of failure. Its been this
<snip>
> I'd like to get a balls-dead reliable laptop hard disk, or twenty. I've
> had no luck at all. I'm curious what IBM is doing putting laptop disks in
> a server... I'd love to know the model they're using, and I'd love to have
> it last me five years of constant use.

Smaller, lower power, lower heat and cooling requirements.
All good when you may have a thousand servers in a pile.

Plus, no vibration/shocks like on a laptop.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

: They don't exist, which is why RAID servers are built. However, I've
: been having better luck with Toshiba laptop disks than with IBM ones
: recently. Travelstars have had an awful failure rate.

Is this just a fact of life that laptop users must learn to live with?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

bolt thrower <tucansam@whodis.org> writes:
> : They don't exist, which is why RAID servers are built. However, I've
> : been having better luck with Toshiba laptop disks than with IBM ones
> : recently. Travelstars have had an awful failure rate.
>
> Is this just a fact of life that laptop users must learn to live with?

The awful failure rate of Travelstars? Only Travelstar users have to
live with that. As mentioned, I've had better luck after switching to
Toshiba. http/zipzoomfly.com is a pretty good source of Toshiba drives.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 22:45:17 +0000 (UTC), bolt thrower
<tucansam@whodis.org> wrote:

>
snip

IBM GNX 24/7 drives and
http/www.hitachigst.com/hdd/travel/tre7k60.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

bolt thrower <tucansam@whodis.org> wrote:
>I don't sleep my laptops and the disks basically spin 24/7
>until they fail.

I'm thinking either heat issues or laptop portability (shock,
vibration, etc) issues. Obviously not everyone has your problem, but
you dont use your hard disks like everyone else either...

--
William Smith
ComputerSmiths Consulting, Inc. www.compusmiths.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 14:11:54 -0400, William P.N. Smith wrote:

>bolt thrower <tucansam@whodis.org> wrote:
>>I don't sleep my laptops and the disks basically spin 24/7
>>until they fail.
>
>I'm thinking either heat issues or laptop portability (shock,
>vibration, etc) issues. Obviously not everyone has your problem, but
>you dont use your hard disks like everyone else either...

Some of the Travelstar line are meant to be used 24/7 - they have a
specific code to differentiate them from other models of similar spec.
Bit of a market. One of my ISPs used to use a ThinkPad as their news
server...bit of a let-down, that revelation.
Emanuel

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

E Brown <epbrown01@att.net> wrote
> >bolt thrower <tucansam@whodis.org> wrote:
> >>I don't sleep my laptops and the disks basically spin 24/7
> >>until they fail.
> Some of the Travelstar line are meant to be used 24/7 - they
> have a specific code to differentiate them from other models
> of similar spec.

The Travelstar/Hitachi code uses an "E" to denote extended
availability:
http/tinyurl.com/6wlmn

--
Power on hours (POH) per month: 732
--


....And then there is Hitachi's extreme-temperature Endurastar:
http/tinyurl.com/5k267