Gravity versus Dell Latitude D600

[Foxbat]

We have some bridge cranes where I work and the techs that work on them use notebook computers with specialized software. These cranes are anywhere from 40 feet to over 200 feet above the plant floor.

After working on one of the taller bridge cranes, the techs were in the process of lowering two of their notebooks to ground level when the strap broke, dropping the cases and some other equipment approximately 45-50 feet to the floor. Fortunately, everyone was clear of the load, and the only casualties were the Dell Latitude D600 notebooks.

The tech that brought them in to be looked at had a sheepish grin as he asked if they could be saved. Considering the LCD screens looked like someone had taken 60-grit sandpaper to them and popped them out of their bezels, he was asking a lot.

Remarkably, our PC tech was able to make a good copy of one of the disk drives, so he was able to transplant the backup into a newer Dell notebook. The other drive, however, was a different matter. Rather than try to explain what happens to a 2.5" IDE drive after it accelerates to over 15 m/s and then stops in a few inches, I made this video with my phone and posted it to my YouTube account.

[youtube]wx8dlzC5TLA[/youtube]

 

[Foxbat]

I finally found a Torx-4 bit for the drive and thought you might get a chuckle from the insides:

 

[StevenD]

Ouch!

 

[Teehar]

I'd say ouch!Those laptops aren't really designed for that type of work. I know they are expensive but,toughbooks would be a better choice.

 

[RandallA]

What did you do? Drop it from the roof of your house? Wow!

 

[LER]

ouch. I knew that (former) disk drive didn't sound good, but the insides are a mess.

 

[Foxbat]

I knew some drive makers were using glass for their platters, but I'd never seen one in the wild.

We talked about replacing the crane PCs with ToughBooks™ but this was a freak accident. Maybe airbags would help next time ...