Solid State drives safer for those who lv Mac off 4 months?

[mhschmieder]

My aunt's computer (8 months newer than my own) died last weekend, and I'm thinking she might be better off with a solid state drive, if it isn't too much trouble for someone who doesn't have "build your own" experience (maybe third party people can do it for you though).

I am convinced her G4 17" iMac hard drive died because she leaves for months at a time, having two residences depending on the season (summers in Idaho, and the rest of the year in Florida).

I am too ignorant of Solid State drives to know whether they suffer from not being used for months. I seriously doubt they would, but thought I should check. Mechanical hard drives get sticky if not used -- especially for long period of time.

[newrigel]

My aunt's computer (8 months newer than my own) died last weekend, and I'm thinking she might be better off with a solid state drive, if it isn't too much trouble for someone who doesn't have "build your own" experience (maybe third party people can do it for you though).

I am convinced her G4 17" iMac hard drive died because she leaves for months at a time, having two residences depending on the season (summers in Idaho, and the rest of the year in Florida).

I am too ignorant of Solid State drives to know whether they suffer from not being used for months. I seriously doubt they would, but thought I should check. Mechanical hard drives get sticky if not used -- especially for long period of time.

A high quality HD will last quite a while if you rarely use it. SSD's have no moving parts but they have only so many writes cycles to the cells. But it's in the millions so if she hardly uses it, the SSD would most likely last longer than she owned the computer or the owner after her... you get what you pay for. Also, if it's the original G4 HD... seems like it lasted quite a while if you put the manufacturing date into perspective! Remember... a G4? It's gotten it's use he he!

[mhschmieder]

Thanks for the info.

I bang my computer pretty hard, and she's just a casual user plus hers is over half a year newer, so I figured the main problem is that she leaves her home for several months of the year.

It might also be the salt air.

[newrigel]

Thanks for the info.

I bang my computer pretty hard, and she's just a casual user plus hers is over half a year newer, so I figured the main problem is that she leaves her home for several months of the year.

It might also be the salt air.

If I was her I'd store the laptop in a case with dessicant beads... you can get them cheap. Plus, I'd get a big zip lock bag and put it in there and just seal it up so no air could get to it. If the house is vacant over long periods, I doubt they use any climate control in the house and the extremes could be doing it. She should just pack it with her, not much to take to avoid the headaches. I'd look into a pelican case... those cases are bulletproof! Plus you could place the silica gel in there and it would stay dry and @ an even (somewhat) temperature.

[mhschmieder]

An iMac is too large to take with her when she's on her annual road trip to visit family/friends. And like me, she doesn't lead a laptop lifestyle or like their ergonomics. I've suggested a Mac Mini plus cheap (but very good) 22" hewlett-packard monitor.

Good advice about warding off the elements though. Salt air is harsh on everything, including wires and electronics.

[newrigel]

An iMac is too large to take with her when she's on her annual road trip to visit family/friends. And like me, she doesn't lead a laptop lifestyle or like their ergonomics. I've suggested a Mac Mini plus cheap (but very good) 22" hewlett-packard monitor.

Good advice about warding off the elements though. Salt air is harsh on everything, including wires and electronics.

Oops.. it was early OBVIOUSLY! WOW... now that I reviewed your post I can't believe I said that... oh well. But an iMac would be a bit different. There's cases for them too.
A bit expensive but they will protect it big time. Put some silica gel packs in there and it would last a few years most likely.

[mhschmieder]

Hey, that's a good tip! I knew about the soft carry bags, but hadn't yet seen those air-tight cases. I'll pass that info along.

[newrigel]

Hey, that's a good tip! I knew about the soft carry bags, but hadn't yet seen those air-tight cases. I'll pass that info along.

Yeah, there was someone (I don't know if it was you) that was mentioning they would take an iMac on location to track and that case would definitely work!

[mhschmieder]

Yep, I'm thinking of that as well... though I just now reviewed the iMac options and am pretty sure that it would be the most frustrating of my non-MacPro stop-gap measures (should that become necessary during this painful waiting period for the next MacPro's).

But yes, if one was going into a salt marsh to collect ambient sounds of nature, the hard case shown above would be a good way to go, exposing the computer only once at a secure setup location.

[mhschmieder]

My aunt's taken care of now; her technician was able to get all of her data onto a refurbished Mac Mini which he gave her a good deal on, and she bought a hewlett-packard monitor on the cheap upon my suggestion.

Next time, all she'll have to do is swap the Mac Mini, which will keep her on a cheaper upgrade path. This one's a G5 loaded with Tiger, but she doesn't care. If she hits a wall later, a Mini will be cheap.

When she's ready for her next road trip, I'll discuss protection of the Mini with her. Maybe she can even take that with her.