Laptop Computers and Un-pressurized airplanes

[ismertr]

Hi.

I've read that laptops fail at high altitudes.

I would assume SSD are ok, but what about traditional HD?

If the computer is turned off, should it be ok?

I'll be up and down in a plane at 20,000 feet several times a week.

 

[Indigo]

As long as you use an SSD, you'll be fine. A normal platter based drive needs air pressure so that the heads have something to help them "float" on the disk substrate. Without enough pressure acting on the drive, there's no air inside of the drive and thus your heads will have either disk crashes, or the drive will fail to perform at all.

The good news is that SSDs are coming down in price, so it shouldn't be too hard to get one that will perform to what you need, and give you enough storage space to do it.