"Cool" external FW800 Hardd Drive...?

[Buzz]

Baby Buzz's external, fanless, FW800 startup HD for his 2.53GHz Mini is not liking our brutally hot weather. Are there any enclosures, or drives, these days that run reasonably cool in warm/hot weather? Current Seagate drive lays flat; so was thinking of bracing it to stand on its side (like newer models) to temporarily aid cooling. Drive shuts down when it overheats, which is not a good thing. I've been trying to get him to at least point a small fan at the drive to move the air around, but he's more stubborner than Mrs. Buzz and me combined. Path of least resistance is clearly to find a cooler running drive or enclosure. So please let the holiday recommendations flow, and hopefully something good will be on sale for the weekend. Thanks,

Buzz
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[Racer X]

is it a 2.5" laptop drive in a fanless enclosure, and FW800 bud powered? If so, I am surprised it is running that hot. On its side may help.

Is it a plastic case? If so, it may be retaining heat. Aluminum ones usually run cooler, with the case as a heat sink for the drive itself.

Plan B could be to get a 3.5" drive enclosure with a fan, and a 2.5" to 3.5" drive adapter.

[Buzz]

It's 3.5" drive in an aluminum enclosure w/ separate power supply...

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[olnacl]

I have 2 Nexstar enclosures that have been running 24/7 for the past couple years without problem (but not as startup drives). The ambient temp in my room in the summer is over 80° and they never complain.

[bazookaman]

brutally hot? is he running it outside? when it gets brutally hot I usually turn on the AC.

[deckeda]

bazookaman wrote:
brutally hot? is he running it outside? when it gets brutally hot I usually turn on the AC.

Yeah, the home's environment wouldn't normally be the factor here, but if baby Buzz doesn't use AC, it could.

Another thing to consider is the hard disk. If it's a "normal" one, or a speedy one and not a "green" drive, it'll run quite a bit hotter.

Something like a Macally G-S350SUAB2 (I have two G-S350SUA models) will be fine for 24/7 operation.

Mine stay cool to the touch, but they have green drives in them. Both are located next to each other, only an inch apart (vertical orientation) on a bookshelf in the back, away from kids who like to push buttons. I trust my large iTunes library with them. The drives, not the kids.

[hal]

When it gets really hot here, I just turn a fan on my desktop system. For your enclosure, just get one of those little 4-6" fans. Sit it on the desk pointed straight at the enclosure. That'll take care of it and should be cheaper than buying a new enclosure. The fans in most enclosures are noisy and are the first thing to break.

[Jimmypoo]

Isn't Baby Buzz the one playing college baseball?

Not to be TOO critical -- but why isn't he going out and getting a small desktop fan
for these things! At 15 I was into ham radio and all kinds of other stuff (WISH it had been
that stinking Tandy TRS-80 though... I'd know how to code!) -- but either way, parents
would look at my desk like it was the space shuttle control panel!

[Buzz]

For whatever reason, he is resistant to a computer specific fan. Also, no a/c here, we're close to the beach, and it's really only a couple of weeks worth of days each year where it doesn't cool down sufficiently at night. The drive is a 7200rpm Seagate, so maybe going green might help. I may have to just lay down the law; no fan = no computer... and put a little fan on his desk as the "use it, or lose it" for the computer.
Thanks.

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[deckeda]

Swapping out the drive for him will help him more, because he won't have to futz with the fan, I don't think.

On the other hand, if it's speed that's important, since he's using FW800, maybe a green drive won't satisfy.