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I need to take a hard drive on a 3hr car drive tomorrow, and I don't have any antistatic bags/bubblewrap.

What's the best way to pack an hard drive for a car trip without antistatic bags/bubblewrap so it doesn't break?

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Why don't you just buy bubble wrap? It is crazy cheap and can be bought at most post or department stores. – David Pearce Jan 24 '10 at 0:39
I never had to do this without an anti-static bag or the box a hard drive came in, but I will either put it on the back seat floor or toward the front of the trunk. That way if I have to hit the brakes the hard drive wouldn't go flying around and hit the dash, back of the seat or the back of my head. – Scott McClenning Jan 24 '10 at 3:17
@joshhunt - Yeah, I could have. But it's pretty hard to get antistatic bubblewrap at post offices (I've tried). – J. Polfer Jan 25 '10 at 20:59
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3 Answers

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Wrap some rubber bands around it and then put it in a sock and then wrap it in a towel. You may want to destatic the towel and sock using this method

Make sure you secure it (like in the dashboard compartment). And don't crash.

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clever "destatic"-ing technique, but it uses a mixture of water & liquid fabric softener. i wouldn't recommend either around any computer components. – quack quixote Jan 23 '10 at 23:57
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Why the rubber bands? – J. Polfer Jan 23 '10 at 23:58
well, you put only a little on it. And it stays destaticked even after the liquid dries (evaporates) – mechko Jan 23 '10 at 23:59
and the residue/fumes from the fabric softener stays around too. no, thank you. – quack quixote Jan 24 '10 at 0:00
Also, this entire method is if you need to be VERY careful (like a fragile old hard drive). Rubber bands give it a little bit more protection from both static and impact. – mechko Jan 24 '10 at 0:00
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up vote 2 down vote

Wrapping it in newspaper or bubble-wrap inside a box should be fine.

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This was actually what I did. The drive was okay; my lil bro tried it out and it worked fine in his Xbox. – J. Polfer Jan 25 '10 at 18:55
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up vote 1 down vote

If you wrap the drive and then cushion it in a briefcase and store it so it can't slide off the seat it should be fine.

For further travel arrangements you may consider the Fortress Ultra-Rugged Hard Drive:

enter image description here

Safeguard your data from a drop-height of 7 feet onto concrete!

Something I must get myself now after the '"Big Freeze" in Ireland!

enter image description here

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lol. I drop my data from 8 feet on a regular basis, so I guess this not good enough for me. – mechko Jan 23 '10 at 23:54
be nice to your data!! :P – Molly7244 Jan 23 '10 at 23:59
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