Microdrive and travel

[vsstanton]

I have purchased two microdrives for my new camera for travel. I understand that they are very fragile. When I travel, can they go through regular carry on screening at the airport. I read something about keeping them away from magnetic fields and don't want to ruin them.
Thanks

[Photo-John]

I've had a 1 gig microdrive for over 3 years. It's been through lots of airport security screenings and I've never had a problem. The delicate nature of the microdrive has to do with its mechanical nature. Since it's actually a tiny, mechanical hard drive, you don't want to pinch or drop it. Handle them carefully and they should serve you well for a long time.

[Michael Fanelli]

I have purchased two microdrives for my new camera for travel. I understand that they are very fragile. When I travel, can they go through regular carry on screening at the airport. I read something about keeping them away from magnetic fields and don't want to ruin them.
Thanks

Hard drives go through airports all the time in the form of laptop computers. there is no harm. Also, while you need to be careful, microdrives are not as fragile as people like to think. The one big caveat here is altitude. Do not operate them above 8500 ft (IBMs recommendation). The heads need air to float and, above that altitude, air is getting harder to find! If they are not operating, just being carried around, there is no problem.