The Free Fall sensor is supposed to detect a dropped laptop and protect the hard drive from damage from the fall (more information here). Is it a must for a new HDD, no. But instead of another HDD why not replace the drive with an SSD. A drop would have no effect on an SSD as there are no moving parts to damage. There are a number of SSD (solid state drives) that are compatible with your system. Go to the Crucial site here for some examples.
U2CAMEB4ME
4 Operator
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6.2K Posts
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December 20th, 2019 08:00
Welcome to the Dell Community @rvego
Upgrading to an SSD would increase performance and reduce power consumption will on battery.
Dell Vostro 1520 compatible upgrades:
https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Dell/vostro-1520
If you do upgrade to an SSD you do not need the Free Fall Sensor option!!!
As there is no HSA "Head Stack Assembly" on an SSD.
Best regards,
U2
JOcean
9 Legend
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12.6K Posts
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December 20th, 2019 08:00
The Free Fall sensor is supposed to detect a dropped laptop and protect the hard drive from damage from the fall (more information here). Is it a must for a new HDD, no. But instead of another HDD why not replace the drive with an SSD. A drop would have no effect on an SSD as there are no moving parts to damage. There are a number of SSD (solid state drives) that are compatible with your system. Go to the Crucial site here for some examples.