custom batterypack for usb harddrive?

[X-Ecutioner]

Im planing on buying a usb2.0 case for my 40gig spare maxtor drive. Im on the road a lot and my laptop rarely leaves my side. I was thinking about throwing 8 AA or 8 C batteries to make a battery pack to power the usb harddrive when i am not near an outlet.

My question is how long would the harddrive last on the batteries? and if the batteries slowly die, will all my data get corrupted? I do plan on testing this out but just wanted to hear any thoughts.

Thanks

[XtremeMaC]

if u're going to be on the road with a car get a car power cord hook it up to the lighter, or whatever u wanna call that plug in the car..

if the power dies the file u're working on is likely to be corrupt. I don't think anything else will happen..

Power(watt/sec) = I(amper) V(volt)

so verify the watt your hdd needs and calculate it. overall i don't think its a good idea to use batteries instead hook it up to your car battery