A mobile computer system such as mobile PC operable between a normal,
stationary mode and a Navigation mode for optimal system performance and
power management for mobile applications. The mobile PC comprises a disk
drive; a host processor equipped with an operating system (OS) which
enables operation in a normal mode when the computer system is stationary
and a Navigation mode when the computer system is mobile; a vibration
sensor arranged to detect whether there is a presence of sustained or
sporadic mechanical vibrations over a designated time duration, and to
generate therefrom a vibration signal indicating the presence of
sustained or sporadic mechanical vibrations; a position sensor arranged
to detect whether there is a change in the position of the computer
system at a fixed or variable velocity or acceleration, and to generate a
position signal indicating the change in the position of the computer
system; and a chipset equipped with a disk drive control logic arranged
to control disk accesses to the disk drive, including controlling disk
accesses to the disk drive in order to reduce damages to the disk drive
in response to the vibration signal indicating the presence of sustained
or sporadic mechanical vibrations or the position signal indicating the
change in the position of the computer system.