Mounting Hard Drives vertically?

[Bucko]

This was brought up in my Mini-Rat PC thread with how I plan to mount the drives:


Don't know if this is true for todays harddrives. But some years ago, they told you not to mount harddrives vertically because of the bearings inside...
Perhaps you better check this out.

Does anyone know a good reason why they can't be mounted vertically?

I know the HP computers we use at work can be used as a desktop or turned on there side and used as a small tower, so the drive would be vertical at some point. Same goes for the Pink Bits Dell I recently painted.

I can't see a good reason that they couldn't be mounted vertically just going on what I've seen at work, but if I'm missing something, point me in the right direction.

[Wasabisam]

http://mod.vault9.net/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t14942.html

I believe in this topic they discuss that the drives can be mounted Vertically and if you read all the posts there are some other links to the companies saying that it doesnt matter which way its mounted.

Hope that helps :)

Sam

[Bucko]

Thanks for that, I think I should be safe, which is what I expected.

[Wasabisam]

Yep. From what i saw a couple of people have done it and had no problems what so ever. Glad i could help for once lol.

Sam

[calumc]

i have one mounted vertically in a dell and its ok.
id say that anything in-between vertical and horizontal could be bad tho with alll the moving bits inside

[Redundant]

Mounted vertically is perfectly fine.

-Xbox 360s HDDs are on their side when the console is horizontal.
-My Western Digital external 500GB HDD is vertical too.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

You'll be all set.

Old drives that used stepper motor actuators, back in the bad old days, had to be used in whatever orientation they were low-level formatted in. Modern drives, with voice-coil actuators, could care less.

Now, could someone explain why I've had a few Microns, Dells, and eMachines from about '98-'00 that had the hard drive mounted flush against the front of the case, with the bottom of the drive facing forward and the back facing up? I don't think I could design a mounting setup that did a better job of blocking airflow, even if I was paid to do it. Yeesh!

[Spawn-Inc]

i have my hdd in a external thats virtical and its been fine for a year now.

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

lolz all the moving bits??? unless ur workin with rly rly rly old HDs there is like only 2 moving bits... the spinning platters and the reading arm...
u can mount a HD basicaly anyway ya want.... backwards forewards... upsidedown...verticle.... horizontal.... it rly dont matter... the basic idea is tho.... dont move it while its runnin.....the platters will act like a gyro....

[Exley]

Thought id put in my $.02. i have an old compaq computer where the drive is mounted up-right, it served my parents well for a long time and is currently my print server. Anyway i dont think it should be a problem

[Spawn-Inc]

i have one of these and it's hdd is vertical.

http://sbeam.dk/blog/wp-content/compaqiii.jpg

[Ichbin]

Is that a dinosaur in the backround? Jeez man. That sucker is HUGE!

[Redundant]

lolz all the moving bits??? unless ur workin with rly rly rly old HDs there is like only 2 moving bits... the spinning platters and the reading arm...
u can mount a HD basicaly anyway ya want.... backwards forewards... upsidedown...verticle.... horizontal.... it rly dont matter... the basic idea is tho.... dont move it while its runnin.....the platters will act like a gyro....

No offense, but if you're really 18 years old (as your profile says...), you could probably take an extra 30 second and spell out the whole words... :lick:

[moon111]

There is no problem with any position you stick the harddrive in.

The biggest problem with harddrives is handling. Ever laugh at some manufacter's claims about how long a drive will last? Well they're true... to a point. When they torture test in their labs, they last. However, most problems occur during shipping and handling. They don't like being dropped etc.