[reemas]

I have my hard drive in an external case laying flat. My question is, if I turn the case so it is standing vertical, and the hard drive is now vertical as well, is this bad for the drive?

[pregalla]

I believe there will be no problem!

1. Many external 3,5" hard drives are vertical.
2. My own external harddrive (a 2,5" disk) is vertical most of the time, and the manufacturer notes states it can operate in ANY position.
3. Some desktop computers have the hard drive vertical mounted.

Use it without worries.
Just don't expose it to shocks and vibrations especially when it is on.

[reemas]

thanks a lot. i will do.

[brachiator]

I have heard that there may be a problem with turning a HD that has been operating horizontally into the vertical position to run (and vice versa). As I recall, the theory was that the HD "works in" in the horizontal, and that running it vertical puts a strain on the horizontal-worn-in machinery.

I have no idea if this is accurate. Just wanted to pass it along. Perhaps someone more knowledgable than I can weigh in.

[SSharon]

I have two drives in use in my MDD and since I have one on each channel it means one is mounted horizontally and one vertically. After about 2 years I moved one drive from vertical to horizontal (when I bought the second drive) and have not had any problems. I run my mac 24/7 without sleeping, but I do let the HDs spin down. So 3.5 years and no problems here. Both firewire drives (backups of course) are horizontal, but I have used them vertically in the past with no problem.

[angelmb]

I use to 'move' a hard disk from the inside of an old B&W G3 (mounted horizontally) to an external LaCie d2 firewire vertical case (mounted vertically) and vice versa. Never had any issue with it.

[OreoCookie]

Both horizontal and vertical operation are expressly permitted by the specs of harddrive manufacturers. I think the tolerances are around 5-10 degrees.

[BLAZE_MkIV]

The heads are constantly recalabrating so this is no longer an issue, I would avoid changing the orientation of the drive while running if you plan to do so faster than the operational g rating of the drive.

[ghporter]

There used to be a problem with old hard drives (think MFM type drives 20 years ago) moving from one orientation to another. Old news, not worth bothering about. A modern drive can work ANYWHERE and as long as you don't suddenly jar it during a seek, you can expect it to work in whatever attitude you use it.

[brachiator]

Thanks, ghporter... Showing my age, I guess...

Now, where did I put that stack of $job cards?...

[tooki]

Yup. Modern drives use "embedded servo" that means the drive is essentially constantly recalibrating.

tooki