Mounting hard disks at strange angles (was RE: OT: the 1U system)

From: Ed Tillman <ETILLMAN_at_satx.rr.com>
Date: Fri Jan 31 08:16:00 2003

I haven't had any problems hanging them with CB up, down, or the drive
(whole computer) on its side. My biggest drive issues were power spikes,
jolts to a running system, and heat expansion/overheating. 15 years
experience has gotten me out of those scrapes...

Ed
San Antonio, Tx, USA

it vertically could cause read errors.
> > Any truth to this?
>
> I remember that was a commonly accepted concern back in the days when
> we used to have to do our own low-level formatting (ST506/ST412 drives,
> primarily). I think since modern drives have things packed so tightly
> that the thermal expansion and contraction of the platters causes the
> tracks to perceptibly migrate, causing drives to be *much* smarter
> about positioning than they used to, might have made that concern
> (if there ever really was one) obsolete.
>
> I've heard cautions for more modern drives that they can be mounted
> any way except one, typically either nose down or circuit board up,
> presumably due to bearing loading issues. The Amiga 4000 had the
> drives routinely mounted "upside down" with no concerns, but I
> would think that one would *never* want to do that to, say, an
> RK05.
>
> Anyone have any personal experiences with oddly-mounted drives?
>
> -ethan
Received on Fri Jan 31 2003 - 08:16:00 GMT