Mounting a hard drive upside down = shortened life span?

Life Technology
#1

hey all,

i’m in the process of some serious media center modding and have a potential problem.

i’m basically stuck with having to mount my 250gb ide drive upside down. while it seems to operate okay now, is this dumb in the long term?

also, the ide cable running from the mobo had two connections (one for dvd drive / one for hard drive). because i’m tight for space and dont need a dvd drive, i cut one off and taped the ‘live wires’. could this potentially damage my drive too?

thanks for any advice.

#2

Uhm… :laughing:
I take it you don’t have to much experience with computers?
No, the orientation of the drive doesn’t matter at all, as long as it’s not being moved while in use.
Cutting off IDE cables isn’t a great idea, but it works, you could just have connected it to the second connector and left the cable as it was.
Just make sure it was a clean cut and that none of the copper wires are sticking out and shorting with eachother.

#3

[quote=“TheLostSwede”]Uhm… :laughing:
I take it you don’t have to much experience with computers?
No, the orientation of the drive doesn’t matter at all, as long as it’s not being moved while in use.
quote]

hmmm… i’ve been looking around the web and apparently it does matter, but only if is not in either a vertical or horizontal position. anything outside of this range apparently places stress on the on motor and shortens the life of the drive (over a period of time).

#4

I heard a rumour 15 years ago that a hard drive must be mounted the same orientation that is was formatted in. No idea if it was true. I’m sure they’re more study now, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable to do it myself. Do you have a flat IDE cable ? You might want to get a new fangled rounded one to make things neater.

#5

that cable looks pretty!

i’d probably be better off with one like that as i need to improve airflow through the case. thanks.

#6

If you likes them you should switch to SATA2. even smaller cables. and betterer.

#7

[quote=“JoeyJoJoJnrShabadu”]that cable looks pretty!

i’d probably be better off with one like that as i need to improve airflow through the case. thanks.[/quote]

Yup, those cables help with airflow a LOT. I highly recommend them.

#8

I found that the best way to optimize airflow in my computer (in pursuit of lower fan speeds and maximum silence) was to simply eliminate every last bit of empty space by selling the PC and buying a Macbook Pro. Best move I’ve ever made. :wink:

#9

Is there a specific reason your HDD must be upside down? IDE cables are also available in shorter lengths, and with or without a second connection.

#10

yeah, that would be ideal, but unfortunately its an original xbox mod, which means only ide.

thanks for all the advice, i think upside down will be fine.

#11

Even though YouTube sucks, here’s what’s inside the harddrive.