alz@tc.fluke.COM (Al Weiss) (05/04/90)
In article <24435@usc.edu> wan@pollux.usc.edu (Qiang Wan) writes: > >I saw many people put their PC main bodies beside their desks, >with the box sitting vertically. I am wondering if it is >harmful to the disk drives (especially the hard disk drives) for >them to operate in the vertical position. Nowhere in the manual >of the hard disks seem to carry warning against dispositioned >placement. Dunno about floppies. For hard drives it depends upon the manufacturer. All of the Seagate manuals I've seen, for instance, are VERY specific in their manuals about not elevating the front or back more than 5 degrees from horizontal. They can however be turned on their sides up to 90 degrees, but no further (ie not upside down). They should also be formatted in their permanent orientation. My understanding is that the head positioning mechanism gets worn out on an angle, and the motor berings can't hack being upside down. On the fone, Seagate told me that they would not honor any warrantee if they know that it has exceeded those limits. I've heard some newer Seagates don't have limits, but dont know for sure, nor do I know about the CDC's. Conner, Quantum, Miniscribe, Maxtor(?), on the other hand, (of the ones I've seen) specifically say "any orientation". Hope this helps, Al -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Al Weiss alz@tc.fluke.com 206-356-5252 John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. MS-269E PO Box 9090 Everett, WA 98206-9090 USA