Is there any research on how horizontal mount of hard drive can affect its lifespan?

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Viktor_4

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I'm asking because some cases allow horizontal orientation of hdd. But there is no evidence that it can undermine their performance which i find hard to believe. Gravity has somehow to play negative role
 
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SoNic67
Originally the HDD heads needed to placed horizontally because of gravity affecting the reading heads. So HDD's where supposed to be installed only horizontally with face up. This was true up to... like 20 years ago.
However, today's HDD can be installed both horizontally and vertically.
A quick google yielded this:

Hitachi:

The drive will operate in all axes (6 directions). Performance and error rate will stay within specification limits if the drive is operated in the other orientations from which it was formatted.

Western Digital:

Physical mounting of the drive: WD drives will function normally whether they are mounted sideways or upside down (any X, Y, Z orientation).

Maxtor:

The hard drive can be mounted in any...
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SoNic67

SoNic67

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Jun 9, 2012
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Originally the HDD heads needed to placed horizontally because of gravity affecting the reading heads. So HDD's where supposed to be installed only horizontally with face up. This was true up to... like 20 years ago.
However, today's HDD can be installed both horizontally and vertically.
A quick google yielded this:

Hitachi:

The drive will operate in all axes (6 directions). Performance and error rate will stay within specification limits if the drive is operated in the other orientations from which it was formatted.

Western Digital:

Physical mounting of the drive: WD drives will function normally whether they are mounted sideways or upside down (any X, Y, Z orientation).

Maxtor:

The hard drive can be mounted in any orientation.

Samsung:

As long as it is securely attached to the chassis, hard disk drives may be mounted either horizontally or vertically depending on how your computer’s case is constructed.

When asked if the drive could be mounted at askew angles, their official positions were:


  • Manufacturer Contact method Response
    ------- --------------------- ---------------------
    WD Tech support, email 90 degrees.
    Hitachi Hitachi documentation 90 degrees.
    Samsung Tech support, phone 90 degrees.
    Fujitsu Tech support, chat 90 degrees +-5.
    Seagate Tech support, email 90 degrees preferred,
    but diagonal OK.
    Maxtor Tech support, phone 90 degrees preferred, but in
    real world, whatever.
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