closed_deal

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2007
675
0
18,980
Now then here goes. I'm attempting my first computer mod. 2nd time with the fitting of new custom watercooling kit. I had planned everything perfectly fine, but failed to think about the positioning of the HDD's....

They overhang on my current cradle which is stopping me placing a fan behind them, to get better airflow towards the center of my case... Also looks messy, if i turn them upside down i can keep the rear flush with the cradle and my cable routing will be much easier :).

Now i run my Raptors right side up like most people, however the way i've modded my new case about, I would like to fit them upside down...

Now the question has been 'googled' with many different answers, but not a definitive one. Can HDD's be run upside down without causing damage to the bearings etc...?

If not, then I'm going to have to create a HDD cradle, which will mean i'll have to wait 2 whole months before surgically removing my components into the new body, as i'm pre-disposed :cry:.
 

halcyon

Splendid
They may be fine upside down but I'd be damned if I would mount drives upside down. We mount them right side up and vertical without thought, but upside down?? I got a feeling that watching this thread will be very educational for us both.
 

godless

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2007
624
0
18,990


i agree. i think i have an old, spare hard drive which i will test it on. i'll let you know if anything blew up.
 

closed_deal

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2007
675
0
18,980
lol - thx much appreciated. Tiz summit I've never really had to think about before now.

Could you do read/write test of it right side up and upside down as well just to see if there is any major difference?
 

godless

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2007
624
0
18,990
sure, all tests will be made in windows xp sp2. and the hard drive will be my old seagate 120 gb 7200.7 hard drive. i'll let you know if speed is affected by the position. also i could leave it overnight to see if it's gonna blow. i'm kinda hoping it will at this point. but then again i'm usually disappointed by life.
 

closed_deal

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2007
675
0
18,980
lmao - you actually want it to blow?? A good sign I've found on old HDD's is a very rhythmic knocking before it suddenly becomes completely corrupted.
 

robertito

Distinguished
Dec 23, 2007
284
0
18,780
You could also check out the www.thebestcasescenario.com forum, it's a case modding site so there is a chance someone has had a similar situation.
 

godless

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2007
624
0
18,990
well my seagate hd was busy with very important data (porn), but i did manage to find even older western digital wd600bb-oocaa1 60 gb hard drive. i am very dissapointed, the hard drive works upside down. the transfer rates seem to be exacly the same as well. zero explosions, not even a spark. yet again life sux. i haven't done any actuall benchmarking because i don't have anything installed on this old hard drive but windows.

hd is not making any unusual noises. even while shaking the hard drive, file transfer is the same. i'm even shaking the hd right now and nothing. dissapointment. maybe prolonged upside down position might break down the drive, but not the 30 min i've been playing around with it.

since i'm feeling a little "mythbustery", i think i have a cool project for the weekend. just what WILL it take for the hard drive to blow up? well the answer i will post on monday. tomorrow i have to fix the brakes on my car, otherwise it won't stop when i'll want it to.

if anybody has a suggestion to what actaully will destroy a hard drive, let me know. i'll try it. but then again my system is pretty new, so the way of destruction will have to be limited to physical damage while running. NO playing around with electricity or chemicals.
 

godless

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2007
624
0
18,990


LOL, sorry but i want some fun as well.
 

closed_deal

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2007
675
0
18,980
How about a 10 second toaster run? Or 10 second microwave run? Or pulling back the sticker of void and probulating it with gubbins? Try melting ice on it outside the case? Bodge an electromagnet and torture it? Use i rubber mallet before a claw hammer? submerge in a clover pot? take the electric 'clicker' out of a lighter an zap the pcb board? strap fireworks to it? spray it with WD40 - lmfao?

*EDIT* thanks for testing :D.Ii'll mount my HDD's upside down when the watercooling is 24/7 leak tesed.
 

halcyon

Splendid


...or get some popcorn and watch my 8.5 year-old have at it.
 

godless

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2007
624
0
18,990



wow, thanks for the ideas. lol. i can't short circuit the hd since i'm afraid that it will mess up my mobo (the rest of my coputer is brand new and i'm not looking for upgrades lol). i'll think about how it will suffer and die, again thank you for the suggestions.

btw i've been running the hard drive upsidedown since my last post, with moving large files back and forth from another externa hd with zero problems so far.
 

closed_deal

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2007
675
0
18,980
Thanks godless I owe you one. Hopefully now my cable management for the first time in 7 years of building will be TIDY :D.

I wanna see pics of that HDD when it's finally knackered :p.
 

godless

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2007
624
0
18,990
i don't think that mounting hard drives vertically does any damage. my first comp, emachines 1.5ghz p4 had the hard drive mounted verically and it worked just fine for a couple of years. then it died. it was some 40gb maxtor hd.
 

blacksci

Distinguished
Jan 25, 2008
818
0
19,010
I have a old p4 system with a sata 1.0 harddrive that has been mounted upside down in it for over 5 years, and have had absolutely no problems.
 

closed_deal

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2007
675
0
18,980
Excellent, i was going to try it and see how long it lasts versus std mount, but that clinches it. My worlds gunna be running upside down from Monday till the day the world ends :).
 

godless

Distinguished
Dec 27, 2007
624
0
18,990


thank you for the input.
 

halcyon

Splendid



This has been quite educational.
 

closed_deal

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2007
675
0
18,980
Hey Thx. I can't agree more, Bleach is excellent. I would also be so bold to say it's almost as good as Cowboy Bebop!

*EDIT* Answer is now a definitive YES. Four people have confirmed HDD's can be mounted upside down aswell without any problems Huzzah!