Hard Drive SC Series Operate Vertically?

[Mac128]

So I cam across this: http://www.apple-collection.com/HTMPub/bro.peri2.htm

I know it's an ad with lots of beauty shots, but can the HD SC actually run on its end like they have it pictured? I know you can use any of the floppy drives on end as Apple has even said so and some of the newer ones as well. But what about the old hard drives? I don't have an old HD SC case, would this cause any vents to be blocked?

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Yeah, there is no problem running just about any 1990 or newer drive of any kind so that its platter is either parallel or perpendicular to the ground. Only the very earliest hard drives have issues.

And the HD SC pictured was a later model that was specifically advertised as to be used vertically.

Floppies? Fine.

Hard drives? Newer than 1990 guaranteed fine, 1985-1990 probably fine, pre-1985 maybe.

Optical drives? As long as they have the little 'prongs' on the tray to hold the disc when vertical, it's fine. (And all slot loads are fine vertically.)

If you want to have fun, go find an old 10,000 or 15,000 RPM SCSI drive (dead is fine, as long as the platter spins,) power it on, and start tilting it. The centripetal force will cause the drive to want to "right" itself to be parallel or perpendicular to the ground.

 

[Mac128]

And the HD SC pictured was a later model that was specifically advertised as to be used vertically.

Really, the 40SC from 1987 was meant to be used vertically? Wow. Learn something new everyday. Or was this a later ad with revised drives in the same case? Even the Snow White design language is wrong when used vertically.

 

[Scott Baret]

I had trouble running a LaCie ZFP (with a Quantum ProDrive EPS inside) vertically. The power would conk out intermittently. When I flipped it back over it was fine and has been since.

 

[Charlieman]

I sort of agree with Anonymous Freak, but I can't bring myself to run an old drive rotated by 90 degrees or a modern drive by 180 degrees. There is a little thing in my head saying that it is wrong. The little thing in my head is qualified by comments "about any 1990" or "1985-1990 probably fine". So there aren't any definitive rules or labels for a disk that say "stick me side sideways, if you like".

When the HD manufacturers produce their MTBF tables, what do the tables mean? Have they really tested different mounting positions?

Anonymous Freak: When you manipulate an operating hard disk and experience a torque backlash from it, that is gyroscopic precession.

 

[Mac128]

The problem with that operating range is that it includes the HD-20 which was essentially the same mechanism used in the HD SC. And pre-'85 there wasn't much, particularly in the 3.5" arena.

Come-on Charlieman what's the worst that could happen? I have read that the earlier drives must be formatted in whatever position the drive is to be operated,however.

 

[Charlieman]

The problem with that operating range is that it includes the HD-20 which was essentially the same mechanism used in the HD SC. And pre-'85 there wasn't much, particularly in the 3.5" arena.

Thinking about it, there were quite a few third party hard drives for compact Macs that used a vertically mounted mechanism. eg MicahDrive AT (an internal solution) and SuperMac externals. And Macs like the IIcx and IIci were designed to operate in either orientation.

Come-on Charlieman what's the worst that could happen? I have read that the earlier drives must be formatted in whatever position the drive is to be operated,however.

Remember that hard disk drives are mechanical devices. Changing the orientation may cause additional wear on bearings or the disk head mech. The worst that can happen is a head crash and total loss of the disk. However the change may be beneficial, distributing wear and increasing disk life. Unfortunately the only way to test is to do it.

I too have read that the oldest disks should be low level formatted in the orientation in which the are to be used. My understanding is that during disk verification, the formatter has to predict future defects which may differ according to disk orientation.