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[jgreen]

These hard Drives will all be OFF and disconnected.  They are all 3.5" consumer-grade hard drives.  They will be bouncing around in a vehicle while stored with some padding.

My Question:  Will it make a difference if they are stored flat or on a side?  I would prefer to store them on a side, so that I can pack a strip of padding between them and NOT stack other drives on top.  If they are flat I will have to stack them, with padding.

My concern is that when on a side, knowing they will be bounced, the spindle is more vulnerable to shock damage than when laid flat, even if they are stacked. 

Opinions?

[JimH]

I'm not the expert on this, but I wouldn't worry about it if they have any padding.  I believe the heads are parked when the power is off.  Think about what they go through when UPS delivers them.  The boxes are turned every which way.

[6233638]

I would guess that they'd be better on their side, though it probably shouldn't make a difference. The head should be securely parked and that's the main thing you would have to worry about.

[InflatableMouse]

Unless you plan on driving off cliffs or making spectacular high speed rolls, it won't matter  .

I'm not sure but I think back in the old days it did matter.

What will matter more though is temperature. Let them get to room temperature before you hook em up again.

[jgreen]

Yeah, I'm guilty as sin for not letting drives return to room temperature before starting them.  Occasionally lose a drive, but I'd rather do as I please.

So, my takeaway here is that it shouldn't matter either way, but if it did the head is a bigger concern than the spindle, so the side might be better than flat.  In any case, temperature is a bigger concern but I just won't listen.

Thanks to all!

[InflatableMouse]

Insubordination!