Solve : HP550-110 Tower Orientation?

1.	Solve : HP550-110 Tower Orientation?
Answer» The vertical optical drive is cheesy and awkward. Can I operate this rig on its side? Have read many conflicting answers. Some say ok if you do not block vents but others say it depends on the MB orientation. I could call HP but I am sure they would GIVE me the stock answer, ie we put the feet on the bottom because it is the bottom! Thanks.I see no reason that it would need to remain vertical. I use a tower case on it's side myself. (Not that one, mind you, but a custom build) And it gives me no problems. I have to deal with my optical drive on it's side as a result so I understand that annoyance as well! The mentions you've seen regarding motherboard orientation are because it is much preferred to have the tower case lying on it's side such that the motherboard is on the bottom. This is fairly easy to check- the side with the motherboard is always the one with the connectors on the rear (Video, Ethernet, USB,etc). So rest it on that side and it will be fine. Most likely that is the correct way to place it for the drive to be face-up when opened.Your choice. Desktops are made to go either way.The only possible issue would be the hd - nothing else. Ideally you would want to reformat the hd once the pc is in the position you intend to use it. However, it's unlikely you'll run into issues even if you don't reformat. Quote from: Allan on April 12, 2016, 05:16:07 AM The only possible issue would be the hd - nothing else. Ideally you would want to reformat the hd once the pc is in the position you intend to use it. However, it's unlikely you'll run into issues even if you don't reformat. Interesting. First time I heard that. What is the benefit gained from reformatting? And/or what are the issues from not? Thanks.I'm old school. In the "old days" drive heads could be affected by gravity and orientation. It was always recommended to select a computer orientation and then FORMAT the drive. If you later chose to lay the box down differently, it was recommended to reformat. Candidly, these days most (if not all) hd manufacturers say that position should not effect hd performance or longevity - and certainly they should know best. Still, as I said I'm old school and if it were me and I was changing the orientation of the box I'd create a disk image, reorient the computer, format the hd, and restore the image. If you choose not to do this the likelihood is that you will not experience any issues at all. But as I said - old school It probably stems from old drives where a stepper motor was used to move the heads of the disk, this means that the heads can only move to fixed positions on the disk so if the heads were moved a tiny bit by gravity they won't align. These drives could also have a similar issue if they were being operated at a drastically different temperature to the one it was formatted at - The platter expands/contracts slightly and this could cause the heads to BECOME misaligned. Modern drives use voice coils so can position the head at any position on the platter so these problems aren't an issue nowadays. Quote from: Allan on April 12, 2016, 05:16:07 AM The only possible issue would be the hd - nothing else. Ideally you would want to reformat the hd once the pc is in the position you intend to use it. However, it's unlikely you'll run into issues even if you don't reformat. This was the case with old (as in 1980s & early 1990s) drives with stepper motors. These did not have any feedback mechanism for head vs track position and thus had to be used in the same orientation that they were formatted in. Modern voice coil hard drives have a feedback loop that allow them to correct for errors such as changes in orientation, and all the manufacturers say their drives can be used in any orientation without having to format on change of orientation. [EDIT] cross posted with camerongray! Incidentally, changing the orientation of a drive with a worn bearing can have an effect, I have heard of drives which refused to boot in one orientation, functioning long ENOUGH for data recovery when they were turned through 90 degrees. Also the opposite effect. Thanks for all the responses. Very fascinating stuff.Incidentally, in the old days, when you were supposed to mount a drive in the same orientation that it was 'formatted' in, that meant the low level format done by the manufacturer, not the filesystem formatting available to users. I have a 250 Gb IDE hard drive that is around 6 years old. It spent the first 4 years of its life mounted horizontally in a PC drive bay, and the past 2 years it has been vertical in a USB enclosure, which came with a little stand. It may be considered a gamble to some...but i've never ahd an issue changing a HDD's orientation... Not sayin it ain't gonna happen...but it's never happened to me.Somewhere I read a HDD must not be held at a 45 degree angle. So avoid putting it in a wine RACK. Quote from: Geek-9pm on April 12, 2016, 04:24:12 PM Somewhere I read a HDD must not be held at a 45 degree angle. So avoid putting it in a wine rack. As I said, with today's drives it should not be an issue. On the other hand - did I mention I'm old school?

Answer»

The vertical optical drive is cheesy and awkward. Can I operate this rig on its side? Have read many conflicting answers. Some say ok if you do not block vents but others say it depends on the MB orientation. I could call HP but I am sure they would GIVE me the stock answer, ie we put the feet on the bottom because it is the bottom! Thanks.I see no reason that it would need to remain vertical. I use a tower case on it's side myself. (Not that one, mind you, but a custom build) And it gives me no problems. I have to deal with my optical drive on it's side as a result so I understand that annoyance as well!

The mentions you've seen regarding motherboard orientation are because it is much preferred to have the tower case lying on it's side such that the motherboard is on the bottom. This is fairly easy to check- the side with the motherboard is always the one with the connectors on the rear (Video, Ethernet, USB,etc). So rest it on that side and it will be fine. Most likely that is the correct way to place it for the drive to be face-up when opened.Your choice. Desktops are made to go either way.The only possible issue would be the hd - nothing else. Ideally you would want to reformat the hd once the pc is in the position you intend to use it. However, it's unlikely you'll run into issues even if you don't reformat. Quote from: Allan on April 12, 2016, 05:16:07 AM

The only possible issue would be the hd - nothing else. Ideally you would want to reformat the hd once the pc is in the position you intend to use it. However, it's unlikely you'll run into issues even if you don't reformat.

Interesting. First time I heard that. What is the benefit gained from reformatting? And/or what are the issues from not? Thanks.I'm old school. In the "old days" drive heads could be affected by gravity and orientation. It was always recommended to select a computer orientation and then FORMAT the drive. If you later chose to lay the box down differently, it was recommended to reformat. Candidly, these days most (if not all) hd manufacturers say that position should not effect hd performance or longevity - and certainly they should know best. Still, as I said I'm old school and if it were me and I was changing the orientation of the box I'd create a disk image, reorient the computer, format the hd, and restore the image.

If you choose not to do this the likelihood is that you will not experience any issues at all. But as I said - old school It probably stems from old drives where a stepper motor was used to move the heads of the disk, this means that the heads can only move to fixed positions on the disk so if the heads were moved a tiny bit by gravity they won't align. These drives could also have a similar issue if they were being operated at a drastically different temperature to the one it was formatted at - The platter expands/contracts slightly and this could cause the heads to BECOME misaligned. Modern drives use voice coils so can position the head at any position on the platter so these problems aren't an issue nowadays. Quote from: Allan on April 12, 2016, 05:16:07 AM

The only possible issue would be the hd - nothing else. Ideally you would want to reformat the hd once the pc is in the position you intend to use it. However, it's unlikely you'll run into issues even if you don't reformat.

This was the case with old (as in 1980s & early 1990s) drives with stepper motors. These did not have any feedback mechanism for head vs track position and thus had to be used in the same orientation that they were formatted in. Modern voice coil hard drives have a feedback loop that allow them to correct for errors such as changes in orientation, and all the manufacturers say their drives can be used in any orientation without having to format on change of orientation.

[EDIT] cross posted with camerongray!
Incidentally, changing the orientation of a drive with a worn bearing can have an effect, I have heard of drives which refused to boot in one orientation, functioning long ENOUGH for data recovery when they were turned through 90 degrees. Also the opposite effect.
Thanks for all the responses. Very fascinating stuff.Incidentally, in the old days, when you were supposed to mount a drive in the same orientation that it was 'formatted' in, that meant the low level format done by the manufacturer, not the filesystem formatting available to users.
I have a 250 Gb IDE hard drive that is around 6 years old. It spent the first 4 years of its life mounted horizontally in a PC drive bay, and the past 2 years it has been vertical in a USB enclosure, which came with a little stand.
It may be considered a gamble to some...but i've never ahd an issue changing a HDD's orientation...

Not sayin it ain't gonna happen...but it's never happened to me.Somewhere I read a HDD must not be held at a 45 degree angle.
So avoid putting it in a wine RACK. Quote from: Geek-9pm on April 12, 2016, 04:24:12 PM

Somewhere I read a HDD must not be held at a 45 degree angle.
So avoid putting it in a wine rack.

As I said, with today's drives it should not be an issue. On the other hand - did I mention I'm old school?

Solve : HP550-110 Tower Orientation?

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