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does tilting a notebook reduce hd life?

post #1 of 12
11/15/10 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 
Apologies for starting a thread on my very first post, but I can't find an answer to this anywhere.

I have an Acer Aspire One with a normal hard disk (i.e. has moving parts). I normally use it when lying down, with the unit at a 30 degree angle. But half of the time I use it sideways and upright, like a book.

I have heard that spending half its life at one angle and half at a drastically different angle can shorten its life. Is that true?
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post #2 of 12
11/15/10 at 5:54pm
From what I have read, it shouldnt matter to the harddrive what angle it is at
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post #3 of 12
11/15/10 at 6:25pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply. I'm just nervous because on another laptop forum a very techie moderator said that always typing horizontal or always typing vertical were fine, but mixing both was bad.

He sounded so authoritative that nobody questioned him (this was during an argument about very technical stuff where he seemed very knowledgable).

So you haven't heard of that? That's good news.
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post #4 of 12
11/15/10 at 6:37pm
I just did some Google searching and found the following:

In general, you don't want to shake a drive while it's in use (for instance during boot or loading a program) because that can cause errors. However, as long as the position is relatively fixed (like your 30 degrees while lying down example), the drive should be fine.

Personally, I use my computer in pretty much every conceivable angle and have never had a hard drive fail on me.
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post #5 of 12
11/15/10 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
Personally, I use my computer in pretty much every conceivable angle and have never had a hard drive fail on me.
Thanks. That's a huge relief! This is my first ever laptop and I LOVE it. In the day I do my work (in varying positions) and then hold it like a book to read stuff. It seems to good to be true. Everyone else seems to just use theirs on a desk, so I wonder if it was never designed for this. You have reassured me.
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post #6 of 12
11/15/10 at 7:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
I just did some Google searching and found the following:

In general, you don't want to shake a drive while it's in use (for instance during boot or loading a program) because that can cause errors. However, as long as the position is relatively fixed (like your 30 degrees while lying down example), the drive should be fine.

Personally, I use my computer in pretty much every conceivable angle and have never had a hard drive fail on me.
If one has to move it, just close the lid down to put it to sleep first

cheers ...
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post #7 of 12
11/15/10 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
If one has to move it, just close the lid down to put it to sleep first

cheers ...
What counts as a move? Shifting position? Putting down gently on a desk? As I type this it frequently tilts through ten degrees or more. I don't think it's ever still
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post #8 of 12
11/15/10 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tolworthy View Post
What counts as a move? Shifting position? Putting down gently on a desk? As I type this it frequently tilts through ten degrees or more. I don't think it's ever still
All hard drives have a tolerance for being moved while in operation - they just aren't terribly high. In my opinion, you're fine as long as you don't subject the hard drive to very jarring motion such as shaking it, dropping it, or throwing it while it's in use.

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
And in all honesty, I have at one time or another done all of these things with either my present or my previous computer and the hard drive in each system remained undamaged. Still, it's better to be cautious.
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post #9 of 12
11/16/10 at 6:24pm
And dropping it, will create a host of other problems, that one doesnt want to get into right now...lol
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post #10 of 12
11/16/10 at 7:19pm
I drop mine quite a bit

cheers ...
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post #11 of 12
11/16/10 at 7:46pm
need to look into getting one with rubber casing...lol
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post #12 of 12
11/16/10 at 7:47pm
Better than that Gene. I got myself a wrist trap

cheers ...
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