Changing Drive Orientation

[shimian5]

Hi All,

I have an HP54NL running 5x4TB drives for about 12 months now, runs like a top.

When I originally set it up, it only fit in my cabinet on it's side. I've since re-worked things and have access to set it up right side up now.

Is there any harm in a modern drive to have it's orientation changed after running?

I've read that drives should be reformatted, should I pull one drive at a time and peform a wipe/scrub (this is a very intensive operation on 20TB)

 

[Bidule0hm]

I remember reading about failure rate going up if you change a drive orientation in the middle of it's life but I don't recall the details or even if it's still valid today. I'm curious to know the answer though :)

 

[Ericloewe]

I've read that drives should be reformatted,

That part is definitely crap.

The drive's low level structure is not exposed to the OS and is exclusively handled internally. It's the drive's job to compensate for things like a different orientation. If anything, it'll relearn whatever parameters it needs after a while.

Mechanically speaking, it's an interesting question, though. I'd have to think about it...

 

[jgreco]

You're much more likely to somehow make an error or cause a problem during the process, which significantly increases the risk to your data. Better just not to get too freaked out about it.