A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
Am I at any risk running two hard-disks, one of which is fixed on top
of another?
of another?
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G
Gerritjan
Ayaz Ahmed Khan said:Am I at any risk running two hard-disks, one of which is fixed on top
of another?
Yes. The one on top will most likely get too hot....
K
kony
Am I at any risk running two hard-disks, one of which is fixed on top
of another?
"Usually" that will work fine but they'll be hotter than if you can
manage a gap inbetween for airflow. It is better to put the odds in your
favor and keep the drives as cool as reasonably possible.
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"kony" typed:
Logical. But, unfortunately, I can't find any spacious place giving
sufficient room for air-flow to fix the other hard-disk at without
being hampered by the limited reach of data or power cable.
It's reasonable to think so, but if I continue to let them stay where
they are, are they at any risk of getting damaged, severely or
otherwise?
"Usually" that will work fine but they'll be hotter than if you can
manage a gap inbetween for airflow. It is better to put the odds in
your favor and keep the drives as cool as reasonably possible.
Logical. But, unfortunately, I can't find any spacious place giving
sufficient room for air-flow to fix the other hard-disk at without
being hampered by the limited reach of data or power cable.
It's reasonable to think so, but if I continue to let them stay where
they are, are they at any risk of getting damaged, severely or
otherwise?
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"Gerritjan" typed:
Both of them get exceedingly hot. I thought it natural for
hard-disks to get hot when used. I imagine I thought wrong. Didn't I?
Yes. The one on top will most likely get too hot....
Both of them get exceedingly hot. I thought it natural for
hard-disks to get hot when used. I imagine I thought wrong. Didn't I?
J
John
Logical. But, unfortunately, I can't find any spacious place giving
sufficient room for air-flow to fix the other hard-disk at without
being hampered by the limited reach of data or power cable.
It's reasonable to think so, but if I continue to let them stay where
they are, are they at any risk of getting damaged, severely or
otherwise?
Sure if they really overheat. On one hand its surprising how much
abuse PC stuff can take but on the other , it never hurts to improve
air flow etc. One thing I noticed the 7200 hard disks run way hotter
than the 5400 - or at least it seems like it.
When you say your HDs are crammed on top of each other - usually the
holes give a bit of space but you sound like its literally sitting on
top of each other. Usually theres almost an inch or so above or below
the HDs because of the weird place they have the holes. You could get
a drill a drill some new holes into the usually removable bracket so
as to space the HDs at least a quarter inch apart.
K
kony
"kony" typed:
Logical. But, unfortunately, I can't find any spacious place giving
sufficient room for air-flow to fix the other hard-disk at without
being hampered by the limited reach of data or power cable.
It's reasonable to think so, but if I continue to let them stay where
they are, are they at any risk of getting damaged, severely or
otherwise?
There is a risk but it's relative to their temperature, something we
cannot know as it depends on your room temperature and case airflow, and
further where the case air enters the system... hopefully the air intake
is right in front of the drive bay.
It would be better to keep the drives as cool as reasonably possible. If
your present case can't accomodate these drives you'll have to consider a
replacement case, if their temperature seems excessive and warrants it.
In your other reply you wrote that "Both of them get exceedingly hot." so
it does appear that they need more cooling.
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"kony" typed:
I keep one of the side-wings of the chassis open -- the cover is
lying behind the door. Room temperature fluctuates between thirty and
thirty-five degrees these days, for summer is already starting to set
in. Air intake is, I think, sufficient, but not air flow between the
drives.
Buying a new, roomy case would be difficult for me, especially after
having bought a new hard-drive just this weekend. I will work on John's
advice to drill some pairs of holes and see if I can find a better
place for the new hard-disk.
I really can't tell. As you said earlier, there isn't any way of
measuring a hard-drive's temperature at a given instant. And I doubt
if any temperature ratings are available for a particular brand of
hard-disk.
There is a risk but it's relative to their temperature, something we
cannot know as it depends on your room temperature and case airflow,
and further where the case air enters the system... hopefully the
air intake is right in front of the drive bay.
I keep one of the side-wings of the chassis open -- the cover is
lying behind the door. Room temperature fluctuates between thirty and
thirty-five degrees these days, for summer is already starting to set
in. Air intake is, I think, sufficient, but not air flow between the
drives.
It would be better to keep the drives as cool as reasonably
possible. If your present case can't accomodate these drives you'll
have to consider a replacement case, if their temperature seems
excessive and warrants it.
Buying a new, roomy case would be difficult for me, especially after
having bought a new hard-drive just this weekend. I will work on John's
advice to drill some pairs of holes and see if I can find a better
place for the new hard-disk.
In your other reply you wrote that "Both of them get exceedingly
hot." so it does appear that they need more cooling.
I really can't tell. As you said earlier, there isn't any way of
measuring a hard-drive's temperature at a given instant. And I doubt
if any temperature ratings are available for a particular brand of
hard-disk.
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"(e-mail address removed)" typed:
Yes. Literally. The bracket inside the chassis can accomodate only
three drives --- in the sense that it has only three layers of holes
to fix drives using screws at. A floppy disk-drive and my old
hard-disk are fixed at each end-layer of the bracket. The new hard-disk is
uncomfortably hanging in between the two drives, being nearly an inch
away from the floppy disk-drive above it and barely a centimeter from the
other hard-disk just below it. Barely a centimeter.
With limited cable reach, I can't even leave it resting peacefully
inside on the floor of the chassis.
Nice idea. After I have booted-off the PC for today, I'll analyse the
bracket.
Sure if they really overheat. On one hand its surprising how much
abuse PC stuff can take but on the other , it never hurts to improve
air flow etc. One thing I noticed the 7200 hard disks run way hotter
than the 5400 - or at least it seems like it.
When you say your HDs are crammed on top of each other - usually the
holes give a bit of space but you sound like its literally sitting
on top of each other. Usually theres almost an inch or so above or
below the HDs because of the weird place they have the holes.
Yes. Literally. The bracket inside the chassis can accomodate only
three drives --- in the sense that it has only three layers of holes
to fix drives using screws at. A floppy disk-drive and my old
hard-disk are fixed at each end-layer of the bracket. The new hard-disk is
uncomfortably hanging in between the two drives, being nearly an inch
away from the floppy disk-drive above it and barely a centimeter from the
other hard-disk just below it. Barely a centimeter.
With limited cable reach, I can't even leave it resting peacefully
inside on the floor of the chassis.
You could get a drill a drill some new holes into the usually removable
bracket so as to space the HDs at least a quarter inch apart.
Nice idea. After I have booted-off the PC for today, I'll analyse the
bracket.
N
Noozer
Buying a new, roomy case would be difficult for me, especially after
having bought a new hard-drive just this weekend. I will work on John's
advice to drill some pairs of holes and see if I can find a better
place for the new hard-disk.
Heck... I've drilled out the ends of popsicle sticks and used them to hang a
hard drive below the cage. Screw the drive in the cage, fastening the sticks
at the same time, then fasten the drive below to the other ends of the
sticks.
You should be able to do something similar.
If not, you could always pick up a 5.25" drivebay mount for one of the
drives.
There are cases around here that you can pick up for $30 Cdn that come with
350watt PSU (and you'll want to toss that PSU too!). They hold plenty of
drives and you can have a cheap-assed backup PSU that you can hang onto just
in case, or sell to get a few bucks back.
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"Noozer" typed:
Yes. I think so. I have asked a friend to lend me his circuit driller,
which he'll this Saturday.
A decent tower case, here, costs about one third the price of a 40-GB
hard-disk. I have, nonetheless, kept kony's and your advice of getting
a new case as a last resort.
Heck... I've drilled out the ends of popsicle sticks and used them
to hang a hard drive below the cage. Screw the drive in the cage,
fastening the sticks at the same time, then fasten the drive below
to the other ends of the sticks.
You should be able to do something similar.
Yes. I think so. I have asked a friend to lend me his circuit driller,
which he'll this Saturday.
If not, you could always pick up a 5.25" drivebay mount for one of
the drives.
There are cases around here that you can pick up for $30 Cdn that
come with 350watt PSU (and you'll want to toss that PSU too!). They
hold plenty of drives and you can have a cheap-assed backup PSU that
you can hang onto just in case, or sell to get a few bucks back.
A decent tower case, here, costs about one third the price of a 40-GB
hard-disk. I have, nonetheless, kept kony's and your advice of getting
a new case as a last resort.
J
John
Yes. I think so. I have asked a friend to lend me his circuit driller,
which he'll this Saturday.
Ive also seen predrilled metal bars selling at places like Compusa. Im
sure you can find them on the net for cheap. They hang below your
bracket if you have room to hang a HD or whatever.
K
kony
Ive also seen predrilled metal bars selling at places like Compusa. Im
sure you can find them on the net for cheap. They hang below your
bracket if you have room to hang a HD or whatever.
Do they still sell Erector Sets?
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"(e-mail address removed)" typed:
I'll search for these pre-drilled metal bars you speak of in my
town's major computer market.
Anyway, many thanks to you, kony, Noozer, and Gerritjan.
Ive also seen predrilled metal bars selling at places like Compusa.
Im sure you can find them on the net for cheap. They hang below your
bracket if you have room to hang a HD or whatever.
I'll search for these pre-drilled metal bars you speak of in my
town's major computer market.
Anyway, many thanks to you, kony, Noozer, and Gerritjan.
J
John
Do they still sell Erector Sets?
Those erector sets would probably work.
I cant remember ever seeing one in a store though. Probably safety
concerns or something. I noticed the old chemistry sets seem to have
almost disappreared but I saw a stripped down version of one at
ToysRUs.
I saw this neat robotics set for $200 at ToysRUs. That would great for
a good if it didnt cost $200.
J
John
I saw this neat robotics set for $200 at ToysRUs. That would great for
a good if it didnt cost $200.
good = kid in that sentence. Sheesh my posts are getting to be
incomprehensible.
K
kony
good = kid in that sentence. Sheesh my posts are getting to be
incomprehensible.
LOL, I type so bad myself that I didn't even notice, it made perfect sense
to me.
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"Ayaz Ahmed Khan" typed:
I downloaded and read ST30015A's product and installation manual,
something I regret not doing quite earlier. It says that a minimum of
0.030-inch -- 0.76-mm -- of clearance between the drives should be
allowed for cooling.
I also realised, having read the manuals, that I had incorrectly set
the jumper on the drive. When I went into the chassis, I was shocked
to see the IDE1 interface cable connected the other way round --- the
black connector into the motherboard's socket, the blue in the Master
drive's. I set it right. By switching the two drives' position to
make it easier for the black and grey connectors to fit in, I was
able to manage a clearance gap of over 1.5-inch between the two
drives. I think that that solved my problem.
Should I set the jumper on my Master drive to "slave present", or
"Master" only? It's currently set to the latter state.
"(e-mail address removed)" typed:
I'll search for these pre-drilled metal bars you speak of in my
town's major computer market.
Anyway, many thanks to you, kony, Noozer, and Gerritjan.
I downloaded and read ST30015A's product and installation manual,
something I regret not doing quite earlier. It says that a minimum of
0.030-inch -- 0.76-mm -- of clearance between the drives should be
allowed for cooling.
I also realised, having read the manuals, that I had incorrectly set
the jumper on the drive. When I went into the chassis, I was shocked
to see the IDE1 interface cable connected the other way round --- the
black connector into the motherboard's socket, the blue in the Master
drive's. I set it right. By switching the two drives' position to
make it easier for the black and grey connectors to fit in, I was
able to manage a clearance gap of over 1.5-inch between the two
drives. I think that that solved my problem.
Should I set the jumper on my Master drive to "slave present", or
"Master" only? It's currently set to the latter state.
F
Forrest
If all else fails as far as mounting options .... you could always velcro or
duct tape a fan to blow between them. Wire it to 7 volts to keep the noise
down. Just a thought.
duct tape a fan to blow between them. Wire it to 7 volts to keep the noise
down. Just a thought.
A
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
"(e-mail address removed)" typed:
Yes. Both of them are on the same cable, one set to act as the master
drive, the other as the slave.
Thanks. I prefer it the other way round, though.
[...]
Should I set the jumper on my Master drive to "slave present", or
"Master" only? It's currently set to the latter state.
If they are both on one cable (master/slave) and there are settings
for master and master with slave present - than I guess sure it
makes sense to set it as master with slave , if you have a slave
drive on the same cable.
Yes. Both of them are on the same cable, one set to act as the master
drive, the other as the slave.
Most people just set everything to "cable select " then you dont
have problems when you move things around and forget what the jumper
settings are.
Thanks. I prefer it the other way round, though.