is there a way to lower the voltage so that not so much power is transferred to my HD so that it doesn't get too hot

Recently I set up my system with two IDE Hard Drives. The master is an old second-hand 40GB Western Digital, and the slave a newer 80GB Seagate. Now both these drives are right underneath next to each other as my drive bay is a metal frame for two HDs. The 40GB is used entirely for Windows and Programs, and the 80GB my own stuff. Now, what I've noticed is that, after running the system for about half-an-hour to an hour, the 40GB Western Digital gets REALLY hot. After about 2 hours it gets to the point where the HD gets so hot that if I hold my finger on the sides and bottom of the drive for about 4 seconds it will literally start to burn my finger so I have to let go! However the 80GB Seagate drive above is less hot which is 'normal', but still quite warm.

I checked the voltage the 40GB needs, which is +5 - 80, and +12 - 45. I checked this in the BIOS and it seems fine, reading: +5 4995v and +12 12,495v I think. I'm quite worried of having the machine on for more than 3 hours in case the thing melts! I know of fans you can buy, maybe I'll go for one of those later. But is there a way to lower the voltage so that not so much power is transferred to my HD so that it doesn't get too hot? And also is this a concern? Any help will be appreciated.

This question was answered on April 7, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Rmarchi

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Posted by ricardo of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on April 7, 2003

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