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It seems the screw-holes on the HDD and the side don't align properly, so I can't put any screws in.

It's currently sitting on top of small clamps which are stick out a few millimeters on each side. It is a desktop machine with a classic 2000-era casing.

Is it necessary to screw in the 7200rpm HDD? What are the downsides?

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  • I've seen adhesive mounted drives (but be careful of cooling), and I've seen manufacturers strongly caution against forcing screws in where that could distort the casting.
    – Chris Stratton
    Dec 10, 2013 at 17:50
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    Are you sure you're not putting a HDD inside a floppy drive bay?
    – Journeyman Geek ♦
    Dec 11, 2013 at 16:06

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This seems to me to be one of those questions that on the one hand is interesting, and on the other hand appears to be largely irrelevant.

Is it a new drive? Then try mounting it in another case, and if it doesn't fit any better there, return it to the manufacturer or reseller for a warranty replacement, as it should pretty clearly have failed quality assurance checking. Who knows what might be lurking in less obvious places?

Is it an old drive? Consider using a set of 5.25"-to-3.5" mounting brackets to mount it in a 5.25" slot; those will probably give you a little more leeway in screw placement, and if you really want to, you might even be able to drill custom holes. Either way, get the data off the drive and get a properly constructed drive to replace it as per the above.

Is it necessary to screw in the 7200rpm HDD? What are the downsides?

The platters of a 7200 rpm drive spin at 120 revolutions per second. While in practice the risk should be minimal (quite a few custom-built PCs start out with the disk drives simply laying flat on a non-conductive surface), the turbulence caused by this could conceivably cause out-of-spec vibrations, particularly if the hard disk casing itself is in any way deformed or bent (which could very well be the case if the screws don't fit).

Bottom line: it should be reasonably safe to run the drive without securing it with mounting screws for a reasonably brief period of time, but if it was me and my data, I wouldn't do it as any sort of permanent solution.

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    More likely the case is out of alignment (cheap aluminium). In my experience it's fine to run them without screws until you forget when moving the computer, at which point it can rattle around and damage things.
    – pjc50
    Dec 11, 2013 at 16:08
  • @pjc50 If you have a different opinion, you really should post it as an answer separate from mine rather than as a comment.
    – user
    Dec 11, 2013 at 16:12
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You need to mount it in there somewhere in the long term, unless it's a SDD. You could probably do what I did and rig some old erector set parts to align with the holes. If you do this, MAKE SURE that the disk is secure, and again, you really should get a more proper solution (like mounting brackets) in the long term. I did this with a floppy drive, which is far less important should it go wrong than a HDD. Also, be sure that your erector set parts do not have any magnetic properties, like some off-brand products i've seen.

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  • I wouldn't want a SSD rattling around inside the case either. Even if we ignore for a second the risk of short-circuiting something else inside the case, the connectors simply aren't designed for that sort of treatment.
    – user
    Dec 25, 2013 at 21:15

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