Stupid Question... I can take it

I have over at least two dozen LaCie Rugged USB-C 2 TB External Hard Drives that are used for Time Machine and RAW CR2 Files.
Raw Files in Lightroom starting from 2003 to present and at two different homes, they certainly multiply.
While only two drives can be connected to my iMac with 2 USB-C ports, the others are securely put away in their own boxes and stored away in each home.
Now for the stupid question....... does it matter if I have the Drives stored in boxes with plastic insert to prevent sliding inside, flat on their back stacked three or four high like when using the drive, or upright like they are sitting on the shelf at the store?....
I know a stupid question..... but I’m stupid.

Makes no difference how you store them. To further expand, there are many PC's where the drives are installed vertically and operate that way without issue.

Nick5 wrote in post #19185575
I have over at least two dozen LaCie Rugged USB-C 2 TB External Hard Drives that are used for Time Machine and RAW CR2 Files.
Raw Files in Lightroom starting from 2003 to present and at two different homes, they certainly multiply.
While only two drives can be connected to my iMac with 2 USB-C ports, the others are securely put away in their own boxes and stored away in each home.
Now for the stupid question....... does it matter if I have the Drives stored in boxes with plastic insert to prevent sliding inside, flat on their back stacked three or four high like when using the drive, or upright like they are sitting on the shelf at the store?....
I know a stupid question..... but I’m stupid.

The LaCie drives are excellent and are quite rugged so the storage method probably doesn't matter, and I doubt that anyone has done a study of horizontal vs. vertical. Of more importance is the data retention of the drives. An unplugged drive can lose the data over time. How much time? It is an arguable quantity. Seek some answers and you will soon find there is no clear cut life of a drive. See https://www.prosofteng​.com …-long-do-hard-drives-last for some discussion.

My 2012 Lacie 4TB has been in its upright position for 8 years now with no issues. Knock on wood!

You can use them in either configuration. RAID enclosures commonly have the 4+ drive bays oriented on their sides (like books on a shelf), and RAID setups are used specifically for the purpose of redundant backups. Here's one of many examples of this configuration: https://eshop.macsales​.com/item/OWC/TB2IVT24​.0S/