WD (not) aligning: consequences?

[OriginalName]

I installed and formatted a new WD disk (Caviar green) WD10EARS (1T) in my PC. OS is windows XP. The drive is a secondary drive (no OS), and I already copied ~500 GB onto it.
Only then did I learn that I should have run the align program.

What are the consequences of not running that program? Is my data safe? And can I run align with a non-empty drive?

Thanks!

 

[drescherjm]

What are the consequences of not running that program?

Slower reads and writes.

Is my data safe?

The safety level should be no different aligned or unaligned.

 

[Forceman]

WD also has a tool on their website to adjust the alignment. You have to have the drive registered (it is a limited download), but it will fix the alignment without re-formating.

 

[Aesma]

I haven't used WD align, but gparted, once, and it took forever for a drive with data. I had backups. A HDD is never "safe".

 

[OriginalName]

Registered HD, downloaded WD align.
Ran for about 4 hours, finished, everything seems OK.
Thanks!