HP 9114B Disk Drive Sensitive?

[rprosperi]

This is odd, but it does make some sense, as when the 911B is on the left of the monitor, the drive itself (inside the 9114B case) is quite close to the monitor, while on the right of the monitor, it is necessarily further away, by the width of the 9114B case.

Of course, old CRTs are known for strong EM emissions (compared to an LCD monitor) so this is almost certainly the cause.

Try running the drive on the left side with a 'shield' in between, made of several layers of aluminum foil (or some other thin metal plate if you have it) and see if it males a difference and this should confirm your suspicion.