may sound dumb, but can I lay my new we External hard drive on its side?

I got o new WD external hard drive in a metal/aluminum case. Just wondering, can I lay it on its side, rather than stand it up? It would take up less space. Also -- the manual says only to use the firewire cable it came with, but that's kind of short. Can I use another longer one, or will that hurt it?

No problem but make sure it cannot tumble over. Use a longer FW cable with iMac and no problems at all.

Thanks. Should I lay it on one side or the other ? I don't know from looking it the drive which is right side up, and I don't know if laying the disk upside down would make a difference.

Just keep in mind if there are cooling vents - they have to be kept free. Otherwise there should be no problem laying the drive on its side or using it vertically.

Further many of these cases come with stands for setting up on its side and Docks stand them upside down.