Leave my External HD powered Up with Computer??

[richinstlouis]

I recehtly bought a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop AND a Seagate Free Agent 500GB External Hd for backing up.

Since I still have plenty of HD in the 'puter, I am only using the Seagate for backups.

Should I leave the Seagate connected to its power supply and a USB port at all times or only when I know a scheduled backup is coming up?

 

[CapitalData]

The answer is no. Why leaving it on? It gets hot, wears.
Just connect it when you need it.

Best Regards,
Karen
Capita Data Recovery Inc.

http://www.capitaldatarecovery.com

 

[jlockley]

a tip is to put your externals on a power strip which you can switch off when leaving the office. Saves power and saves wear on the periferals, including external drives. This does not work as well with older OS's as with new ones.

 

[wahnula]

WARNING! Be sure to "Safely Remove Hardware" using the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the SysTray before shutting down or disconnecting any external drive.

I have had "delayed write failure" as recently as this morning when the USB drive was inadvertently disconnected while being written to. 138 files in a specific folder were corrupted due to me fiddling with the connector during backup. No harm was done in this case (deleted the folder and re-ran the backup), but still a reminder is due about this important step.

My home backup drive stays OFF between attended backups, but my office backup drives are left running for unattended backup. Turning a drive OFF saves energy and parks the head, making for greater data safety and longer drive life, but you need to remember to run backups!

If you're the forgetful sort leave it running, a backup drive is only good if it's used!

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[CapitalData]

Agree 100% with Tony! That is a must!

Best Regards,
Karen
Capita Data Recovery Inc.

http://www.capitaldatarecovery.com