Running External Drive 24/7
Running External Drive 24/7
Is it okay to leave an external drive powered on all the time? I'm not writing to/reading from it all the time; actually now that I've put what I wanted to on it (movies and anime) I'm not going to be reading to/writing from it frequently at all. Nevertheless, I don't want to kill it. The drive sits on top of my Thermaltake Armor case in a room that is almost always air conditioned (dorms FTW, just this once).
Play
Q6600 @ 3.2GHz :: 8GB DDR2-800 :: eVGA 9800GX2 :: 7900GTX (secondary) :: abit IP35 Pro :: 150GB Raptor 10k RPM :: 2x750GB WD Caviar :: 120GB WD :: X-Fi XtremeMusic :: NEC 4551A :: BenQ DVD Combodrive (52x32x52) :: Dual 22" Acer AL2216W :: Thermaltake Armor Black :: Logitech Z5500 5.1
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Core 2 Duo @ 2.53GHz :: 4GB DDR3 @ 1067MHz :: 3670 :: Intel PM45 Chipset :: 500GB 5400RPM SATA :: Integrated Audio :: BD-ROM/DVD Burner :: 16" 1920x1080 RGBLED
Q6600 @ 3.2GHz :: 8GB DDR2-800 :: eVGA 9800GX2 :: 7900GTX (secondary) :: abit IP35 Pro :: 150GB Raptor 10k RPM :: 2x750GB WD Caviar :: 120GB WD :: X-Fi XtremeMusic :: NEC 4551A :: BenQ DVD Combodrive (52x32x52) :: Dual 22" Acer AL2216W :: Thermaltake Armor Black :: Logitech Z5500 5.1
Work
Core 2 Duo @ 2.53GHz :: 4GB DDR3 @ 1067MHz :: 3670 :: Intel PM45 Chipset :: 500GB 5400RPM SATA :: Integrated Audio :: BD-ROM/DVD Burner :: 16" 1920x1080 RGBLED
Re: Running External Drive 24/7
Is it in its own caddy with external power or something? What interface is it connected with?
My WD MyBook with external power spins down when the PC is off, so it's left on at the wall all the time.
Dan
My WD MyBook with external power spins down when the PC is off, so it's left on at the wall all the time.
Dan
(<- Clickable)
Re: Running External Drive 24/7
I leave my 3.5" external running 24/7. It has its own power supply, I also have a 2.5" drive that I leave hooked up 24/7. I have automated backups run to it.
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
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Re: Running External Drive 24/7
If you can feel is vibrating after like 30 minutes of inactivity turn it off. I use a Tagan Icy Box IB390 has an off switch in the back. I generally keep it off unless I need it, it spins down but it's got my OP Sys backup on it. If I get hit by a bad virus and it's on that might not be good.
For data and music though if it spins down it shouldn't be an issue.
For data and music though if it spins down it shouldn't be an issue.
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Bio-Hazard
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Re: Running External Drive 24/7
The external drive cases I've seen run a bit warmer that a internal drive with halfway good air flow, I myself switch mine off when not in use (3 of them). But I'm also all about saving power when I can as well.
Re: Running External Drive 24/7
Same as Dan, I've got Western Digital My Books and the hard drives power down after they're not in use for some time so I just leave them on 24/7.
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Antec P182 / Corsair 550VX / Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R / Core 2 Duo E7200 @ 2.53 / Wintec AMPX 2x2GB DDR2 800 / Sapphire 100233L Radeon HD 3450 / WD Caviar SE16 750GB x3 / WD Caviar GP 750GB / Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A x2 / XP Pro SP2
unRAID Server
Antec 300 / Corsair 520HX / Abit AB9 Pro / Celeron 430 @ 1.80 / Kingston ValueRAM 2x1GB DDR2 667 / ATI Rage XL / Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB x9 / unRAID 4.3.3
Re: Running External Drive 24/7
I've got a Seagate 320gb external drive and it doesnt seem like the thing ever shuts down while the computer is running, I used to have a WD My Book 250gb drive and you could hear that power down after about 10-15 mins of inactivity. I wonder, like the poster was originally inquiring, if it is significantly more burdensome to have the hd running all the time, if so maybe I should unplug it when I'm not using it for a while... any suggestions?