external hard drive question

G

Gary007

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May 17, 2002
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finally bought an external hard drive (a Maxtor 80gb). Are they built and designed to remain on all the time? Or should you unplug it when done?
 
I don't see how keeping it plugged in would hurt it any. I really doubt it would be desinged so that you need to unplug it after each use, and then remember to plug it back when needed again.
 
Some people who use an external hard drive for backup keep it unplugged as much as possible so the power surge that destroys the computer won't destroy the backup too. Of course the power surge could come while you're updating the backup, but if you use two or more external drives for backup and only plug in one at a time ...
 
It's designed to be kept on most of the time. If you want extra safety just plug it into a different power point with a good surge protector.
 
Most modern hard drives spin down (the motor stops) anyway after a while so if you're worried about wear on the motor that's not really an issue.
 
it think it should be fine if you leave it on but i wouldnt just in case. i checked in my fantom drives manual and they say not to leave it on. i dont becasue i just use it for backup like your maxtor is probobly used for, right? so i just turn it off when i get up. and do you manually need to un-plug it or is there a switch on the back.
 
HI chazz,
i guess my main concern is the slight heat that it generates, and it's always turning, i can feel the slight vibration. Worried about wear and tear i suppose.

I would have to unplug it, there is no switch. (is that bad?)

Yeah, mainly my C: and D: drives were filling up with Mp3's and photos. I even have a few programs that I can run from that external drive with no problems. Pretty spiffy and was easy to install, just plugs in. Good deal.

chazz said:
it think it should be fine if you leave it on but i wouldnt just in case. i checked in my fantom drives manual and they say not to leave it on. i dont becasue i just use it for backup like your maxtor is probobly used for, right? so i just turn it off when i get up. and do you manually need to un-plug it or is there a switch on the back.
Click to expand...
 
I helped design that drive, I would turn it off when not in use. They don't go into power modes, and the heat generated internally will shorten it's life ( a year out of five or something).

We used to cook them down (literally), over a weekend.
 
it is not bad that it doesnt have a switch just a little easier to flick the switch on the back to turn it off.
 
thanks for your response, but i am not sure i completely understood it.

are you saying if this drive is left on, it will last one year, and typically they only last 5 years?

and what does "cook them down" mean?

Is there a drive which is better?

But thanks for your response, I will unplug it when I'm done. :)

jimmyjones said:
I helped design that drive, I would turn it off when not in use. They don't go into power modes, and the heat generated internally will shorten it's life ( a year out of five or something).

We used to cook them down (literally), over a weekend.
Click to expand...
 
I was only involved in the early development, and haven't been around them for a year. So I’m sure they’ve improved dramatically, they sell a boat load of them.

The older models didn't have fans, I understand the new ones do, as heat is an issue. Depending on orientation, upright or on its belly, and air flow, all the junk on my desk was a bad, they would start developing problems rather rapidly, like over the weekend, granted we where a little rougher on them than an average consumer, but we still broke em. In continuous use they generated more heat than the package could get rid of. I’m sure the fan helps, but it’s a desktop drive which, in that (desktop) application, uses low power & idle modes to reduce power in a high air flow environment. I’m not sure about the modes on the USB inplimentation, and it’s a small case.



I have 1, and most I work with have 1. It’s a great product for back up and offline storage, I just wouldn’t recommend running it 24/7.



About the life, they’re expected to last for about 5 years in normal operation, in a desktop, running it 24/7 may shorten its life by a year, to 4, barring anything catastrophic.



I’m just paranoid, cause I work in the industry and all I get to see are the problems, not the sucsess, and I always spin down my drives.
 
thanks for your answers.

I do have another question. Everytime I re-plug it in, it goes into an Auto-Play mode, and it also appears to take an inventory of all the files. Is there a way to bypass these two processes?
 
They seem like OS stuff, I'm a hardware weenie. Just like on the CD ROM there's an auto insert notification which lets it "auto start", I think you can disable it. The file thing may be Windows "indexing service" part of "find fast", with the unit plugged in you can check its properties and see if its enabled.

http://www.tweak3d.net/

These guys are as geeky about computers as we are about knives, you might find some help out in one of the various geek sites. :eek:
 
I see the benifit of an external HD is that you can remove it an put in a fire proof box
 
I am assuming that you have windows XP. When you insert a new media into your computer, whether it's a CD, pen drive, or external hard drive, windows does a quick search to see what is on the media. If it finds primarily pictures, it offers picture based Auto-Start options; if it finds a movie it offers movie based Auto-Start options, and so on. Simply disabling this Auto-Start feature will get rid of any initial probing that windows does on the drive.

Hope that helps,
Duffin
 
:( cant help you with that i am a mac user

try and troobleshoot it, or call either microsoft or maxtor and speak to a tech guy.
 
Sorry about resurrecting such an old thread, but I just bought a Maxtor 300 gig external (my third Maxtor) and, due to the shape of this one, I'm wondering: does it make a difference whether it is used in a vertical or horizontal position? (The set-up manual shows 'vertical')
 
cockroachfarm said:
Sorry about resurrecting such an old thread, but I just bought a Maxtor 300 gig external (my third Maxtor) and, due to the shape of this one, I'm wondering: does it make a difference whether it is used in a vertical or horizontal position? (The set-up manual shows 'vertical')
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. It should work fine in either position. Just make sure it isn't upside down. Can't imagine drives run long that way.
 
G3 said:
No it doesn't. It should work fine in either position. Just make sure it isn't upside down. Can't imagine drives run long that way.
Click to expand...

Thanks! LOL - doesn't work well with cars, either!
 
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