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Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 11:40 am
by serpico
Do you leave your drive on, so that whenever your laptop is connected and turned on, the usb drive is on?
I only turn my usb drive on when I need it, so it mostly remains off. I suppose if I wasn't worried about the heat buildup in an external enclosure with no fan, I'd leave it on more often.
Because I'm reluctant to leave the usb drive on all the time, I tend to fill up my laptop drive quickly and need more space, so I'm thinking of getting a larger laptop drive. But of course I could get much more GB/$ if I went with a larger 3.5" drive in an external enclosure. Sorry, a bit rambling here. Just wondering if leaving your usb drive on whenever your laptop is on is bad for the life of the drive.
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 11:44 am
by Neil
I only connect my external drive when I need it.
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:58 pm
by killer
Neil wrote:I only connect my external drive when I need it.
Same here.
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 5:29 pm
by sarbin
same here, also. only connect usb drives when needed.
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 5:31 pm
by killer
I agree. Connect when needed and then disconnect.
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:22 am
by serpico
Why not just leave them plugged in (so they turn on whenever the computer is on), especially if using a 5400rpm drive?
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:06 pm
by sarbin
'spose you could, but...
i only use external drives with my laptops for archiving or backups and such, so i don't access them everyday. no need for them to load up the power-on hours or risk forgetting it's attached and pulling it off the desk when grabbing the machine to go mobile. a friend did that once. the drive went flying, hit a wall and then the floor, and, no real surprise, it never worked again. it also damaged one of the laptop's usb port in the process.
ooops!
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:31 pm
by robert213
serpico wrote:Why not just leave them plugged in (so they turn on whenever the computer is on), especially if using a 5400rpm drive?
While editting videos with Adobe Premeire, I used to leave my USB external drive connected to my port replicator everyday.
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 11:31 am
by Colonel O'Neill
I tend to forget and leave drives plugged in indefinitely. I'll remember once the whooshing drive sounds get annoying.
Re: Q. for users of USB drives
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 11:52 am
by sarbin
robert213 wrote:While editting videos with Adobe Premeire, I used to leave my USB external drive connected to my port replicator everyday.
attached to a port replicator makes good sense.