External HDD

Hello all,
Is it OK to leave the power supply on for your external HDD, or should I unplug it when not in use, I felt the top of the case and is was rather warm, I do not want to burn it out or anything like that.

It is just a backup, and a place for me to move files to from my main HDD for backup, and storage.

George

 

well it shouldnt hurt the drive or data, but it will obviously not last as long if you have it on constantly. If you do want to leave it on, find out the manufacturers warranty policy to see if they'll replace it if it decides to dye early.

 

I have an 80 gb WD external harddrive an leave in on almost all of the time, just make sure there is nothing blocking it on all sides(almost a year i have had it) no problems.

 

I have a Western Digital 160 gig hard drive, but it has an on/off switch button so of course I turn it off. I have had no problems with it unlike the Maxtor that my husband owned before I bought this one. The store I bought the WD in is not selling Maxtor any longer due to the high volume of returns with drive problems.

Regards

 

I bought a maxtor external and there is not a power switch on it. I don't think it is necessary to run all the time if you don't use it. I bought a $10 power bar with a rocker switch on it and screwed it to the wall and now turn it on and off from there.