External Hard Drive question...

[I nick1257 I]

When i got my 500 gig WD external, I was downloading directly to my internal hard drive then copying to the external. This was so i was not running the hard drive all the time, I thought it might be safer. Then i talked to a friend who said he has almost the exact same hard drive but smaller and he keeps it running basically all day everyday. He has had it for 2 years and has had no problems. So now i run it, not half as much as he does but sometimes for longer then 24 hours at a time.

Is this bad? Should i continue to keep it turned on as little as possible or is it fine to let the bad boy just run?

Thanks for the help in advance.

Nick

[possessed]

I wouldn't worry about it. Both drives are the same, one just has a smaller, more poortable case.

[Jaggedblues]

I've been doing all my downloading and seeding off an external hard drive for over a year now. The drive has been running pretty much 24/7 for that whole time and is still going strong. And the drive was already about 4 years old before I even started using it for torrents.

So I certainly see no reason why a drive can't run all the time. But that said, be sure to always have a backup of everything on a drive to be on the safe side.

[Drewa311]

ive wondered this also is it like a car, i alsway kept my external running and cringe when turn it on and off,? becasue thats when most problems occor? kinda like a car az startup and shutdown is more strenuous than just letting it run, there are bearings in the HD that probably require significant usage too stay healthy, this could all be wrong. but i always kept mine running, and ive had no problems.

[fubar]

heat kills external hard drives

[Drewa311]

so do falls of a desk

thats why you install your drive inside your computer and keep a fan on it

i think lots of heat is given off by the chip/parts used to convert IDE to USB/Firewire

youll be all good either way...just make backups and keep them in a flood/fire free spot

anyone here have a literal VAULT...bank box...whatever? that you keep your backups in?

[mooncusser]

External drives are the exact same gear as internal drives, so technically they should be OK to run continuously. But most enclosures don't offer enough cooling for drives that are constantly spinning. I know mine get very warm during normal operation. WD external drives have a bit more ventilation with all the holes in the case, but I'd still d/l to the internal drive and offload to the external. (Plus you'll save electricity.)

[Andy Jackins]

ok,

i just got a new SimpeTech External and wanted to know if it's ok to torrent directly to the external hd? What are the Pros and Cons? If Any...

Thanks

[mooncusser]

http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54451

[Jerm]

I have a WD 2TB external set up in a RAID-1 config. This one (I think it's the 'Pro' edition...whatever) has a 'sleep' mode built into it or something. It hibernates after a certain period of not being accessed and I can't find anywhere that I'm able to change that setting. I like the idea that's it's hot-swappable should I lose a drive. I have the same deal in my tower with (2) 750GB Seagates as RAID-1, but it never 'sleeps'.
Also have a WD 500GB and (2) LaCie 250GB...none of which power down unless you flip the switch.
I'd love to have a Promise brand array of about 10 or so 750GB - 1TB drives, but that gets REALLY salty.