External Hard Drives

  • Thread starter Thread starter AxeMan
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AxeMan

Where Can I find the proper step by step procedure for connecting an
external at boot up and disconnecting at shut down ?? TIA
 
AxeMan said:
Where Can I find the proper step by step procedure for connecting an
external at boot up and disconnecting at shut down ?? TIA
Click to expand...

?? Plug in the external drive, turn it on, turn on your computer. Or turn on
your computer, turn on the external drive, plug it in. Your choice.

When you want to shut down, either use the "Safely Remove Hardware" button
in the Notification Area to remove the external. When it is safe to remove
it, unplug it, turn it off, shut down the machine. Or shut down the
machine, turn off the external, unplug it.

Malke
 
?? Plug in the external drive, turn it on, turn on your computer. Or turn on
your computer, turn on the external drive, plug it in. Your choice.

When you want to shut down, either use the "Safely Remove Hardware" button
in the Notification Area to remove the external. When it is safe to remove
it, unplug it, turn it off, shut down the machine. Or shut down the
machine, turn off the external, unplug it.

Malke
Click to expand...

Thank you. One last question. Is it necessary to unplug the USB cable from
the computer USB port or can I leave it in after going through the "safely
remove hardware" process ? Thanks again
 
AxeMan wrote:

Thank you. One last question. Is it necessary to unplug the USB cable
from
the computer USB port or can I leave it in after going through the
"safely
remove hardware" process ? Thanks again
Click to expand...

"Safely remove hardware" means that you unplug the USB connector from the
computer. So no, you wouldn't leave it in. Is there some reason you're
going through all this? Like your computer won't boot with this USB drive
plugged in?

If not, just leave the USB drive plugged in all the time. If it is something
like a Western Digital MyBook, it will turn itself off when the computer is
off anyway.

If you want more specific advice, please tell me why you want to do this,
what the external drive is, and whether you have a laptop.

Malke
 
AxeMan said:
Thank you. One last question. Is it necessary to unplug the USB cable from
the computer USB port or can I leave it in after going through the "safely
remove hardware" process ? Thanks again
Click to expand...

You do not have to remove it
and when you reboot the machine, it will come back
 
AxeMan said:
Thank you. One last question. Is it necessary to unplug the USB cable
from
the computer USB port or can I leave it in after going through the
"safely
remove hardware" process ? Thanks again
Click to expand...

You don't have to disconnect it. However external drives are not
intended to be operated for long periods. The cooling in USB
drive enclosures isn't the best, and the drive may reach elevated
temperatures that could affect the drive's operational life if left
running for extended periods. If the drive has a separate power
supply that you shut off after "Safely Remove", there's no problem.
 
[email protected] said:
AxeMan wrote:



"Safely remove hardware" means that you unplug the USB connector from the
computer. So no, you wouldn't leave it in. Is there some reason you're
going through all this? Like your computer won't boot with this USB drive
plugged in?

If not, just leave the USB drive plugged in all the time. If it is something
like a Western Digital MyBook, it will turn itself off when the computer is
off anyway.

If you want more specific advice, please tell me why you want to do this,
what the external drive is, and whether you have a laptop.

Malke
Click to expand...

I have two WD Element drives (250gb/500gb). Each has its own power
supply. It's a desktop system. I do lots of music downloads from newsgroups
and I want to check and see if i have a CD/Album before downloading. I've
always left the USB cables plugged in after I shut off the power.
I boot the computer, plug in the external power supply and have always got
the icon showing the external drive. I was reading in some forum about
people losing data because of improper procedures when powering up and
shuting down. I wanted to check with the resident experts to try and eliminate
any potential problems and keep the drives working as long as possible.
Appreciate your advice.
 
AxeMan said:
I have two WD Element drives (250gb/500gb). Each has its own power
supply. It's a desktop system. I do lots of music downloads from
newsgroups
and I want to check and see if i have a CD/Album before downloading. I've
always left the USB cables plugged in after I shut off the power.
I boot the computer, plug in the external power supply and have always got
the icon showing the external drive. I was reading in some forum about
people losing data because of improper procedures when powering up and
shuting down. I wanted to check with the resident experts to try and
eliminate any potential problems and keep the drives working as long as
possible. Appreciate your advice.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the clarification. There is no need for you to disconnect
these external drives. Simply shut down the computer when you want to. If
the external drives stay on when the computer is off, turn them off to
conserve power. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

Malke
 
Thank you for the clarification. There is no need for you to disconnect
these external drives. Simply shut down the computer when you want to. If
the external drives stay on when the computer is off, turn them off to
conserve power. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

Malke
Click to expand...


Thank you for your responses.
 
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