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    Leave external harddrive plugged in?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Rutagur, Feb 23, 2007.

  1. Rutagur

    Rutagur Notebook Enthusiast

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    This might be a silly question but:

    I know its bad to leave a notebook plugged in while its turned off as it will decrease the battery life.

    But, for a 3.5 external enclosured hdd, is there any difference in leaving the power cable plugged in even though the notebook is off as well as the hdd?
     
    Rutagur, Feb 23, 2007
    #1
  2. madroxinide

    madroxinide Notebook Deity

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    its bad to leave power cord plugged in while laptop is off? i didnt know this.
     
    madroxinide, Feb 24, 2007
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  3. Airman

    Airman Band of Gypsys NBR Reviewer

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    No there isn't.

    It's not bad to leave your notebook plugged in while it's off either infact. Your Lithium-Ion battery will deplete by itself irregardless. The only way to store a Lithium-Ion battery so it won't deplete quickly is to put it in a cold place such as a freezer (in a sealed bag ofcourse) while at 40% charge.
    Even doing so the battery will lose it's power over time, just slower. Thus there is no difference, it will deplete no matter what you do to it, just don't leave it in a hot place or near the sun.
     
    Airman, Feb 24, 2007
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  4. qohelet

    qohelet Senior Member

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    no not bad at all! :)
     
    qohelet, Feb 24, 2007
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  5. Mark

    Mark Desktop Debugger

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    It is bad to have your laptop plugged in not through a surge protector, or any electronics for that matter IMO. I have known a couple who have lost lots and lots of electronics when there house actually got struck by lightening and surged through the entire electrical system. So keep it plugged in, but keep it on a surge protector. And for the record, even if you have it plugged in through a surge protector, make sure you Ethernet, phone lines, and whatever is going into your desktop/laptop is protected as well.
     
    Mark, Feb 24, 2007
    #5
  6. Lil Mayz

    Lil Mayz Notebook Deity

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    Its not bad at all, but if you use it for backup purposes, I wouldnt leave it on all the time. There is a risk of power surge and plattter failiure. This is highly unlikely, and should only be considered when you want to protect your data carefully.
     
    Lil Mayz, Feb 24, 2007
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  7. Gautam

    Gautam election 2008 NBR Reviewer

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    Well, all hard drives have a certain life rating, so keep in mind that needlessly keeping it on not only wastes energy but decreases the life of your hard drive.
     
    Gautam, Feb 24, 2007
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  8. Iter

    Iter Notebook Evangelist

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    For the security and life time of an external hard drive, it is better to turn it off when you don't need to access the hard drive's data. I have 3 2.5" external hard drives and 2 3.5" external hard drives. The pictures I took from my DSLR camera, mp3 songs, important personal documentation, video and so on also save to the different hard drives. For safy situation, I often disconnect the power and USB cable until I need the data. So far all the hard drives are very good without any problem.
     
    Iter, Feb 24, 2007
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