External HD reliability

[lupi]

Had to buy a new router and it has the usb/connect hard drive feature. How safe is it to leave one power on at all times now, thought previously that was a key cause of failure?


Normally I plug it into a tertiary machine that I also have a long term storage folder and sync them every so often. I'd probably back up more often with this, but that doesn't do any good if it dies quicker.

 

[Andle Riddum]

you ought to check how hot it gets, anything over 45 degrees celcius is bad