Is it OK to leave an external drive bay on all the time?

[Kelemvor]

So I have a drive bay sort of like this one:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/14291552

I have a laptop that I use as a backup machine but its hard drive is too small. I want to connect this device and then stick a 2 TB drive in it to give the backups more space. Is there any issues with leaving one of these things on all the time? I wouldn't think it does anything to the drive that wouldn't be done with the computer being on all the time anyway but just wanted to check what everyone thought.

Thanks,
Kel

UPDATE posted down below: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2429474#21

 

[Ichinisan]

If the drive is constantly busy, cooling might be an issue.

 

[lxskllr]

If the drive is constantly busy, cooling might be an issue.

I don't think that'll be an issue with the linked bay. It's nice and open, so heat shouldn't get trapped. The biggest danger is knocking it on the floor.

 

[mmntech]

The problem with these USB drives is they don't spin down when not in use. Just runs at full tilt all the time, even if the host computer isn't turned on. They still haven't figured that out.

 

[Zodiark1593]

The problem with these USB drives is they don't spin down when not in use. Just runs at full tilt all the time, even if the host computer isn't turned on. They still haven't figured that out.

I don't seem to have that issue with mine. Have a 2TB WD Green drive in a cheapie Sabrent enclosure connected vie eSATA. When I haven't accessed anything on it for awhile, then go to do so, I can definitely hear the drive spin up (unknown if fully stopped, or simply at lower speed). Had it on full time underneath my bed for about a year before moving it to my new desk. Some 15k hours on, but less than 50 power ons.

Read/Write speed on said drive is actually quite fast, typically up in the 150MB/sec range when transferring video files to and from my laptop (with SSD). Beats out USB 2.0 several times over, which is nice as I don't have USB 3.0.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I just don't do that as a rule.

I have a pile of Thermaltake Silver-River external aluminum boxes stacked up here on my desk -- originally all USB2. Can't remember the model code: it was a very good external box kit for its time, well-ventilated and big enough to fit in a regular size DVD-burner if wanted. It was easy to convert a few to eSATA, using the same power supply in the external box. Either way, I only leave them connected and turned on as long as the drive is in use for backup. I'd seen too many of these devices go south after being left on 24/7 for months at a time.

The "docking station" may run cool, but I'd apply the same rule.

My practice is completely different for hot-swap caddies and bays. They're powered by the computer; all the essential cable connections are persistent; you can swap them in and out with "Safely Remove . . . " Such a drive-in-caddy should function no differently than the computer's internal HDDs -- when connected.

 

[KentState]

I've had a 2TB WD Black in an external closer for over 4 years connected to my NAS. I back up to it nightly and run a full SMART scan once a week. Had a similar setup with a enclosure and 1TB drive hooked up to my DVR for 3 years before the drive failed.

 

[Kelemvor]

Thanks for all the input so far. I guess my other option is to take my existing Desktop that I use as my Media Server and add something so I can add more SATA drives to it and connect one up that way. Just figured a laptop would be nice as it's smaller and would use less power and I have a bunch of old ones laying around.

 

[Data-Medics]

If you don't mind the extra electricity usage, then leaving them on all the time is just fine. In fact they may actually last longer that way. Most studies have found that heat has very little if any effect on the longevity of drives (within reasonable limits). In fact some studies of S.M.A.R.T. data collected from thousands of drives actually showed that drives which run marginally hotter tend to last a bit longer.

Power cycling drives actually is quite taxing on them. Each time they start up they have to read the service area to load the FW overlays which can eventually lead to service area damage or corruption and make the drive fail. This is why even in my NAS units here I keep them set so they only power off & back on once a day instead of constantly going into suspend.

 

[Kelemvor]

If a drive is inside a desktop computer but the computer is on all the time, is that drive treated any differently than if it's in one of these devices and left on all the time?

 

[Data-Medics]

Depends on your power settings. By default, Windows will usually put the drive to sleep after a set amount of time. However the setting can easily be changed in the CP.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Depends on your power settings. By default, Windows will usually put the drive to sleep after a set amount of time. However the setting can easily be changed in the CP.

I would assume Windows also does this for eSATA drives too. I noticed with my USB drive though, it doesn't spin down. A USB limitation, or perhaps just the drive itself?

 

[VirtualLarry]

The problem with these USB drives is they don't spin down when not in use. Just runs at full tilt all the time, even if the host computer isn't turned on. They still haven't figured that out.

Yes, they have. This one is power-saving.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182347

 

[tidy]

.

 

[Kelemvor]

I don't have the actual dock I linked above. Just one of that style. I don't know if it has eSata or not. I'll have to check it out when I get home if I remember.

Thanks.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I won't discount what others have said here in praise of 24/7 external drive "usage" in a powered-on state.

I will say that I've seen two older-gen external USB2 boxes fail after being used like that, but of course, it was a matter of "drive failure" and not necessarily that of the enclosure.

That being said, Chris at Cove-Cube tech-support (StableBit DrivePool) told me they discourage use of these single external drive storage solutions as part of any "pool" -- because USB connections weren't always as reliable as SATA (or eSATA).

Now . . it might be an issue of your typical "DIY" external drive "Kit" versus the complete product from WD or others. I couldn't say, and the latest spate of products may be totally reliable. But also, there's the "heat" factor: I have "very-well-ventilated" external Silver-River (thermaltake) aluminum boxes. The drive temperature in those boxes is always higher than those of internal drives in the case -- I'd have to check'n'test again -- but I think at least 10 to 15C higher.

I could simply recommend folks to choose bay-and-caddy solutions if you plan to leave the drive powered for longer periods of time. But you're going to spend at least $30+ for a single Bay+Caddy, and at least 2/3 that price for additional caddies. It would be a pricey decision if the plan involved using several bays in the same case. Less so -- to replace a single external drive of either USB or eSATA flavor.

These have always been good for me, though:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817998010

Some criticize the fans, but those are replaceable. You could even disconnect them with the proper overall case-cooling strategy. I've had maybe one out of five caddies with a noisy 40mm fan. They're equipped with two fans each.

 

[corkyg]

It should work OK - but it is not something I would do. I have 5 external drives on two PCs, one of which is a laptop. I only turn them on when I want to use them, and then only the one I want to use.

One gets used every morning for about 15 minutes. The others maybe once a week. Three of them are Vantec NexStar cases connected eSATA. Two are commercially packaged. All are over 3 years old.

 

[Kelemvor]

I ended up finding I had one more drive slot in my "server" so I was able add a second drive to that one so I won't need to do this after all.

But lots of good info here. Thanks all!

 

[SeanFL]

One other thing to consider. If you're using it as a backup or archive device, you might want to power it down. Had a client that got hit with cryptowall ransomware and it encrypted every drive it could find; local and network. If that USB had been turned off, the files would have been safe.

 

[DrMrLordX]

So what happens if you have an SSD in an external USB enclosure? Obviously it's not going to say "spinning" all the time - there're no moving parts. Is there any additional wear on the flash thanks to it being in an enclosure for similar reasons?

 

[Kelemvor]

Finally got around to setting something up and I foudn that my drive DOES spin down when it's not in use. When I want to access it there is then a bit of a delay as it spins it back up and gets everything working again.

Based on this I think I'd be fine to leave this on all the time. I'm using it as a media storage drive connected to a laptop running Plex. The laptop drive is too small to hold much but I put a 2TB drive in the external drive thing and plex pulls from that.

I guess I'll just let it run and if the drive dies early I'll know to find a different solution next time around.

 

[AlienTech]

You can use deveject, which will power down the drive as it disconnects the USB interface and goes into power save mode. You have an option to enable USB power saving and disconnection..

When you want to use it, you have to replug the device which will activate the port. Its a small program that sits in the icon notification area..

Manually connecting, unplugging and moving are not recommended.. I dont think electrically turning things on and off causes as many problems and the money you save in electricity bills would make up for the cost of the drive in a few years. It is a concern as leaving them on would give a longer life.. But the saving would make up for the shorter life span and be more reliable than actual manual disconnection.. I have lost more drives during this phase than all the other drive loses. So if you have the space just leave it connected and use windows itself to shut down the drive power.