Can excessive load/unload cycles cause a drive to die early? Absolutely. However, the tricky thing is quantifying what number constitutes "excessive". I couldn't find a solid data sheet for your particular drive, but other Hitachi 3TB drives are rated for 600,000 load/unload cycles. You have a ways to go before you hit that number. Based on your usage (10 power ons per hour), you would have to run the drive for 6.8 years before you hit 600,000.