im thinking of buying an external hard-drive to keep mainly pictures on,it may not get used for months,does it have to stay pluged into mains or usb?? is ther any tips i need to know about them im not a pc boff by far..
2007-01-04 09:15:18 · 7 answers · asked by adam the fridge bloke 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
if the external HDD is connected through an USB port you can safely remove your HDD from your computer.......
also SATA HDD's are plug&play....
2007-01-04 09:55:23 · answer #1 · answered by e-kid 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. I have an external hard drive that I left off for well over 6 months and all of the data on it was fine after that time. Just make sure that you store the drive in the manufacturer suggested tempteratures so that it does not get damaged.
P.S. You can remove the drive with the system turned on as long as you turn the drive off prior to doing so. You can also hook it up with the system turned on.
2007-01-04 09:20:56 · answer #2 · answered by ncpropes 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An external hard drive can be disconnected from the computer (with the system off of course) when ever you like. External hard drives are also excellent for backing up data just in case one day your computer decides to misbehave or it gets a case of the flu (a virus/Trojan)
2007-01-04 09:20:03 · answer #3 · answered by kiliqui 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
External HDs don't need to be plugged in all the time, i recommend an 'ICY BOX' which can be bought from www.aria.co.uk. This is a external HD case which can accommodate any size HD, SATA or IDE. I've got a SATA andleave it plugged in via a port on the back of the puter. This allows me to switch on the box anytime i want.
2007-01-04 09:27:15 · answer #4 · answered by Nikon 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No you can plug it in to the PC and switch it off if you like. I got a Seagate 230GB drive from PC World about 6 weeks ago for about £79 good value. i took it to bits just to have a look and its got a Seagate Barracuda drive in it.
2007-01-04 09:21:30 · answer #5 · answered by Max 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it dosn't have to stay plugged in once the data has been transfered. Excellent way of protecting all of your data.
2007-01-04 09:21:57 · answer #6 · answered by Lewisthelab 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. You can unplug it or switch it off. It will last a lot longer switched off. Just don't drop it.
2007-01-04 09:20:36 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋