External Hard Drive

[codswallop]

At the risk of becoming a bore with ref. to my previous post.As I use the h/drive as a cover for my pc in the eventually of something going wrong,would it be advisable to unplug it after my weekly "top up" as I have been doing? But to remember to plug it in when necessary.Or am I being too cautious? Thanks !

[bhg481]

It's not really necessary to unplug it but at the same time it's no use plugged in if you're not using it. Having it plugged in means it's using electricity (not a lot) and generally wearing the disc (again, not a lot because the heads aren't being moved around). I usually unplug any discs that I'm not using but don't get paranoid about it.

[Fitzer]

But for a backup to be secure it should not be attached to the computer when not in use, the encryption viruses will encrypt and drive attached. Also if it's attached then any accident which might befall your computer could damage your backup, ultra caution would be to store it somewhere away from your house but a sensible compromise might be to keep it in a different room.

[fender62]

i do backups for new files when i have them, otherwise i just put the drive away, and remembering to disconnect it properly.

[codswallop]

Thanks to you both.