is more reliable external usb hard disk with or without power button?

[mantra]

Hi

is more reliable external usb hard disk with or without power button?

i bough a new without power button , and i don't know how saftly power off keeping my pc on

is really more safe for example WESTERN DIGITAL My Book Essential 2Tb USB 3.0 for 128,50EUR then WESTERN DIGITAL Elements Desktop 1,5TB 113,50EUR?

thanks
cheers

[RADEON0101]

Originally Posted by mantra

Hi

is more reliable external usb hard disk with or without power button?

i bough a new without power button , and i don't know how saftly power off keeping my pc on

is really more safe for example WESTERN DIGITAL My Book Essential 2Tb USB 3.0 for 128,50EUR then WESTERN DIGITAL Elements Desktop 1,5TB 113,50EUR?

thanks
cheers

Think of it as your internal hard drive, when you hit shutdown computer and hit the off switch on the power bar, you are shutting your internal that way. It's always running, but it switches off when you power down. Look how long your internal has lasted. Think of that same concept, but with your external drive, it will operate in the same sense.

I wouldn't worry about it, you should be fine.

Does your external drive have a good enclosure, and does it have an internal cooling unit/fan?

[mantra]

Originally Posted by RADEON0101

Does your external drive have a good enclosure, and does it have an internal cooling unit/fan?

hi Radeon0101

i don't know about internal cooling unit/fan , the drive it's very silent, quiet


but about WESTERN DIGITAL My Book Essential 2t usb3 (i would use in usb2) has a power button , i guess so i can turn on/off when i want


WESTERN DIGITAL Elements Desktop 1.5t usb hasn't a turn on/off button
i don't keep it always on , so to turn on what should i do?
plug the ac power ? and to shut down use the windows 7 hardware remove , disconnect and disconnect the ac power?
it does seem safe , doesn't?

thanks
cheers

[Robin A.]

I prefer a disk with power button, especially if it is permanently connected to the computer. I use external disks only sporadically, mainly to create backups and restore images, and don´t see the point of having a disk powered on during 8 or 10hours, to use it only for five minutes. It is also a waste of energy.

[mantra]

Originally Posted by Robin A.

I prefer a disk with power button, especially if it is permanently connected to the computer. I use external disks only sporadically, mainly to create backups and restore images, and don´t see the point of having a disk powered on during 8 or 10hours, to use it only for five minutes. It is also a waste of energy.

does the wd need software installed to use the power button

i read lots of review ,some say there is no power button ,other say need the software installed to use the power button (that's very fragile)

thanks

[RADEON0101]

A power button is a better choice in my opinion. But, if it doesn't have a power button, I would safely remove the drive when you're done with it. This can be done with the built in Windows Safely Remove feature.

[mantra]

Originally Posted by RADEON0101

A power button is a better choice in my opinion. But, if it doesn't have a power button, I would safely remove the drive when you're done with it. This can be done with the built in Windows Safely Remove feature.

thanks
and about the power?
i mean i can use Windows Safely Remove feature , but to power off with my pc on ?
unplug the power could damage the drive ?

[mirimir]

Originally Posted by mantra

thanks
and about the power?
i mean i can use Windows Safely Remove feature , but to power off with my pc on ?
unplug the power could damage the drive ?

Once Windows has removed (unmounted) the drive, it's safe to depower it.

[RADEON0101]

Originally Posted by mirimir

Once Windows has removed (unmounted) the drive, it's safe to depower it.

+1

[Noob]

I'd say it's the same thing.
Go for the best one out there. (Best bang for the buck)

I recently purchased a 1TB WD MyPassport Essentials and it's been great. (It's been 2 months since i purchased it)
I don't really use it very much, like once or twice a week to backup files, mostly media files.

[mantra]

Originally Posted by Noob

I'd say it's the same thing.
Go for the best one out there. (Best bang for the buck)

I recently purchased a 1TB WD MyPassport Essentials and it's been great. (It's been 2 months since it purchased it)
I don't really use it very much, like once or twice a week to backup files, mostly media files.

hi Noob

may i ask a question ?
maybe WD MyPassport Essentials is similar My Book Essential

does it have a power on/off button ? in short to power off or on should i push the button?

SmartWare is necessary, required to use the drive?


thanks really

[mantra]

but is really true from the manual


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...6lHnPg&cad=rja

Power Button
Use the power button to safely power down the drive and avoid data loss or damage to
the drive. The power button only works when the WD SmartWare software is installed on
your computer.
Note: If you disconnect the drive after using the power button to turn it off, when
you reconnect it to your running computer, the drive automatically powers
on. If you leave the drive connected to your computer after using the
power button to turn it off, you must press the power button again to turn
it back on.

but is there a normal usb hard disk with a normal power on/off button??

thanks

[Robin A.]

Originally Posted by mantra

but is there a normal usb hard disk with a normal power on/off button??

thanks

Yes. An enclosure with a power button, and a hard disk installed in it. It is also more flexible, because the disk can be changed.

I use Vantec enclosures with WD and Seagate disks.

[Noob]

There are 2 types of portable hard drives.
The big ones that most of the times are basically a 3.5" HDD in an enclosure and the real portable ones that are usually like a 2.5" HDD in an enclosure.

Most of the times the small ones do not come with a power button but the bigger ones usually do.
The difference between the 2 is that usually the small ones are called "Portable Drives" and the big ones "External Drives". (Notice that the external drives are not really called "Portable".)

The reason why i did not purchase an external drive is because almost all of them require some sort of adapter for an external power source, which defeats the purpose of having a portable drive.

But in your case since you're just looking for an external drive it will be fine.

Smartware is NOT necessary.
I do have Smartware installed in one of my laptops just to see how it works and well it's just like a scheduling software that backup files automatically.
When you plug in the HDD in a PC it will be shown like another NTFS drive in My PC.

[mirimir]

There have been some large external drives which could be used without power adapters, but that sometimes doesn't work out well, because they may overload computers' USB power capacity. Small portable drives are normally OK, but you could see problems with too many hooked up simultaneously. In that case, you could use a Y cable, with the power USB plug attached to a 5V USB power brick.

Portable drives may get very hot with prolonged use, and transfer speed may drop. Although some external drives have fans, they also get hot if you push them hard. I use small fans (scavenged from old computers) to cool them.

[mantra]

Originally Posted by Noob

Smartware is NOT necessary.
I do have Smartware installed in one of my laptops just to see how it works and well it's just like a scheduling software that backup files automatically.
When you plug in the HDD in a PC it will be shown like another NTFS drive in My PC.

hi
from the manual
-http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705053.pdf

Power Button
Use the power button to safely power down the drive and avoid data loss or damage to
the drive. The power button only works when the WD SmartWare software is installed on
your computer.
Note: If you disconnect the drive after using the power button to turn it off, when
you reconnect it to your running computer, the drive automatically powers
on. If you leave the drive connected to your computer after using the
power button to turn it off, you must press the power button again to turn
it back on.

i read there is a firmware and that's work with Smartware with lots of disappointed users, can you confirm?


thanks

[Noob]

Well mine does not have a power button, it's a WD My Passport Essentials SE.