Regarding power to a drive...

Grindy · 03-08-2006, 05:45 PM

This is a question for one of you hardware guru's.

I like to use a second drive solely as a backup for important stuff on my main drive. Since I only backup stuff every week or so, I just unplug the drive so as to take some load off my power supply, less noise and heat, and because having a drive that is used only for 15mins a week running constantly is just plain stupid IMHO.

Anyway, I've been unplugging both the ribbon cable and the power cable every time I disconnect it. The system is located in a place where there's not a lot of light and it's a pain to have to use a flashlight to see the ribbon connector to get it in each time.

My question is this: Is it possible for the Bios to "pick up" this drive from time to time just by being plugg'd into the ribbon cable without power to it? And, does anyone see any reason why I can't just leave the ribbon cable plugg'd in and disconnect the power?

Looking forward to hearing from some of you hardware "engineers" on this one.
:)
bob

crazijoe · 03-08-2006, 07:37 PM

If I was in your situation. I would probably buy a cheap USB case for the HDD. This way you don't have to keep shutting down the machine, opening the case, connecting the drive, powering up the computer, backing up your info, shutting down the machine, disconnecting the drive, closing the case back up, and powering up the computer again.

The external USB HDD case is hot swappable, meaning you don't have to shut down the computer to connect it and disconnect it.
One can be had for around $25.

**Doby** · 03-08-2006, 07:42 PM

Hi,

Your backup strategy is good but you are most likely doing more harm then good by unpluging the drive especially the ribbon cable because everytime you plug unplug you are flexing the motherboard to some extent and this will eventually cause damage not to mention the stress put on the cable itself.

I also would not leave the ribbon cable attached and just unplug power to the drive, this normally won't hurt anything but long term use I don't know.

You should either leave the drive in all the time or use some sota external usb drive made for this purpose.

Rick

Grindy · 03-09-2006, 07:33 PM

Both excellent points... !!!
Thx to both of you. I think I'm gonna fork out for a USB2 PCI card and do it that way. BTW... Is there any sort of limit on how many USB drives can be online at the same time?
thx again
bob

03-08-2006, 05:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
Grindy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 12 OS: XP Pro	Regarding power to a drive... This is a question for one of you hardware guru's. I like to use a second drive solely as a backup for important stuff on my main drive. Since I only backup stuff every week or so, I just unplug the drive so as to take some load off my power supply, less noise and heat, and because having a drive that is used only for 15mins a week running constantly is just plain stupid IMHO. Anyway, I've been unplugging both the ribbon cable and the power cable every time I disconnect it. The system is located in a place where there's not a lot of light and it's a pain to have to use a flashlight to see the ribbon connector to get it in each time. My question is this: Is it possible for the Bios to "pick up" this drive from time to time just by being plugg'd into the ribbon cable without power to it? And, does anyone see any reason why I can't just leave the ribbon cable plugg'd in and disconnect the power? Looking forward to hearing from some of you hardware "engineers" on this one. :) bob

03-08-2006, 07:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	If I was in your situation. I would probably buy a cheap USB case for the HDD. This way you don't have to keep shutting down the machine, opening the case, connecting the drive, powering up the computer, backing up your info, shutting down the machine, disconnecting the drive, closing the case back up, and powering up the computer again. The external USB HDD case is hot swappable, meaning you don't have to shut down the computer to connect it and disconnect it. One can be had for around $25. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

03-08-2006, 07:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
Doby Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central PA (USA) Posts: 8,091 OS: XP sp2/ Vista My System	Hi, Your backup strategy is good but you are most likely doing more harm then good by unpluging the drive especially the ribbon cable because everytime you plug unplug you are flexing the motherboard to some extent and this will eventually cause damage not to mention the stress put on the cable itself. I also would not leave the ribbon cable attached and just unplug power to the drive, this normally won't hurt anything but long term use I don't know. You should either leave the drive in all the time or use some sota external usb drive made for this purpose. Rick __________________ Would you like to help TSF fight cancer and other diseases??? JOIN TEAM TSF

03-09-2006, 07:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
Grindy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 12 OS: XP Pro	Both excellent points... !!! Thx to both of you. I think I'm gonna fork out for a USB2 PCI card and do it that way. BTW... Is there any sort of limit on how many USB drives can be online at the same time? thx again bob