I would like to know if there is a way to turn on/off my Western
Digital MyBook USB external hard drive automatically (scheduled)
without shutting down the PC it's plugged into? It has a button for
manually turning on and off, and it automatically turns on and off with
the PC. I use it mainly for backups on a PC that runs non-stop. It
would be nice if I could schedule it to turn on once a week to perform
a backup and then shut off when it was done. If there was some kind of
batch file that would do it, I could have my backup software run the
"turn on" batch file before it started backing up and then run the
"turn off" batch file to shut it down. I don't like to leave it
running all the time because of heat and mileage. I'm not sure if that
is justified, but I'm curious anyway. thanks.

Western Digital Knowledgebase
http://tinyurl.com/4x2fh

---
Ted Zieglar
"Backup is a computer user's best friend."

Jacob wrote:
> I would like to know if there is a way to turn on/off my Western
> Digital MyBook USB external hard drive automatically (scheduled)
> without shutting down the PC it's plugged into? It has a button for
> manually turning on and off, and it automatically turns on and off with
> the PC. I use it mainly for backups on a PC that runs non-stop. It
> would be nice if I could schedule it to turn on once a week to perform
> a backup and then shut off when it was done. If there was some kind of
> batch file that would do it, I could have my backup software run the
> "turn on" batch file before it started backing up and then run the
> "turn off" batch file to shut it down. I don't like to leave it
> running all the time because of heat and mileage. I'm not sure if that
> is justified, but I'm curious anyway. thanks.
>

Thanks for the link, but I did not find the info I was looking for.


Ted Zieglar wrote:
> Western Digital Knowledgebase
> http://tinyurl.com/4x2fh
>
> ---
> Ted Zieglar
> "Backup is a computer user's best friend."
>
> Jacob wrote:
> > I would like to know if there is a way to turn on/off my Western
> > Digital MyBook USB external hard drive automatically (scheduled)
> > without shutting down the PC it's plugged into? It has a button for
> > manually turning on and off, and it automatically turns on and off with
> > the PC. I use it mainly for backups on a PC that runs non-stop. It
> > would be nice if I could schedule it to turn on once a week to perform
> > a backup and then shut off when it was done. If there was some kind of
> > batch file that would do it, I could have my backup software run the
> > "turn on" batch file before it started backing up and then run the
> > "turn off" batch file to shut it down. I don't like to leave it
> > running all the time because of heat and mileage. I'm not sure if that
> > is justified, but I'm curious anyway. thanks.
> >

Did you see this part?
Western Digital recommends that external hard drives be powered off when not
in use, although it is safe to leave a hard drive running continuously. The
hard drive should be placed away from any electronic devices and in a well
ventilated area to allow airflow to the hard drive.

If you backup only once a week, it seems like a lot of trouble to have it
programmable shut down the external hd.

That said, here is a link that might interest you.
http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=311272


"Jacob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thanks for the link, but I did not find the info I was looking for.
>
>
> Ted Zieglar wrote:
>> Western Digital Knowledgebase
>> http://tinyurl.com/4x2fh
>>
>> ---
>> Ted Zieglar
>> "Backup is a computer user's best friend."
>>
>> Jacob wrote:
>> > I would like to know if there is a way to turn on/off my Western
>> > Digital MyBook USB external hard drive automatically (scheduled)
>> > without shutting down the PC it's plugged into? It has a button for
>> > manually turning on and off, and it automatically turns on and off with
>> > the PC. I use it mainly for backups on a PC that runs non-stop. It
>> > would be nice if I could schedule it to turn on once a week to perform
>> > a backup and then shut off when it was done. If there was some kind of
>> > batch file that would do it, I could have my backup software run the
>> > "turn on" batch file before it started backing up and then run the
>> > "turn off" batch file to shut it down. I don't like to leave it
>> > running all the time because of heat and mileage. I'm not sure if that
>> > is justified, but I'm curious anyway. thanks.
>> >
>

How about the section where you can ask Western Digital a question?

---
Ted Zieglar
"Backup is a computer user's best friend."

Jacob wrote:
> Thanks for the link, but I did not find the info I was looking for.
>
>
> Ted Zieglar wrote:
>> Western Digital Knowledgebase
>> http://tinyurl.com/4x2fh
>>
>> ---
>> Ted Zieglar
>> "Backup is a computer user's best friend."
>>
>> Jacob wrote:
>>> I would like to know if there is a way to turn on/off my Western
>>> Digital MyBook USB external hard drive automatically (scheduled)
>>> without shutting down the PC it's plugged into? It has a button for
>>> manually turning on and off, and it automatically turns on and off with
>>> the PC. I use it mainly for backups on a PC that runs non-stop. It
>>> would be nice if I could schedule it to turn on once a week to perform
>>> a backup and then shut off when it was done. If there was some kind of
>>> batch file that would do it, I could have my backup software run the
>>> "turn on" batch file before it started backing up and then run the
>>> "turn off" batch file to shut it down. I don't like to leave it
>>> running all the time because of heat and mileage. I'm not sure if that
>>> is justified, but I'm curious anyway. thanks.
>>>
>

So it appears that it is NOT good to keep it on continuously as I
thought. I would like to not have to remember to turn on the hard
drive weekly and then turn it off when it is finished. I know it's not
that much trouble but, I am a busy person..and forgetful too. Plus I
may want to backup more important files more frequently.

I have not figured out how to use that Devcon program yet. I'm not
sure if that will do the trick, or if I have the knowledge to figure it
out, but I will give it a shot. thanks.



Ted Zieglar wrote:
> How about the section where you can ask Western Digital a question?
>
> ---
> Ted Zieglar
> "Backup is a computer user's best friend."
>
> Jacob wrote:
> > Thanks for the link, but I did not find the info I was looking for.
> >
> >
> > Ted Zieglar wrote:
> >> Western Digital Knowledgebase
> >> http://tinyurl.com/4x2fh
> >>
> >> ---
> >> Ted Zieglar
> >> "Backup is a computer user's best friend."
> >>
> >> Jacob wrote:
> >>> I would like to know if there is a way to turn on/off my Western
> >>> Digital MyBook USB external hard drive automatically (scheduled)
> >>> without shutting down the PC it's plugged into? It has a button for
> >>> manually turning on and off, and it automatically turns on and off with
> >>> the PC. I use it mainly for backups on a PC that runs non-stop. It
> >>> would be nice if I could schedule it to turn on once a week to perform
> >>> a backup and then shut off when it was done. If there was some kind of
> >>> batch file that would do it, I could have my backup software run the
> >>> "turn on" batch file before it started backing up and then run the
> >>> "turn off" batch file to shut it down. I don't like to leave it
> >>> running all the time because of heat and mileage. I'm not sure if that
> >>> is justified, but I'm curious anyway. thanks.
> >>>
> >

I think I understand how to use Devcon now. But I since I do not have
access to my home computer, I have no way to see if "removing" the
external hard drive will cause it to shutdown or not. I am not sure
how it knows when to startup and shutdown with the PC. That would be
helpful to know. I assume it is getting a signal from the USB port. It
may be necessary to remove and restart the particular USB port that it
si plugged into. Is that possible? does that make sense?


Jacob wrote:
> So it appears that it is NOT good to keep it on continuously as I
> thought. I would like to not have to remember to turn on the hard
> drive weekly and then turn it off when it is finished. I know it's not
> that much trouble but, I am a busy person..and forgetful too. Plus I
> may want to backup more important files more frequently.
>
> I have not figured out how to use that Devcon program yet. I'm not
> sure if that will do the trick, or if I have the knowledge to figure it
> out, but I will give it a shot. thanks.
>
>
>
> Ted Zieglar wrote:
> > How about the section where you can ask Western Digital a question?
> >
> > ---
> > Ted Zieglar
> > "Backup is a computer user's best friend."
> >
> > Jacob wrote:
> > > Thanks for the link, but I did not find the info I was looking for.
> > >
> > >
> > > Ted Zieglar wrote:
> > >> Western Digital Knowledgebase
> > >> http://tinyurl.com/4x2fh
> > >>
> > >> ---
> > >> Ted Zieglar
> > >> "Backup is a computer user's best friend."
> > >>
> > >> Jacob wrote:
> > >>> I would like to know if there is a way to turn on/off my Western
> > >>> Digital MyBook USB external hard drive automatically (scheduled)
> > >>> without shutting down the PC it's plugged into? It has a button for
> > >>> manually turning on and off, and it automatically turns on and off with
> > >>> the PC. I use it mainly for backups on a PC that runs non-stop. It
> > >>> would be nice if I could schedule it to turn on once a week to perform
> > >>> a backup and then shut off when it was done. If there was some kind of
> > >>> batch file that would do it, I could have my backup software run the
> > >>> "turn on" batch file before it started backing up and then run the
> > >>> "turn off" batch file to shut it down. I don't like to leave it
> > >>> running all the time because of heat and mileage. I'm not sure if that
> > >>> is justified, but I'm curious anyway. thanks.
> > >>>
> > >