Hard drives and spin up/down question

[Mason]

Here's the situation:

I have a computer with 2 hard drives. I have a 250 GB which has all data on
it and a 160 GB which I use to do a daily system backup.

In everyone's honest opinion, which of these is better?

I have read a couple of mixed feelings: Turning the hard drive on/off is
worse for it than leaving the computer running 24/7 and will shorten its
life. On the other hand, others say that it shortens the life to leave it
running and is better to turn it off when not in use.

If the it is the latter, is there any way to make it so that my backup hard
drive be only on while I make the backup and be off all the other times, but
the main hard drive stay on until I power the computer off? Basically, a way
to have separate power rules for each hard drive?

Thanks!

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Both schools of thought are correct, it's basically a matter of personal
preference. I prefer to leave mine running 24/7 for ease of access and to
support my home network of shared files. Businesses often do so as well so
that network people can remotely update systems during periods of non-use by
employees. Most modern systems will power down a drive not in use
automatically. The hardest thing on any mechanical device is the initial
application of power, that is when most failures occur. However, running
constantly also produces wear on a device, albeit at a slower rate. Either
way, all mechanical devices eventually fail, so not being 100% reliant on
them is the only truly safe backup method (meaning you should transfer data
to more permanent media like CD/DVD storage).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

Here's the situation:

I have a computer with 2 hard drives. I have a 250 GB which has all data on
it and a 160 GB which I use to do a daily system backup.

In everyone's honest opinion, which of these is better?

Mason,

hard disks die like flies. Keep them off for as long as you can
and don't switch them on and off more often than necessary.

I personally go a step further. I have my backup disks outside
the computer and connect them only when I do a backup. I use
external SATA disks.

What you should particularly try to avoid is to have both disks
in the computer and running for any longer time, because that
may create a heat problem. Most computers cope easily with one
hard disk, but can't disperse the heat of two through the metal
or through the air. Check your disks' temperatures anyway.

Hans-Georg