Computer Related > Why does my external hard drive run all the time? Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Fenlander Replies: 14
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 07:25 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Fenlander
I have a Seagate 500GB external hard driven which is connected to the PC by USB... left connected to PC and the mains all the while. It only has about 50-250GB on it most of the while... old files from our previous PC. I use it also to do a backup from time to time of crucial MyDocuments and images. Importantly I do this when we go away for any time and hide the hard drive so in the awful case of a burglary we at least have a copy of crucial docs and images.

What I can't understand is that it runs all the time even when you're not looking at anything on it... sometimes it really speeds up and whirrs away. What's it doing and is this wearing it out over time?
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 07:26
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 07:28 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Focusless
>> sometimes it really speeds up and whirrs away

Are you sure it's the drive - does it have a fan?
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 07:38 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Fenlander
It hums gently and vibrates as if it's running all the while and it sounds like the drive spinning faster when it whirrs. There is a grille on the bottom but I can't see a fan. It's one of these...

farm1.static.flickr.com/219/520030295_b49b0b4929.jpg

BTW not my desk!
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 07:38
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 07:53 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Focusless
Internal hard drives do usually spin all the time unless you go into power settings and set them to turn off after X minutes of inactivity, so I shouldn't imagine it's a problem.
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 07:57 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Zero
We used to have problems with hard drives when they were turned off.

They started up, got warm, and ran for years, then sometimes they were turned off. They cooled down, the lubrication got solid, and they wouldn't start.


Thats a long way of saying - dont worry about it.
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 08:11 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Fenlander
Ahh OK thanks. It's just that before the PC layout revamp mentioned on previous threads the external hard drive was on a solid oak 1930s desk and apparently near silent. Now it sits on top of the PC tower and the metal case acts like a speaker cabinet so I've become more aware of it.
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 11:36 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Crankcase
You haven't got a zillion little files and some aggressive settings on a virus scanner running perhaps? Could be scanning, completing, scanning again...
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 12:16 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - smokie
You could check it isn't being indexed by Windows, that will keep a drive active.

Another quick check is to try to dismount the volume - if it says it's in use then it's probably in use!

I had a drive that didn't power itself down so I just did it manually :-)
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 14:01 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Fenlander
>>>You could check it isn't being indexed by Windows, that will keep a drive active.

That sounds like the sort of thing... I refer to it as doing its housekeeping when Mrs F says should it be making that noise.
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 14:57 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Iffy
Is there any need to leave it connected?

It's using electricity all the time, not much, but many households have a large number of low use appliances and their consumption does add up.

Or wouldn't a usb-only drive do the job?

They don't make any noise, are not connected to the mains, and are much smaller than the drive you have.

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New Tue 18 Jan 11 15:07 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Fenlander
>>>Is there any need to leave it connected?

No not as such... but I've just done this superb job of de-cluttering the deesk area so you can't see any cables. Both the usb and power supply cables are behind a heavy desk that would need pulling out to get to switch off.

I'll investigate the usb types as ours is a few years old and perhaps due for replacement as it's spent so much time spinning??

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New Tue 18 Jan 11 15:19 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Iffy
The usb-only ones are very neat, so one would save you even more space.

I imagine data transfer might be slower, but it doesn't sound as if you are doing much of that.

Mine is a Seagate - same brand as yours - and holds 320gb.

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New Tue 18 Jan 11 15:23 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Fenlander
This sort of thing Iffy?

www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-500GB-Expansion-Portable-Drive/dp/B001XM4P1O
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 15:56 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - spamcan61
The location of these external HDDs certainly does make a big difference to the noise level, I moved mine to a shelf in the the understairs cupboard, sounds like a bloomin' Chinook when it spins up now.
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New Tue 18 Jan 11 18:49 
 Why does my external hard drive run all the time? - Iffy
...this sort of thing Iffy?...

Yes, although mine is in a fetching shade of blue and is called an ultra portable:

www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/seagate-goflex-freeagent-goflex-ultra-portable-hard-drive-500gb-blue-06824026-pdt.html

I don't know what operating system you have, but I bought a Western Digital drive which wouldn't work with Vista.

It was a known problem at the time, and has probably been fixed, but I would stick to Seagate to be on the safe side.

Last edited by: Iffy on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 18:50
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