Chris F Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 So I "happened" upon a 250 GB WD External HD in the past week, and I'm loving it. I'm backing up all my documents, music and emulation related items. http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/....asp?DriveID=49 The problem is, there's no freakin' power switch on it. What is the proper way to go about shutting it off at night? Can I just unplug it? DO I have to "remove/disengage" the drive in Windows first? The documentation kind of sucks with it, so I don't really know what to do at night when I want to shut my PC off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Just simply remove it from Windows, or when you shut the machine off disconnect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris F Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 You mean just unplug it from the power source? This is safe to do, right? As in it won't fuck the drive up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Disconnect the Firewire/USB 2.0 plug from the PC after you've told Windows to disconnect the drive (don't always have to, but a good idea when using an external HDD). If the PC is shutdown, then you can simply unplug it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris F Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Scott, I'm SO confused here. 1. Everytime I shut down my PC I should tell Windows to disconnect the drive? 2. The problem is not having it connected to my PC, but the fact that when my PC is off, the HD is still on, and the GIANT PINK LIGHTS on it are still on it keeps me up. Basically, what I got from your advice is to: A. Always disconnect the drive in Windows whenever I'm shutting down. B. Physically disconnect the drive from the Firewire port after I've shut down. C. One A+B are done, I can unplug the power from the HD. Is this correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 If you're shutting the PC down, there is no need to tell Windows to disconnect it. It will be disconnected when the PC is off and you can safely unplug the power adapter. If you want to disconnect the drive, but leave the PC running, disconnect the drive from within Windows. To do this right click on the plug and play icon in the system tray, select disconnect. It's now safe to unplug the power adapter. If this still doesn't make sense, you need to play more City of Heroes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris F Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Ok, got it. So me shutting down windows, then unplugging the power has been the right thing to do sofar. And yes, I know I should be playing more CoH. Oh, and thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyjaw Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Also, you may want to open the case and disconnect the lights if you don't need them. My external FireWire drive automatically gets spun down when I put my machine to sleep, I would expect Windows to do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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