I'm still working with a several year old 722 vip receiver which still operates very well. Once in a while I plug in an external hard drive to archive saved recorded videos I've meade on the 722. Sometimes the receiver acknowledges the hard drive and sometimes it does not. I've decided to keep the external hard drive permanently plugged into the receiver so I don't take the chance of not having it connect every time I want to download something to it. Is there any problem with doing this?
External Hard Drive Question
- Thread starter shortspark
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Probably not, but remember the age of your receiver and external hard drive. Your problem could be as simple as dust on the circuit board, wear on the end of your cable etc.
He could get a can of compressed air from Office Depot and blow out the cable ends, jacks, receiver internals etc
I've had an external drive continuously connected to my Hopper for several years with no adverse effects.
Thanks guys, I thought it would probably be okay to leave an external drive plugged in. I think I will try the compressed air trick and blow everything clean. Can't hurt.
The external drive has spindle bearings and other components that wear with use. I have had drives that outlast their warranty by double and others that needed replacement in their first year. If you only plan occasional access you will probably extend the life of the drive by unplugging it.
Thanks, that makes sense. There really is no reason for me to hook up an EHD until the time I want to use it.
And on the other side of the same coin, I've had the same WD Elements 1Tb EHD (self powered) plugged in continuously for 8 years connected to my 722, Hopper 2000, and Hopper 3. Of course it might fail this afternoon!
An external drive on a Hopper does not spin all the time. The Hopper controls it. It spins up whenever the Hopper reboots or when a program on it is being accessed. I keep mine powered all the time because accessing the wiring in my entertainment center is hard to do.
Really? I am pretty sure my VIP receivers all leave the EHD spinning all the time. I worked around that problem by connecting only WD Green drives, which very aggressively spin themselves down, and then spin themselves back up again when the receiver needs them.
Yeah, it is a case of how often we access the external HDD. If we access infrequently, then we disconnect power. On the other hand, recently we were accessing it often, so we just left it connected to power for about 2 months, and that is better than pulling and plugging the power because wear and damage can result at the port from that, as well, along with having current off and on with great frequency each day can help kill a device, as well.
But if I'm looking at not accessing the HDD for quite some time, I will unplug because it isn't just about the bearings and moving parts, it is also that current on a device can cause wear of it, as well. Better off removing all current to and through it (the light still is lit) for months at a time with no use. I do have other HDD's on my LAN for data back up and they are still working years later, but they will die first before my other HDD's that have not had current in YEARS. And yes, capacitors, as one example can "wear" while having no current to deal with being disconnected to all power, but in general, power itself will wear down a piece of equipment.
So, I say, do as you wish, especially related to how often you use the external HDD. If using it almost every day, I say just leave it connected to power and avoid wear and tear of the port (that have a limited life of repeated connect and disconnect), and the wear of constant power up and down, and the HDD goes into sleep mode anyway. If using it only every few months, then I would disconnect power. Just my IMHO.
But if I'm looking at not accessing the HDD for quite some time, I will unplug because it isn't just about the bearings and moving parts, it is also that current on a device can cause wear of it, as well. Better off removing all current to and through it (the light still is lit) for months at a time with no use. I do have other HDD's on my LAN for data back up and they are still working years later, but they will die first before my other HDD's that have not had current in YEARS. And yes, capacitors, as one example can "wear" while having no current to deal with being disconnected to all power, but in general, power itself will wear down a piece of equipment.
So, I say, do as you wish, especially related to how often you use the external HDD. If using it almost every day, I say just leave it connected to power and avoid wear and tear of the port (that have a limited life of repeated connect and disconnect), and the wear of constant power up and down, and the HDD goes into sleep mode anyway. If using it only every few months, then I would disconnect power. Just my IMHO.
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