01-29-2009, 09:34 AM

Hello,

I have a macbook which recently had a new internal hd installed (for free) at the apple store (old one died & I lost everything). I got leopard for free with this as well and got a seagate hd to back stuff up. So with time machine all you have to do is plug it in and wait till it's done backing up and eject,right?Now it (the seagate) is making noise when not attached to the macbook. The light is not on when it does this and the unit is warm. I plug it in just to eject it and this seems to make it stop, but of course I don't know what goes on 24/7. Should I be switching the power strip off it's attached to/unplugging it? Any thoughts?

01-29-2009, 04:17 PM

In order for Time Machine to make timely backups, the drive should be attached at all times. Of course if the drive isn't attached Time Machine will not attempt the backup.

If you're not going to use the drive continuously remove the power from it. Also, do not remove the drive from your Mac without properly ejecting it. Improperly removing the drive can lead to data loss and may even damage the drive.

As for the drive making some noise while it's powered on, that may be normal. If the noise gets loud or grinding, return the drive for a refund or repair under warranty. Seagate warrants their drives for 5 years.

Regards.

01-29-2009, 05:36 PM

thanks for the reply... but what's the trouble with having the external hard drive NOT plugged in all the time? I thought the point of having a laptop was that you can use it wherever you want. If I don't want to plug it in all the time and just back stuff up every day or two am I risking something?

01-29-2009, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by fiddlermac

thanks for the reply... but what's the trouble with having the external hard drive NOT plugged in all the time? I thought the point of having a laptop was that you can use it wherever you want. If I don't want to plug it in all the time and just back stuff up every day or two am I risking something?

No, not any more than making backups without using Time Machine. I personally do not like or use Time Machine and instead use a program which clones my hard drive to an external and renders the external drive bootable.

Both "Carbon Copy Cloner" and "SuperDuper" have this capability. It's your choice of course, and you need to decide how often to backup. The more critical your data is, the more often you should be backing up.

Regards.

01-29-2009, 06:00 PM

Yeah data not so critical, just personal stuff. Wedding pics, music, etc. When I leave it hooked up it does just keep running so I guess i'll just do what I've been doing and unplug it when not in use.
Thanks dude, ... er, or miss.

01-29-2009, 09:46 PM

It's dude. Be sure not to lose those wedding photos!

Regards.

01-30-2009, 09:43 AM

I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you wrote correctly or not, but I would definitely be sure to power off the drive when it's not in use. Drives you buy in a retail store are generally not designed to be left powered on 24 hours a day, even if they're not connected to the computer.

02-06-2009, 12:15 PM

Sooooo..... should I leave the drive plugged into the laptop as much as possible? Eject it and plug it in every day or two? Leave it plugged into electricity always or not?

02-06-2009, 01:07 PM

You don't have anything to worry about. The drive will make noise occassionally because it is doing a seek(adjustments in the positioning of the head to find data). Your drive on computer itself does the same thing. You can hear this especially at startup when the head is coming off the ramp. There is no harm in leaving the drive on for extended periods of time. The main reason for this is you are providing a stable environment for the drive to operate in. You'll get no change in temperature or humidity so the electronics are very stable. I personally have left drives on for years with no problem.

HTH

Ron Scott