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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
External hard drive spinning even when Mac is off
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<blockquote data-quote="MacInWin" data-source="post: 1889647" data-attributes="member: 396914"><p>You said:</p><p></p><p>Consider this: When you power on the Mac, the drive mounts. To be able to do that, it has to be powered on so that when the Mac signals through the port to see if a drive is there to be mounted, it can respond. So the manufacturer has the drive constantly on to provide that response. That's not unusual at all. And although very quiet, maybe even with the spinning part powered down, the electronics need to run to be able to do that. Hence, when heat gets going, it runs the fans to cool down. Nothing nefarious or unusual about that at all. You are worrying about something that is absolutely normal and expected. </p><p></p><p>As for powering it off at night, I would say not to bother. The power consumed is trivial and the hassle of having to remember to power the drive on every time you boot the Mac will become annoying quickly. Add to that the fact that most electronics fail on power on or off (look up "inrush current" to find out why) and it makes little sense to power off the drive at all. </p><p></p><p>Just get on with life. This minor issue isn't worth the effort to worry about.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MacInWin, post: 1889647, member: 396914"] You said: Consider this: When you power on the Mac, the drive mounts. To be able to do that, it has to be powered on so that when the Mac signals through the port to see if a drive is there to be mounted, it can respond. So the manufacturer has the drive constantly on to provide that response. That's not unusual at all. And although very quiet, maybe even with the spinning part powered down, the electronics need to run to be able to do that. Hence, when heat gets going, it runs the fans to cool down. Nothing nefarious or unusual about that at all. You are worrying about something that is absolutely normal and expected. As for powering it off at night, I would say not to bother. The power consumed is trivial and the hassle of having to remember to power the drive on every time you boot the Mac will become annoying quickly. Add to that the fact that most electronics fail on power on or off (look up "inrush current" to find out why) and it makes little sense to power off the drive at all. Just get on with life. This minor issue isn't worth the effort to worry about. [/QUOTE]
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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
External hard drive spinning even when Mac is off
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