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2Turbo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 18, 2011
360
0
I'm getting a mid-2012 MBA and plan on always keeping an external 1TB USB 3.0 HDD plugged in at my desk (USB Powered). Could this cause overheating or other issues?

Anyone out there run an ext. HDD full time with a MBA? Since I got the base 128GB SSD, I will be using the ext. HDD for large downloads, work files, etc.

Just checking if this is a bad idea or not.
 

Jb07

macrumors 6502
Oct 31, 2011
433
1
Dallas
I'm getting a mid-2012 MBA and plan on always keeping an external 1TB USB 3.0 HDD plugged in at my desk (USB Powered). Could this cause overheating or other issues?

Anyone out there run an ext. HDD full time with a MBA? Since I got the base 128GB SSD, I will be using the ext. HDD for large downloads, work files, etc.

Just checking if this is a bad idea or not.

I don't really know about heat issues but keeping it plugged in all the time will significantly reduce the life of the hard drive.
But from personal experience, every time I plug in my external hard drive and begin file transfers, the fans speed up and the computer gets very warm.
 

2Turbo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 18, 2011
360
0
As far as reducing life, isn't it the same for an internal HDD thats always on?

Anyone else's fans start up just from normal use w/external HDD's?
 

dcorban

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2007
914
30
I have yet to hear anything in regard to fans, or notice any heat from my regular Time Machine backups (directly to USB) as well as copying hundreds of gigs around on my USB drives. My drives are "only" USB2, so maybe the faster speed of USB3 would take more CPU power.

As for shortening the life of your drive by keeping it on at all times, this is a debate that has been going on for decades. Basically, there is approximately as much wear and tear on the mechanisms during spinup/spindown as keeping the drive spinning constantly, so it doesn't matter in the long run.
 

LYFK

macrumors regular
Oct 24, 2007
139
1
Bump.

I was thinking of also doing something similar, basically storing all of my files & media externally on a USB-powered drive, and opting for the low-end 128GB 13" MBA to save money. You could basically get a 1TB external and still save about $200 over the 256GB MBA.

Aside from long-term reliability, and general ugliness of setup, does anyone think this is a bad idea?
 

wethackrey

macrumors 6502
Feb 27, 2007
259
17
Redondo Beach, California
Bump.

I was thinking of also doing something similar, basically storing all of my files & media externally on a USB-powered drive, and opting for the low-end 128GB 13" MBA to save money. You could basically get a 1TB external and still save about $200 over the 256GB MBA.

Aside from long-term reliability, and general ugliness of setup, does anyone think this is a bad idea?

My only concern with the setup is that it's likely to be brutal on battery life.
 

Scooter53e

macrumors newbie
Jul 2, 2012
6
1
I have a Seagate 1TB HD connected to my Airport Extreme Base Station via USB forming a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device. My MacBook Air connects via wireless to the AEBS and I have my iTunes library, my iPhoto library and my Time Machine backups all connected to the NAS via the wireless network. I have had zero problems with this set up. Easy to set up with the AirPort Utility.app. Like most other things Apple, it just works!
 

3lite

macrumors 6502a
Nov 7, 2011
635
29
Bump.

I was thinking of also doing something similar, basically storing all of my files & media externally on a USB-powered drive, and opting for the low-end 128GB 13" MBA to save money. You could basically get a 1TB external and still save about $200 over the 256GB MBA.

Aside from long-term reliability, and general ugliness of setup, does anyone think this is a bad idea?


Why is this bad for long-term reliability? And how long is "long-term"?

Also, is it safe to leave your HDD plugged in all the time?
 

Acorn

macrumors 68030
Jan 2, 2009
2,642
349
macrumors
I dont really have anything to add other then if you want to use apples built in drive encryption so it asks for a password whenever it is mounted make sure you format it as a secure drive from the very beginning. you cannot change it later without erasing the data since it formats the drive.

Im just bringing it up because i know you are getting a new drive and nobody ever told me when i first got my drive. it was a pain to shift all my data around because i wanted encryption.
 
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