Turn Firewire drive off or leave it on?

[barrettd]

I just dropped my 200GB hard drive into a Firewire drive enclosure, but I never thought about whether or not to leave it powered up all the time or eject it and turn it off when I'm not using it. I'm using it to store media (movies, music, etc.) so I don't need to access it all the time. I want to do what's best for the drive and I don't know if leaving it on whenever the computer's (PM DP1.8) on is a good idea. What do you do with your external drive?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says....I usually keep mine powered off and only turn them on when I need them....oh yeah!

 

[wdlove]

I have my OWC Mercury Elite external firewire on 24/7 along with my G4. I'm folding. Never have really heard any opinions one way or the other. My thought is that the startup on a mechanical item also causes wear and tear.

 

[zim]

My externals are always plugged in. They spin down, and sleep when not in use so I see no reason as to why I should unplug or turn them off. My oldest drive is roughly 2 yrears old. Same goes for the computers, when not in use, I let them sleep.

 

[sigamy]

I eject the drive and turn it off. My enclosure is so damn loud, I just can't stand its humming along next to my whisper quiet iMac G4.

Not sure if this adds any extra wear & tear to the drive...anyone? I probably only use the drive once a week.

 

[Chaszmyr]

If the drive is powered off, you don't have to worry about the possible (albeit extremely unlikely) damage caused by some sort of virus or catastrophic system failure