Better to leave external drives unmounted when not using?

[davidnssbm]

I had an external drive fail last year, and now I back up every day to two different drives to that it never happens again. I have a true phobia now.

now obviously drives fail. it just happens. but can I prolong the inevitable by not having them mounted and appearing on the desktop when not in use? and only mount when I need to access a file from the drive? or am i doing more harm by turning it on and off a few times a week? is it better to just leave all of them on for good?

thanks

 

[miles01110]

I haven't seen any conclusive evidence either way. Since you've already taken the first step and accepted that all drive will fail, it's best not to worry about it (as long as you have the proper backups).

 

[psxguru]

I imagine it would depend on if they spin down after an idle period or not.