Thanks for the reply, Hamlet.
Finally had a chance to check my post.
After searching the internet and the user manual there seems to be no definitive answer as to exactly what “standby” means. I was just trying to discern if “standby” is the lowest level of power usage available when the computer is off and the WD My Book is still plugged in to a surge suppressor, my concern being drive longevity.
Of course most peripherals and the computer itself use a tiny bit of power even when they are completely turned off if they are still plugged in. When the computer is off and the other before mentioned non WD external drives that are connected and are plugged in do not display any kind of standby light. Most devices and computers don’t have a standby light. Not a problem, I suppose just a behavior particular to WD external drives.
It does appear after using the “My Book” drive for over a week now that it is in a powered down state when the LED is flashing slowly. When accessing the drive while in standby it takes about 20 seconds before it responds, probably because it has to power up. There is a setting in one of the included apps where you can set the elapsed time before it goes into standby. When the LED is on and not blinking then there is instant access to any file or folder. I have the WD set to go into standby after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Long story short I’m happy with the drive.
Thanks again.
