Disconnecting External Drive

[DannInNH]

I have several external drives and only use them to back up files on a monthly basis. Is there an easy way to disconnect them from spinning up each time I turn the computer on. In the past, I have disconnected the USB cable from the computer thinking this would prevent them from “turning on”. Not sure if that is the correct thing to do. The top of the units are slightly warm indicating that power is being consumed even when computer is off. This may just be heat from the internal power supply and not necessarily the drive spinning.

I realize that once I use them, I could secure the computer and remove both the power and USB cables.

Any (easy) suggestions.

[Ichigo]

Hello DannInNH, if the hard drives are connected they will turn on when the computer does, by default all WD drives will go into sleep mode if they are not being used, so you should not worry if you leave them connected.

[Joe_S]

I simply unplug the power supply on mine when not in use. Just use the Remove Drive Safely feature and unplug power when done.

Joe

[DannInNH]

Thanks for the reply.

So when I power down the computer the drives will go into a “deep sleep” and then I can disconnect the USB connection so they won’t come back on, even with the power still connected. My concern isn’t how to disconnect them buy making sure they don’t come back on during the many hours I won’t be needing to perform a backup.

Is the “warmth” I feel on top of the drives from the internal power supply and not the drive spinning?

Thanks

[Ichigo]

Hi again, yes, that is normal since as long as the external drive is connected, it wont be completely Off.