do you leave your comp on all night?
 

ok i am just curious since recently my hard drives started to fuck up, i have decided to save their lifespan by turning off the comp (if he's not doing anything) during the night.....what you guys do?

How hot are your HD's running? I would suggest a HD heat sink and a case fan if you don't already have one.

I leave mine on all the time; I have mine set so the hard drives shut down after an hour of non-use.

well, the case is always open, and they lay on a box, (yes out of the computer), so this shouldn't really be my problem.....but the strange thing is that on average after one year they started to die....a guy in a computer shop told me that its due to the work they do (i.e. lots of video editing) but i have my doubts....

i could give a go at this option....

Yeah I have left all 11 of mine on 24/7 (unless there's a power outage) for the past 6 years.

All my computers are on 24/7, and I never had any problems

my comp is on...

What brand drives? Maxtor?

Try Seagate, haven't had a problem with their drives...

You have your drives sitting on a box? Like a cardboard box? That might not be the best for conducting heat.

My computer's on, they usually get dropped (or drop kicked if its a tower) and break before the HDD goes.

hmm i currently have WD's, but i had maxtor during the past, and also IBMs (the good ones) and same 'ol story. well, actually let me shoot a pic hehe

ok this is the crazy setup....i had them like that since i used to have 3 hdds (now you see they're 2, i got one replaced from WD service which i didnt use yet) and if i put them inside the tower, then they can be mounted only really one close the other, so i thought that that wouldn't be the best when it comes to heat, though for 2 i think they should have enough space to breathe, not 3 hdds tho.

http://members1.chello.nl/h.robijn/_dsc0711.jpg

Maybe you should put an anti-static mat under them if you are going to leave them out of the computer. Bubble wrap builds us static electricity very quickly.

The safest thing is to put them in the computer like they are supposed to go, so they are grounded to the metal chassis. Get a fan or heatsink if you think they get too hot.

I leave mine running 24/7 The daily spin up on a hard drive is more damaging than leaving them on 24/7. Keep your case well ventilated and leave the hard drive grounded (in the case) to avoid static discharge issues. Cardboard will cause static.

Always on...i heard from a buddy of mine that turning it on and off is not good for the computer....

that was a good suggestion...how about now?
http://members1.chello.nl/h.robijn/_dsc0712.jpg

and remember... if you guys shutdown... wait 15 seconds before turning it back on :thumbsup

'course ;-)

Isn't most of the heat at the bottom though? Put them back in the case with a couple Nexus Disktwins.

http://www.nexustek.nl/disktwin.htm

http://www.nexustek.nl/images/disktwinwithdisk.gif

Reduces noise and cools too.

hey those are great! i wonder if they sell 'em here in italy! i bet not....

I put it in sleep mode, no need to have it on over night...

You can probably buy them online...they are cheap too, only $20 Cdn. ($16-17US)

These supposedly cool better than the Zalman HD heatsink coolers and Zalman is one of the best in quiet computing.

This is the Zalman one
http://www.zalman.co.kr/upload/product/zm_2hc2_s_p.jpg

but bottom line, you think that the failures on my drives are definetely due to heat? in the past i never had drives 'out' like this...this was special for 3 hard drives actually....

Download a program that will tell you your HD temps, (http://www.almico.com/speedfan420.exe) mine are running around 40-42C, but I bought a couple of those Nexus Disktwins to cool it down a few degrees. Below 40C should be good. Also your setup is not the best for cooling...

I would say it's probably due to heat, never heard of anyone having HD problems from leaving their computers on 24/7. I'm also a big fan of Seagate harddrives, won't buy any other brand, that's just a personal preference though.

off to download, lets see.

they had a hotlink bloker lol....had to go to their site ;-)

very cool proggie. ok the 2 babies have the following temp:

hd0 41C
hd1 41C

I am shutting them down always before going to bed. I have an external backup drive which is almost ten yr old and new ones of course.

You do more damage to your computer and hard drives by shutting them down and starting them up all the time. Its better to leave them running and alot less wear

i mean to turn of my computer every night but force of habit causes me to forget til i get up in the morning.

I turn off my computer about two or three times a week, mostly weekends

sometimes! not always...downloading music maybe.

If you intend to keep those running overnight, try to grab a good cooling system for your pc.

im actually thinking about that infact.

I leave them on all the time, MTBF is at 80K hours on most drives.

I think it was static. HAving them on bubble wrap was the issue. Just put them in the box so they are growunded and secure. vibration is not so great on that wiggly surface either.

mine is on 247

all three of my computers stay on 24/7 the only time i shut them down is to reboot

Unless you do it 20 times a day, I doubt it has any noticable effect.

Drives are not meant to be run in that fashion, no way shape or form.

They need air above and below them, they can not "touch" anything while running. The spindle will build up heat and static electricity.

Mount those things in a chassis or some such thing. Don't just leave them out there like that. They are building up heat underneath and will fry.

http://images.google.com/images?q=ex...ff&sa=N&tab=wi

my comp was on all day and night, but suddenly the hd crashed so now I try to shut down all for a few hours/day

ok 'nuff, i put the lil fuckers inside again and mounted them to the chassis ;-)

I turn mine off every night.