I have a simple Windows XP Homeserver PC, with an external 2TB attached to it via USB which is then shared across the network as a backup drive for all the PC's in the house. To save power, I've set the Homeserver to shutdown everyday at 21:30 and start again at 6:00, however, because the external hard drive has its own power source, it stays running all night long.
I have heard it is better to leave a hard drive turned on and spinning rather than turning it off and on, but I'm just wondering, should I turn it off every now again (maybe once a week?) to allow the drive to "rest" a bit?
Answer
The spin up/down process is much worse on a hard drive than leaving it on 24x7.
That being said, there is no one answer fits all, and you can have hard drives that work 10 years down the line being turned off and on a few times a day and others that crash out within a year of being on 24x7.
Also, I have seen some bad USB enclosures that keep the drive spinning at maximum speed 24x7 and can cause shortness in life (I no longer use my old Thermaltake enclosure for this reason).
Only you can really judge this and your needs.... Sorry!
Also, here is an interesting question from Server Fault.
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