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Can a USB HD be turned on/off with a power switch?

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by robls99, 2010/02/13.

  1. 2010/02/13
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I would like to be able to turn on/off my external USB Passport HD from the front panel switch of my power control just like I used to do with my old external HD which had a power cord plugged in. This way I won't forget to turn it off after my nightly backup (the computer is always left on but I don't have any reason to want to unplug the HD USB every nite).

    1. Is there any way to accomplish this?

    2. If I plugged in the HD to a powered hub and then switched the hub on/off from by power control would that work?
     
    Last edited: 2010/02/14
    robls99,
    #1
  2. 2010/02/14
    wildfire

    wildfire Getting Old

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    My external drive comes with it's own switch at the rear.

    Yes that would work but...Although USB devices are hot swappable I wouldn't recommend removing/powering down a data storage device before shutting down the PC or using "Safely Remove Hardware" in the Notification Area.

    If you remember to do the above you'll remember to power down the drive, if you forget or don't bother you're dicing with your backups ;)

    EDIT: I would recommend you connect the drive to a powered hub anyway, it'll take some strain of your onboard ports.
     
    wildfire,
    #2


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  4. 2010/02/14
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    How are you doing the bnightly backup? If initiated from a bat file or cmd file, you can use the util from MS called devcon. This util can be called from the script to safely remove the hardware after the backup is completed.

    Find your usb device like so:
    devcon status *

    Example of output for Maxtor usb drive:
    SBP2\MAXTOR&ONETOUCH&LUN0\0010B9F700AFC279

    bat file command to safely remove this hardware:
    devcon remove sbp2\maxtor*
    (use * instead of typing all the info)

    Ultimately, you could use a bat file to start the backup program you are using, then safely remove the external usb drive, then manually power off the external drive.

    Failing to safely remove the hardware by just turning it off WILL eventually corrupt the data on the drive or its partition table will get corrupted and Windows will prompt you to format the drive. This is inevitable.

    On the other hand, there's no reason to shut off the external drive. It's consuming very little power and as the disk is not being used or read by any program, the wear & tear factor is null.
     
    Last edited: 2010/02/14
    TonyT,
    #3
  5. 2010/02/14
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    TonyT,

    I'm running my backup from Acronis.

    Please clarify, I assumed the Safely Remove Hardware would come on automatically at some point but apparently that isn't the case? (if I have to use that defcon/batch file to see the remove icon I guess I can do that ok).

    Also I believe the HD spins all the time and that is why I thought I should turn it off when done.

    What do you think about the idea to just use the powered hub on a switch (after making sure I see the remove icon?
     
    robls99,
    #4
  6. 2010/02/14
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    The "Safely Remove Hardware" icon should always be there if have usb connected devices. The exception would be usb printers. If have an external usb hard drive then that icon should always be there unless you installed some proprietary software that accompanied the drive.
     
    TonyT,
    #5
  7. 2010/02/15
    robls99 Lifetime Subscription

    robls99 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    ok, thanks for the help.

    Rob
     
    robls99,
    #6

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