Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 500G Ext.3.5" USB HDD

I have used Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 500G Ext.3.5" USB HDD

Now would you mind to suggest it,
(1) that 500GB in one DRIVE is oke? will stable?

(2) need doing SCANDISK/ DEFRAG in per weeks?

(3) if doing SCANDISK/ DEFRAG , is REAL LOADING that windows, or logon username that windows?

(4) if POWER AC is always turn on, but that USB data cable (if need insert PC, else un-plug it )
doing this step is stable (HDD life)?

Thanks!

 

Hello Visee,

Yes, it should be stable. Read the information about it at Seagate
Seagate Technology - FreeAgent™ Desktop
You can go to their Support webpage and check for FAQs (Frequently asked questions) about the drive. It should have come with a setup CD, it should have a manual or User Guide on that CD.

The drive is likely to be formatted as FAT32. FAT32 has a file size limit of 4GB. You may want to consider reformatting it in the NTFS format, but this may make any Seagate utility unable to "work" on the drive. Check the FAQs.

Defrag when you delete or remove large amounts of files off the drive (that is what can cause fragmentation).

Scandisk is the old name (Win 98, ME, etc) for the file system checking program. If you are using Win 2000, XP, Vista it is the program CHKDSK (disk error checking). Defrag is not error checking, it just sorts files that are fragmented. It is good to run Error Checking on the drive before you run a defrag, it may avoid any possible problems.

If you use it infrequently, I would turn it off. If it was needed to be used, say, several times a day, I might leave it running. The drive starting up and stopping may reduce the life a little, but I would rather not waste the power [Edit: Check if there is any information about power saving in the manual].

Matt