Keeping External USB hard drive attached always

I just got a Western Digital My Book 500 GB hard disk. It attaches via USB. I was wondering is it better to keep the drive connected all the time? (ie even when i m not using it/copying stuff to it etc) Or to remove it when i m not working with it. What when when i m shutting down or restarting the computer. Should i 'Safely Remove' it or keep it connected and then ShutDonw/Restart the computer?
Which will prolong the drive life and keep the data safe?

 

Using a hard drive as little as possible will obviously extend its lifetime, so I'd advise that you unplug it when you don't need it.

 

Its actually fine to keep it connected. The WD My books automatically power down after 10 minutes of no activity. So that means that the harddrive shuts off.
You should safely remove the USB every time

K-TRON

 

All external hard disks have standard 2.5” or 3.5” hard disks inside; therefore, having it connected all the time is not a problem.

But if you are not using it regularly then I think disconnecting is probably the best thing to do. Because even though external hard disks power down after being inactive for a while like K-TRON said, they spin up from time to time for no apparent reason (i.e : when you try to browse a file or use Windows explorer etc.. even to access your internal HDD’s files, and when you shutdown your PC); this usually cause the Windows explorer to not respond for a couple of seconds which for me is annoying at times. Not to mention the unnecessary stress/work on the external hard disk.

 

Thanks guys i'll start disconnecting it when its not in use

 

I've run torrents off a 200 GB external Maxtor for the past 3 years and it's still alive and kicking.

It really just depends on the quality of the controller in the USB enclosure.

 

One more thing no-one considers.

Bootin up with "external stuff" takes longer than without.

I find that for me its best to load without USB devices, then shut down with them and after that power everything off.
(Socket with remote)

 

^ will the external USB drive shut oof itself when i shut down the computer? How do u turn off your devices?

 

I have a 500GB MyBook thats been plugged into a server for the past year 24/7. We use it for archiving/backup and its still alive working till this day.