[quote="Flack"]In both Windows XP and Windows 7, under Control Panel > Power Settings, you can configure unused drives to spin down/power off after x amount of minutes of non-use.[/quote]

I've had issues with this setting "catching" for external enclosures, at one point accidentally running two drives in a toaster for nearly a week because I assumed Windows would spin them down. And there is the argument that drives don't die while spinning, but it leaves them open to normal wear and tear and for a data drive that isn't actively read / written to or from, it doesn't seem prudent to log hours on them for no reason.

For me this is mainly a mute point, as I'm going to be slotting my loose 2TB drives into a RAID 5 array shortly. But for external data drives that are only occasionally accessed, keeping them on 24 / 7 doesn't seem quite that wise.

[quote="RetroRomper"]If Windows XP / 7 is your primary OS, remember to turn off the external enclosure after you've finished; Windows (unlike Mac OSX and Linux) doesn't spin down the drives when they aren't in use.[/quote]

In both Windows XP and Windows 7, under Control Panel > Power Settings, you can configure unused drives to spin down/power off after x amount of minutes of non-use.

This inevitably leads to the discussion where people argue whether spinning down drives is better or worse for drives then letting them run, the two schools being (a) it's better to spin them down, because less spinning = longer life, and (b) it's better to leave them spinning, because drives are more likely to fail while spinning up than while spinning. From personal experience I can tell you I've seen dozens of hard drives fail while spinning up and only one or two fail while in use, but I really have no vested interest in converting anyone from one school of thought to the other.

Also I guess I should have pointed out that I have no vested interest in who you buy yours from or what brand it is. I bought this one because a friend had the same model. Go with what you know, i guess.

SATA toasters are a great way to swap drives in and out. After a while they stop feeling like hard drives and start to feel like cartridges or something. Between the toaster and one of those IDE-to-USB adapter cables, I can pretty much hook up any old hard drive I have lying around and access it.

To enable [i]informed consumer[/i] mode, let me run you through two other models...

NewEgg's inhouse brand...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182221

Slightly cheaper, closer to a name brand, better reviews and the transaction isn't handled by Tiger Direct.

Dual Bay Toaster...
http://www.amazon.com/Kingwin-2-5-Inch-3-5-Inch-Enclosure-EZD-2536/dp/B002C7H0Y8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340720365&sr=8-1&keywords=EZD-2536

I've been using this model for the last year without any problems (guess I'm double daring it to break down), though the included drivers / application will cause issues mounting the drives. Spiffy, has been working quite well for me (with over 20 TB transferred both ways on one occasion) and its reasonably priced for a two port external dock.

Hmm. That sounds a bit like book-learnin' fancy talk, partner.

Also, Windows does spin unused drives down -- for Chuck Norris. (I promise to never make another Chuck Norris reference on this BBS.)

I'm just kidding. I appreciate the tip. We'll see if I get a chance to use it. My girlfriend left her golden retriever over this morning and she hasn't stopped barking. (The doggie is three years old and came from a rescue.)

If Windows XP / 7 is your primary OS, remember to turn off the external enclosure after you've finished; Windows (unlike Mac OSX and Linux) doesn't spin down the drives when they aren't in use.

Thank you, Flack. I have had need for more storage, and I think this will be an acceptable, affordable solution.

1) Yes, it was an external dock. They are sometimes referred to as "toasters", because, you know ... you put the drives in. Like toast.

Anyway, here's the one I have:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3829117&CatId=2785

They go up or down in price based on a few things, mostly whether or not they can hold a 2.5" or a 3.5" inch drive, and how many drives at a time they can hold. That one does one drive at a time, and can take a drive of either size. It's hot swappable as well (there's a power button) so you can add and/or remove drives without powering your PC down.

2) Works great. I have 2 2TB drives that I do backups on, one of which is always at work, the other of which is always in the toaster. About once a week, sometimes every two weeks, I run a backup and swap the drives.

3) If I hadn't paid so much for them, and didn't constantly have my dick in them, then I would be all over that.

HEY FLACK -- so when I was sleeping in your guest room I saw that you had a setup where it looked like you had a dock for a SATA hard drive? Since we partied hard enough to where I literally had no energy to do anything but >LOOK, I didn't go so far as to put my head near it. Is that what that was? I have a couple SATA drives I'd love to hook up in an external manner but they are "meant" to be internal drives. My questions are:

1) Was that an external dock?
2) Does it work well?
3) Can we put a USB plug on the Roller Derby breasts?