I now have two external hard drives.

One has programs I access every day.

However, the other one is keeping only video.

I may only access this drive a couple of times a week.

Should I turn it off between uses? (It is hooked up through the USB port, but also needs to plug into its own power supply)

Or will the wear and tear of turning it off and on outweigh any benefits of powering down between uses.

Also, if I do power down, do I need to remove the USB port connector after pressing the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon and turning off the drive?

As always, thank you any and all for your input and advice. :agree: