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Should I power off when adding or removing drives?

Question
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I have one of those 1TB Seagate drives with the questionable firmware currently installed as my second drive on my HP MSS EX470, with about 320gb used on it. I haven't had any problems with it yet, but think it's safer to remove it at this point, and flash the firmware when I get a chance(I don't currently have any desktop with SATA connectors so it's gonna have to wait)
My plan is to purchase 2 Western Digital 1TB drives and remove the Seagate.
What is the best practice is in regards to adding and removing drives. I've currently got duplication turned on, so I plan to install one of the 1tb drives in slot 3. Should I be powering off the HP MSS before I insert the new drive in Slot 3?
Once I've got the new WD 1TB drive in place, and prepare it in the console, I plan to remove the Seagate using the console, at which point I assume it will copy all of the files to the new 1tb drive leaving the Seagate empty. At which point I assume the light on the seagate slot should turn purple..
When removing the Seagate should I power off the server before removing it, or just remove it?
Once the Seagate is out of slot 2, I planned to put the other 1tb Western Digital into that slot, once again... should I power off while inserting the new drive, or is it ok to leave it on??Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:16 AM
Answers
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activoice said:IMO, I wouldn't even consider leaving it on (best practice is to always shut down the computer when adding new hardware internally). I mean, really, how long does it take to turn it off, add the drive, then turn it back on?
I have one of those 1TB Seagate drives with the questionable firmware currently installed as my second drive on my HP MSS EX470, with about 320gb used on it. I haven't had any problems with it yet, but think it's safer to remove it at this point, and flash the firmware when I get a chance(I don't currently have any desktop with SATA connectors so it's gonna have to wait)
My plan is to purchase 2 Western Digital 1TB drives and remove the Seagate.
What is the best practice is in regards to adding and removing drives. I've currently got duplication turned on, so I plan to install one of the 1tb drives in slot 3. Should I be powering off the HP MSS before I insert the new drive in Slot 3?
activoice said:Correct.Once I've got the new WD 1TB drive in place, and prepare it in the console, I plan to remove the Seagate using the console, at which point I assume it will copy all of the files to the new 1tb drive leaving the Seagate empty.
activoice said:Same logic as above.At which point I assume the light on the seagate slot should turn purple..
When removing the Seagate should I power off the server before removing it, or just remove it?
activoice said:Once the Seagate is out of slot 2, I planned to put the other 1tb Western Digital into that slot, once again... should I power off while inserting the new drive, or is it ok to leave it on??
Still same logic.- Edited by kariya21Moderator Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:25 AM typo
- Marked as answer by activoice Wednesday, March 25, 2009 8:20 PM
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:24 AMModerator
All replies
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activoice said:IMO, I wouldn't even consider leaving it on (best practice is to always shut down the computer when adding new hardware internally). I mean, really, how long does it take to turn it off, add the drive, then turn it back on?
I have one of those 1TB Seagate drives with the questionable firmware currently installed as my second drive on my HP MSS EX470, with about 320gb used on it. I haven't had any problems with it yet, but think it's safer to remove it at this point, and flash the firmware when I get a chance(I don't currently have any desktop with SATA connectors so it's gonna have to wait)
My plan is to purchase 2 Western Digital 1TB drives and remove the Seagate.
What is the best practice is in regards to adding and removing drives. I've currently got duplication turned on, so I plan to install one of the 1tb drives in slot 3. Should I be powering off the HP MSS before I insert the new drive in Slot 3?
activoice said:Correct.Once I've got the new WD 1TB drive in place, and prepare it in the console, I plan to remove the Seagate using the console, at which point I assume it will copy all of the files to the new 1tb drive leaving the Seagate empty.
activoice said:Same logic as above.At which point I assume the light on the seagate slot should turn purple..
When removing the Seagate should I power off the server before removing it, or just remove it?
activoice said:Once the Seagate is out of slot 2, I planned to put the other 1tb Western Digital into that slot, once again... should I power off while inserting the new drive, or is it ok to leave it on??
Still same logic.- Edited by kariya21Moderator Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:25 AM typo
- Marked as answer by activoice Wednesday, March 25, 2009 8:20 PM
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:24 AMModerator -
Check your manual. If it says the drive bays are hot-pluggable, then no, you don't need to turn the server off when adding or removing drives. SATA drives are designed to be hot-swappable, it just depends if the motherboard can cope. (Windows Server 2003 is certainly able to cope with it if the hardware can).Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:19 PM
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Thanks, figured it's safer to power down, just wasn't sure what most people normally do.Tuesday, March 24, 2009 11:26 PM
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Richard Holland said:
Check your manual. If it says the drive bays are hot-pluggable, then no, you don't need to turn the server off when adding or removing drives. SATA drives are designed to be hot-swappable, it just depends if the motherboard can cope. (Windows Server 2003 is certainly able to cope with it if the hardware can).
Yes, I know what the manual says. His question was "What is the best practice..."? I still wouldn't do it.- Edited by kariya21Moderator Tuesday, March 24, 2009 11:55 PM more info
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 11:51 PMModerator