Hardware Let hard drive plugged permanently

[misterzeb]

This afternoon, I finally "inaugurated" my hard drive on the Wii, after installing USB Loader GX and everything else needed. It works perfectly fine.

But I'd like to keep my hard drive plugged all the time, instead of unplugging it every time I power off the Wii. Can it be a problem? For the hard drive itself or for its detection by loaders?

On a related note (this is my second question), I turned on the Wii with the HD already plugged, and USB Loader GX gave me a black screen. Do you think it's related, or was it just a random bug? (the HD power light was on).
Restarting again and plugging the HD *after* did the trick, but I don't know if it's a coincidence or not.

FYI, I have a WD My Passport Digital 500 GB (supposedly the best in its category).

Thanks for your help!

 

[nico445]

isn't dangerous or something. but if it is external powered turn it off after use.

 

[Conundrum1911]

I'm pretty sure a WD Passport is USB powered, so when you power off the Wii, the drive will power off too as it's own source of power is the Wii's USB. If it has it's own power adapter/plug however, best practice would be to shut it down when not using the Wii, so you are not putting more wear and tear on the drive's motor for no reason.

 

[misterzeb]

The HD is indeed USB-powered, so no risk on that side

I was mostly wondering if there wouldn't be a kind of "mini power surge" when turning the Wii on...

But I'm probably being paranoid ^^

 

[Conundrum1911]

The HD is indeed USB-powered, so no risk on that side

I was mostly wondering if there wouldn't be a kind of "mini power surge" when turning the Wii on...

But I'm probably being paranoid ^^

No more than your mouse/keyboard would get on your computer lol. Only thing I would recommend is if your hard drive has a dual plug (2 USB plugs), I'd plug both into the Wii, so it draws normal voltage across both plugs (vs sucking double down 1 that "could" damage the Wii's USB over time...in theory).

 

[misterzeb]

Lucky me, this WD model is a single plug one

Thanks all for your answers so far, now I know leaving my HD plugged is not a problem, at least in terms of safety

But can it affect the startup of my USB loader? (I'm not talking in general but for my particular HD model).