My external hard drive is really hot..

@lady1993 (27225)
Philippines
October 25, 2012 4:06am CST
it even burned me a bit.. Is that normal? I have used the external hard drives of my friends and it becomes hot too.. but not to that point, the boiling point.. I think it needs a fan like the computer has.. what d you think? I don't know much about hardware.
1 person likes this
5 responses
celticeagle
@celticeagle (159008)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Oct 12
I have a laptop and it gets pretty hot sometimes. I baby it. Turn it off if I feel it is too hot. Hot to the touch is too hot to me. I would rather set and wait afew minutes than have something eternally go wrong. I have only had it turn itself off once in the three years I have had it.
Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
26 Oct 12
Laptops are notorious for generating heat because of the confined space in which the components are housed. This is the reason that you are usually advised to keep the laptop well ventilated. An external hard drive has much more room to ventilate and should not run excessively hot under any normal circumstances.
1 person likes this
celticeagle
@celticeagle (159008)
• Boise, Idaho
27 Oct 12
External hard drives maybe. I just keep using mine until it get uncomfortably hot and then I turn it off.
Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
26 Oct 12
There are obviously a variety of reasons that could govern this, the restriction of fans or heat escape being one as has already been mentioned. One factor springs to mind immediately, overheating to a vast extent is often associated with a fault. The device could be drawing excessive power which is generating the heat output. This could be caused either by the device, the power supply or the even the motherboard. You could try it on a different computer to establish that it is not your system's output that is at fault. Assuming that the problem is device related, check the power supply in case the problem starts there.
Rogelio
@rog0322 (2829)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
26 Oct 12
Hi, In my experience, high temperature in a hard drive is a sign of an ailing one. You should consider backing up your data contained therein, some drives just go out without warning, even internal ones.
riyauro
@riyauro (6421)
• India
25 Oct 12
I think it is not normal. we also have a external hard drive and it does not become hot like that to the extent where it can burn you. I think you must have it checked or serviced maybe. try fanning it....Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day ahead.
kiiw013
@kiiw013 (102)
• Slovenia
25 Oct 12
Without knowing the exact temperature of the drive, I cannot tell you for sure that it is too hot. If it is really hotter than drives that you are used to, it could simply mean that you overuse the drive. Do you frequently copy large files and use the drive on a constant basis? How old is the drive? Was it always this hot?