Need some answers...
 

I have an external hard drive. Should I keep it plugged in to my computer, or should I just plug it in when I need it? Also, can I move things around within my EHD? For example: I may have a kit that consists of several folders,...alphas, embellishments, papers, etc. I would rather have the whole kit in one folder. Can I combine the folders into one?

I leave mine plugged into because it's set to automatically back up once a day, but I think that's really a personal decision.

Combining folders into one shouldn't cause any problems. Treat it like it's your normal hard drive on your computer.

I think the plugging in depends on how often you plan to use it. I operate on the theory that the less it's plugged in, the less wear and tear on it, so I've done different things.

-Right now my EHD is just for backup, so I plug it in once a week to supplement daily online backups.
-At one point I had an EHD that was my main scrapping drive and my online backup service backed it up, so I had it plugged in all the time.
-When I used an EHD as a secondary scrapping drive (ie, newest and favorite kits on the computer's HD, everything else on the EHD) I plugged it in as needed, about 2-3 times a week. I wasn't backing the EHD up to an online service then.

And yes, you can move things around exactly as you would on your computer's HD.

I had an EHD fail after 2 weeks and was told by the manufacturer to only keep it plugged in when in use, to reduce the exposure to failure. I make transfers once a month and transfer to both a DVD and the EHD. ... and like the other ladies said, you can move folders around on your EHD just like you would on your computer. HTH!

Ok, thanks for answering my questions. I was worried more about moving stuff around, but I feel better about it now. I will probably try burning contents to a disc. That sounds good to me.

Yeah, I only plug mine in when I'm using it. I figure less wear and tear that way.