Keep drive offline in USB ext case, on only for rip?

[Mike6]

I'm wondering about the choice between putting the ripping drive in a PC or a ext USB case. I picked up a couple Dell 7010 SFF (small form factor) mini towers and planned to set one up as a dedicated ripping station, but mostly CDs and normal DVDs, only rarely UHQ content.

General plan is to use the drive for a few weeks for "normal" ripping, to make sure the mechanicals have no issues, then do the flashing and UHQ testing.

Is DOA or early failure much of an issue?

Is it too paranoid to keep the drive powered off in an external case and only connect it to rip UHQ?

[BlueMac77]

I'm wondering about the choice between putting the ripping drive in a PC or a ext USB case. I picked up a couple Dell 7010 SFF (small form factor) mini towers and planned to set one up as a dedicated ripping station, but mostly CDs and normal DVDs, only rarely UHQ content.

General plan is to use the drive for a few weeks for "normal" ripping, to make sure the mechanicals have no issues, then do the flashing and UHQ testing.

Is DOA or early failure much of an issue?

Is it too paranoid to keep the drive powered off in an external case and only connect it to rip UHQ?

It’s fine to keep the external drive powered off when not in use. It’s just anyone’s choice. In my case, I prefer using an external blu-ray drive and when not using the ext drive, I keep it in a box to protect it from dust. I used to have the drive installed internally in my computer but I noticed, in time the drive gathers a lot of dust.

My nephew’s internal LG blu ray drive stopped working as the drive no longer reads and burns discs. I disassembled his BD drive and gently cleaned the dust inside and on the lens. Re-assembled the drive and it was now working fine.