I have a few HDDs that I intend to use for data backup. The projected use case is a full overwrite of contents every month or so, and I intend to read only in the event of data loss on my primary memory units.
I want these drives to last as long as possible, which is why I plan to only keep the drives connected when I want to write and evaluate health. In my mind, this prevents degradation while protecting from edge-case power surges and device theft. Is this strategy going to do anything to extend lifespan, or am I better off keeping the drives plugged in?
Really nothing you can do except be sensible. Don’t move them while they’re powered on, and keep them in a mild temperature and relative humidity environment comfortable for a human. That’s about it.
Just have a backup. And a backup of your backup. That way you don’t have to worry about it.