Question about unplugging a TM drive...

Quick question - I intend to backup using time machine on an external USB drive (WD elements 750 GB). Do i have to keep the drive plugged in and switched on whenever i use the computer? I have some music, pics and docs to be backed up, but don’t add or change them that often that i need to back them up regularly, so was thinking I use TM a couple of times a week. What would happen if i unplug the TM drive after a backup? Would TM initiate a full backup when i plug it back in, or just back up the changed files only? Should i switch off TM before unplugging the drive? What do people with laptops do? They can't keep the external drive plugged in all the time...
Know this may be a silly question, but I'm a TM newbie, just testing Snow Leopard out before updating my Tiger systems.
Thanks.

Zany Ninja wrote:
Do i have to keep the drive plugged in and switched on whenever i use the computer? I have some music, pics and docs to be backed up, but don’t add or change them that often that i need to back them up regularly
No, you don't have to, but especially on your iMac, it's best to leave it on, plugged-in, and TM running. That's how TM is designed to work, and will protect you best. Once the lengthy first backup is done, subsequent hourly incremental backups are usually so quick and unobtrusive, you won't even notice them.
What would happen if i unplug the TM drive after a backup?
If you eject it first, there's no problem. If you just unplug it, OSX can't "close out" the disk properly, which can damage the backups.
Would TM initiate a full backup when i plug it back in
No, unless you wait many days (at least 10).
Should i switch off TM before unplugging the drive?
No. TM will just wait for the drive to become available.
What do people with laptops do? They can't keep the external drive plugged in all the time...
Many back-up wirelessly, to a Time Capsule.
Others do what may work well for you; keep a drive attached to your iMac as mentioned above, then share that drive with your laptop, and let TM on the laptop back up to it wirelessly. That will be somewhat slower, of course, but still shouldn't be very obtrusive (after the first one). If you do that, I'd suggest partitioning the drive, so TM on each Mac has it's own, exclusive space. See #4 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.

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