I have a My Book Essential external hard-drive from WD that ships with a 12Vdc 1.5A 18 Watt adapter. Will I be risking everything by plugging it into a 12Vdc 1.25A adapter?
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Yes, there is a risk that you will lose data if you try this: if hard drive draws more than 1.25A and the 1.25A supply can't supply this, the voltage supplied will drop to lower than 12V. This may cause the drive to stop working suddenly in the middle of a data write, which could cause data corruption. Conceivably this voltage drop might also damage the electronics in the drive.
I think the chances of this sort of damage occurring is fairly low (probably the drive draws less than 1.25A almost all the time), but it is a risk nonetheless.
Chris Johnson
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Thanks! Will I fry it if I use a 12Vdc 2A supply? – user41014 Apr 28 '14 at 10:13
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@user41014 No, it will not fry. It will work perfectly because it will draw as much current as needed. – Cornelius Apr 28 '14 at 10:20