How to manually turn off hard disk?

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C

ch

Hi,
I am wondering if anyone knows if there is an application that I can
use to turn off the hard disk?

I have 2 internal hdd and 1 external hard disk connected using USB
enclosure. The first internal hard disk contains Win2000 and the second
internal harddisk contains Linux. The external hard disk is mainly for
Data.

Everytime when i use Windows 2000, I do not access the Linux hd, and
vice versa. And because of this, I am wondering if there is an
application that I can use to manually turn off the second hdd and,
sometimes, the external USB hdd.

I was thinking, since I dont access the hdd, I might as well turn it
off in order to save energy and also to lessen the heat generated in my
cpu casing. At the same time, i can minimize the wear and tear of the
hdd.

If anyone knows of an application or some idea how i can accomplish
that, really appreciate if you could share it. Thanks very much
Rgds,
ch
 
Hi,
I am wondering if anyone knows if there is an application that I can
use to turn off the hard disk?
Click to expand...
If anyone knows of an application or some idea how i can accomplish
that, really appreciate if you could share it. Thanks very much
Rgds,
ch
Click to expand...


My case is open and at desktop level and I am always choosing which of
the many drives to have operate by simply putting on or pulling off
the 4 wire power cable. In my case I may have to choose in the bios
which is my start up drive.
In the case of the external, again power on/off does it for me.
 
I had some luck with this with Windows in the past when I had a mobo
with two disk controllers. I connected the system disk to one and the
backup disk to the other. I then set the power management to turn off
the drives after certain period of idle time. The system disk would
always stay on as expected and the backup disk would turn off after some
time.

Caveats:

1. This worked only if the drives were connected to separate controllers
since the OS power management only worked on a controller level.

2. Clicking on My Computer in Windows would cause the backup disk to
spin up.

Not sure how you would do this in Linux.

Another option is to get a drive drawer/caddy system. You insert only
the drive you want to use.

mb
 
ch said:
Hi,
I am wondering if anyone knows if there is an application that I can
use to turn off the hard disk?

I have 2 internal hdd and 1 external hard disk connected using USB
enclosure. The first internal hard disk contains Win2000 and the second
internal harddisk contains Linux. The external hard disk is mainly for
Data.

Everytime when i use Windows 2000, I do not access the Linux hd, and
vice versa. And because of this, I am wondering if there is an
application that I can use to manually turn off the second hdd and,
sometimes, the external USB hdd.

I was thinking, since I dont access the hdd, I might as well turn it
off in order to save energy and also to lessen the heat generated in my
cpu casing. At the same time, i can minimize the wear and tear of the
hdd.

If anyone knows of an application or some idea how i can accomplish
that, really appreciate if you could share it. Thanks very much
Rgds,
ch
Click to expand...

The power saving for an idle HD is typically ~10W; in the US, that means
(order of magnitude) a dime per week.

And, since current HDs have a MTBF of ~100 powered-on YEARs, your saving
on wear'n'tear is not very important.
 
What you said is true. In fact, I think turning a drive off and on
probably does more harm to the drive than leaving it running constantly.
The reason is due to electrical and mechanical shocks.

In any case, most people who want to do this probably do it for other
more practical reasons, such as reduction of heat and noise, espeically
the latter for drives made in the pre-FDB days! :-)

mb
 
ch said:
I am wondering if anyone knows if there is an application that I can
use to turn off the hard disk?
Click to expand...


I do this not with software, but with a DPST toggle switch
on each internal hard drives' power cable. The switches are
miniature toggle switches that are made to mount in a 1/4"
panel hole. I use existing vent holes in the front of my PC's
metal chassis, underneath the front plastic bezel. They are
out of the way so they can't be switched accidentally or
absent-mindedly. To throw them, I use a large partially opened
paperclip that I insert through one of the vent holes in the
plastic bezel. They work beautifully to isolate the original
WinXP after a cloning operation so that the clone's 1st bootup
won't allow the new clone to see its "parent" and thereby set
its own system pointers to link with files in its "parent". The
only caveat is to not switch any drive's power while the PC is
running.

One 4-wire cable runs between a female Molex connector
that I assembled myself to the toggle switch, and another
4-wire cable runs from the toggle switch to a male connector
for the hard drive. The toggle switch interrupts just the positive
voltage wires (red and yellow) on their way to the hard drive.
The two black wires (return lines) are continuously connected
(i.e. unswitched). The switches are actually DPDT (double pole,
double throw) but wired as DPST (double pole, single throw)
and made by GC Electronics as their model no. 35-010 and
rated for 5 amps @ 28VDC. It mounts in a 1/4" diameter
chassis hole, the toggle arm reaches 1/2", and 1/2' x 1/2" body
has a 5/8" depth. The connector block and pins are made
by Philmore Electronics and are copies of the Molex hard
drive power connectors. If you can't get the connector parts,
you can splice wires onto the connectors from pre-made
Y-adaptors or extensions for hard drive power cables. This
is all within the skill set of any electronic hobbyist kid.

*TimDaniels*
 
Mel Bourne said:
What you said is true.
Click to expand...

Actually, it was rather clueless.
MTBF isn't the same as service life of the drive, (the typical amount of time before
the drive enters the period where failures due to component wear-out increase).
In fact, I think turning a drive off and on
probably does more harm to the drive than leaving it running constantly.
Click to expand...
The reason is due to electrical and mechanical shocks.
Click to expand...

Imagine the shock it gets when it finally spins down after a year of continual use.
It may not spin-up again.
 
Folkert Rienstra said:
Imagine the shock it gets when it finally spins down
after a year of continual use. It may not spin-up again.
Click to expand...


So what is therapeutic about spinning down periodically
as opposed to continuing to spin? As long as the disk
is spinning, a layer of air keeps the heads off the platters
and a layer of fluid is maintained between the disk's bearing
surfaces. At head "landing" and "takeoff", the layer of air
is not there, and the bearing surfaces rest against each
other. It would seem to me that the spin-ups and spin-downs
are the avoidable events that make for physical wear.

*TimDaniels*
 
Timothy Daniels said:
So what is therapeutic about spinning down periodically
as opposed to continuing to spin? As long as the disk
is spinning, a layer of air keeps the heads off the platters
and a layer of fluid is maintained between the disk's bearing
surfaces. At head "landing" and "takeoff", the layer of air
is not there, and the bearing surfaces rest against each
other. It would seem to me that the spin-ups and spin-downs
are the avoidable events that make for physical wear.
Click to expand...
There is a lubricating layer on the platter, and it should be used
occasionally.
 
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