Turn off hard disks selectively?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nigel Molesworth
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Nigel Molesworth

I've got 3 hard drives on my PC. One of them is only used for backup
purposes, so it would be nice if I could turn this off when I don't
need it (99.99..% of the time).

Is there a way to turn off hard disks selectively?
 
Nigel said:
I've got 3 hard drives on my PC. One of them is only used for backup
purposes, so it would be nice if I could turn this off when I don't
need it (99.99..% of the time).

Is there a way to turn off hard disks selectively?
Click to expand...

If power saving is the reason, it isn't worth it, since a typical HD
only uses ~5W when idle.
 
In Nigel Molesworth had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
I've got 3 hard drives on my PC. One of them is only used for backup
purposes, so it would be nice if I could turn this off when I don't
need it (99.99..% of the time).

Is there a way to turn off hard disks selectively?
Click to expand...

The easy way?

Go to the store, get a case w/USB 2.0, pull the drive, plug it into the
case, and hook it up.

The hard way?

I don't know a hard way honestly?

You could probably find out which drive it was identified as in the hardware
control and write a VBScript to disable it and one to enable it... Create a
path to it and a shortcut key from the keyboard but it seems that all the
time one would spend creating such a thing (even if you can control that -
which I'm not 100% sure you can - I don't know the method) would negate any
time, financial, or hardware life expectancy gain when compared to the
external device which also has the added benefit of then becoming an easily
portable storage unit. (Coupled with NTFS and EFS it is even reasonably
secure.)

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/ http://kgiii.info/

"Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its
solution is its own
reward." - Sherlock Holmes
 
Nigel Molesworth said:
I've got 3 hard drives on my PC. One of them is only used for backup
purposes, so it would be nice if I could turn this off when I don't
need it (99.99..% of the time).

Is there a way to turn off hard disks selectively?
Click to expand...


Nigel:
I'm not aware of any current software program or hardware device (that's
practical for the consumer) that will do this, but see my following
comments. I do recall there was such a software program that was available a
few years back but it didn't work very well and I believe it was taken off
the market. (Actually, in a way it worked *too* well. It shut down the HDD
alright, but it had problems powering it back up!).

Anyway, assuming you're working with a desktop PC, could you consider a
mobile rack (removable HDD) to house that HDD? You would need, of course, an
available 5 1/4" bay to install the removable drive. The installation of
such together with its connectivity is quite simple and it's a very
effective way to house your HDD. A simple turn of the keylock is all that's
necessary to power on/power off the HDD. Keep in mind this device treats
your HDD in an identical fashion as any internal HDD, so there's no
performance loss (as there would be if you used the HDD as a USB device as
someone suggested).

Mobile racks are not too expensive these days. There's a wide range of
prices usually depending upon the construction (aluminum - plastic) of these
devices. They all seem to work pretty well from our experience. (We've been
using them for more than six years now. I wouldn't build a desktop PC that
didn't contain removable HDDs. The flexibility and peace of mind you get
with this hardware configuration cannot be overestimated. It's that good.)

You may like it so much you'll want to house *all* your HDDs in that manner!
Anna
 
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