Turning a HDD off with a setting/program

timmymeuk1 · 25 Mar 2010 at 23:36

I need a setting or program that turns off the sata hdd that i only use for my backup files at night. The only setting I can find is the one in power management where it says switch off hard drive but i only want the one im not using to turn off ( less noise and power )

theheyes · 25 Mar 2010 at 23:41

It should spin down by default after 20 minutes I think - is that what you mean?

mrk · 25 Mar 2010 at 23:55

I've searched but there isn't anything I found that can do this.

Only solution is to put it in an eSATA enclosure or a slightly cheaper method (£25~) buy a 5.25" drivebay caddy from icybox if you don't want to have to use an extra plug and have cables via the enclosure.

TheVoice · 26 Mar 2010 at 20:46

The power management setting you've mentioned is your best bet really. Your main system drive won't ever turn off, Windows accesses it too frequently for it to ever have the chance to.

mrk · 26 Mar 2010 at 20:50

The main drive will turn off. It will turn off if there's no user activity or running scheduled task (defrag etc) or background application. The moment a background user application finishes the hdd sleep timer will kick off for all drives.

TheVoice · 26 Mar 2010 at 21:38

The last time I had a system drive spin down was on Windows Me. No OS since has ever given it the chance to, it's always accessing it for something in my experience across many, many systems.