Hard Disk Timeout/Standby BIOS/hdparm

win32sux · 01-28-2005, 07:43 AM

i want to set my IDE hard disk to stop spinning after some inactivity...

in my BIOS i have set the "Hard Disk Timeout" to 15 minutes, but i don't think it's having any effect... how can i test??

should i try and do this with the "-S" option of hdparm instead?? and once again how could i test if it's working??

what's the difference between the two methods (BIOS/hdparm)??

i'm just trying to extend my disk's life a little bit... this computer remains turned-on 24/7, yet it's only used sporadically by the family...

by the way, my hard disk is a Samsung SV4002H...

win32sux · 01-29-2005, 04:45 PM

win32sux · 01-31-2005, 08:53 PM

Electro · 01-31-2005, 11:51 PM

Putting the hard drive in stand-by will not increase its life-span. Its the opposite what you think. Leaving the hard drive on all the time will not decrease the lifespan. Cooling the hard drive makes it last longer.

If you care for power like for a notebook and do not care how long the hard drive will last, you can put the hard drive in stand-by mode. You will need to stop some logging services before putting it in stand-by mode.

win32sux · 02-01-2005, 12:05 AM

thanks for the reply electro! i really appreciate it!

i'm gonna try and get one of those hard-drive cooling thinggies then... i googled these just now:

http://www.xoxide.com/hardrivcool1.html

thanks for setting me straight about the hard disk lifetime issue...

oh, and yeah, the logging thing explains why i never got it to standby, i do a lot of logging... i should have known better, hehe... =)

once again, thanks!