Can my desktop HDD spin down without the "laptop-mode" service?

Matthew Wai · 08-19-2022, 01:00 AM

UnionTech OS, abbreviated to "UOS", is currently running from the internal HDD on my desktop PC.

https://linux.die.net/man/8/laptop_mode
The above page says "The intent of laptop mode is to increase battery life by letting your hard drive spin down."

If I disable "laptop_mode", will my HDD keep spinning even when my desktop is sleeping?

Keruskerfuerst · 08-19-2022, 02:36 AM

Do you mean sleeping with hibernation or similar ?

You can test this feature by using it.
And you can also use hdparm: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/hdparm.

Matthew Wai · 08-19-2022, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keruskerfuerst

Do you mean sleeping with hibernation or similar ?

I have never clicked on the "Hibernate" icon, which is just next to the "Suspend" icon, on which I sometimes click.
When I click on the "Suspend" icon, my PC will go to sleep, and it will wake up as soon as I press a key on the keyboard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keruskerfuerst

You can test this feature by using it.

Assuming "this feature" refers to hibernation, I will not use it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keruskerfuerst

And you can also use hdparm: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/hdparm.

I cannot manually run "hdparm" because UOS is always running from the HDD.
I believe UOS will automatically run "hdparm" after I click on the "Suspend" icon.

Keruskerfuerst · 08-19-2022, 07:12 AM

In the Arch Wiki, this command is better described.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Laptop_Mode_Tools

Matthew Wai · 08-20-2022, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keruskerfuerst

In the Arch Wiki, this command is better described.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Laptop_Mode_Tools

Have I understood correctly that the service "laptop-mode" allows an HDD to automatically spin down when the system has been idle for a specified amount of time?

lvm_ · 08-20-2022, 03:53 AM

Not quite. HDD spins down when idle by itself, but this feature has to be enabled and configured. laptop-mode does it by invoking hdparm, but there is no reason to use it just for that, using hdparm or smartctl without a middleman makes more sense to me. And yes, if your PC goes into ACPI-compliant sleep mode, disks will spin down regardless of what is installed and configured on you machine.

Matthew Wai · 08-20-2022, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lvm_

if your PC goes into ACPI-compliant sleep mode, disks will spin down regardless of what is installed and configured on you machine.

Please tell me whether the following statements are correct:

(1) Without "laptop-mode", an HDD will not spin down when it is idle.
(2) Without "laptop-mode", an HDD will still spin down when my PC goes to sleep.

lvm_ · 08-20-2022, 09:11 AM

1-no, other tools can do that too
2-yes

ondoho · 08-22-2022, 12:36 PM

FWIW, I use TLP on my laptop, and I can see no reason why it shouldn't work on a desktop, too.