Hard Drive Power Switch Advice

[elsmandino]

Hi there,

I was thinking of adding a few extra hard drives into my HTPC/Server as I am running out of room.

However, I already have three in there and I don't want things to get to hot an noisy.

I know that I could have the hard drives spin down after a set amount of time but as the computer keeps going to sleep (for recording TV) the hard drives keep spinning up.

I have come accross this however:

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=487&cl_index=2&sc_index=6&ss_index=125

Which would seem to be perfect (I hope). As long as I re-install Windows in AHCI mode on the motherboard, I should be able to eject a hard drive if I am not using it and then disconnect the power to it.

I can then turn on and off only the hard drives I actually need.

Can anyone confirm whether this Switch is going to work how I am imagining it to?

 

[Jocelyn84]

I actually have a bz-h06, that I used to use when working at home. They could see all my drives when I would VPN, so naturally I turned my home drives off prior to boot up. I'm unsure whether you can turn drives on and off, while the system is running, as I only did it with the system off. Maybe someone else could provide you with more info about powering on and off while the system is running.

 

[Gillbot]

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/duduhadrposw.html

There are also a few google articles about making your own.

 

[elsmandino]

Hi there,

At last, someone that actually owns one of these things! Thank you.

They seem to be a fantastic idea as far as I can see but there are just no reviews on the web of people actually using them.

Hopefully someone on here might have had some experience of hot swapping with it as you say.

Gillbot - you have given me a great idea with that link - I might consider putting linux and windows on two separate hard drives.

Thanks for your input.

 

[corkyg]

If the drive is SATA, you can turn it on/off hot. Another option, probably more tried and true, is the mobile rack. The newish EX-Swap 4 lets you put SATA drives in and out without a caddy, and is pretty slick.

http://www.vantecusa.com/gl/product/view_detail/408

Here's a close up view:

And this is what the LCD display shows:

 

[Gillbot]

I actually have a bz-h06, that I used to use when working at home. They could see all my drives when I would VPN, so naturally I turned my home drives off prior to boot up. I'm unsure whether you can turn drives on and off, while the system is running, as I only did it with the system off. Maybe someone else could provide you with more info about powering on and off while the system is running.

You should be able to power them up while the system is running as I've done so in the past.