Powering down and powering up HDD's with PC running

[Elcs]

Hello all,

I have rejigged my PC about as much as necessary for quiet operation but one thing still bugs me.

I have an HDD, oddly enough, a Samsung Spinpoint that is quite irritating when trying to sleep, if it decides it wants to do some kind of operation.

Is it feasible in Windows Vista.... to shutdown a PATA drive (hooked up by a PATA -> SATA converter) and power it back up at a later date by using software only means?

This may sound like an odd question but I spent as much on my PC as I can afford without compromising other, more important aspects of my life and without attempting to isolate my Fathers quietest drive, this seems like the most suitable option.

I appreciate any answers that can be given regarding this.

 

[Jiggz]

What about just placing the system in Standby? Or maybe in Hibernation? Most hdd have power down options which can be set in the BIOS (if the bios supports it) and also in the Advance Power Management in Control Panel. The option is how soon you want the system to power down the hdd during inactivity.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: Jiggz
What about just placing the system in Standby? Or maybe in Hibernation? Most hdd have power down options which can be set in the BIOS (if the bios supports it) and also in the Advance Power Management in Control Panel. The option is how soon you want the system to power down the hdd during inactivity.

Can that power down only select HDDs? I have my boot drive and the 160Gb drive.

I use my 160Gb as my storage and junk drive so when Im awake, its used a lot but when Im asleep it is unused.

I ould have thought those options were a general system thing rather than a specific HDD thing.

I will ook into this as a possible solution.

 

[corkyg]

Power down for PATA drives applies to all of them - it is a system "sleep" feature found in your Power Options. If you want selectivity, convert your data drive to SATA or USB external.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Power down for PATA drives applies to all of them - it is a system "sleep" feature found in your Power Options. If you want selectivity, convert your data drive to SATA or USB external.

One drive is natively SATA, the other is PATA converted to SATA.

How can you shut one down?

 

[0roo0roo]

errr, power saving options sleep on idle after x minutes.
if the drive won't sleep it is being accessed by software.
why don't you just turn your comp off or stick it in standby. waste of power.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
errr, power saving options sleep on idle after x minutes.
if the drive won't sleep it is being accessed by software.
why don't you just turn your comp off or stick it in standby. waste of power.

Because I cant record TV or Video if its turned off or in standby.

I can record to my quiet boot drive and transfer when I wake up on a morning.

 

[0roo0roo]

well, unless a program is constantly accessing that drive, it should shut down by itself if you have drive sleep timers on

 

[eelw]

Your only option is to run it via USB and external power.