Can a second Hard Disk Drive be stopped?

[R-ton]

Hello ,
I intent to add a bigger, and more important, more quiet HDD to my PC
(WIN2000 SP4) , which should become the master.

I would like to continue to use my old HDD as a backup ; but I hate its
noise.

Is it possible to do some change in the settings in WIN2000(of if necessary,
in the bios)
so that I can leave it connected, but switch it on or off when I want to ?
< and without affecting the new HDD >

Thanks !
R-ton
Belgium

 

[Dave Patrick]

This isn't really up to the operating system. It depends on your hardware
and whether its firmware and drivers support it.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Hello ,
| I intent to add a bigger, and more important, more quiet HDD to my PC
| (WIN2000 SP4) , which should become the master.
|
| I would like to continue to use my old HDD as a backup ; but I hate its
| noise.
|
| Is it possible to do some change in the settings in WIN2000(of if
necessary,
| in the bios)
| so that I can leave it connected, but switch it on or off when I want to ?
| < and without affecting the new HDD >
|
| Thanks !
| R-ton
| Belgium
|
|

 

[dg1261]

I intent to add a bigger, and more important, more quiet HDD
to my PC (WIN2000 SP4) , which should become the master.

I would like to continue to use my old HDD as a backup . . .
can leave it connected, but switch it on or off when I want to ?

The Sleep feature has been part of the ATAPI command set for at least 10
years, so your old HDD almost certainly supports it. Back in the DOS and
Win9x days, I used to use a DOS utility to put the second HDD to sleep,
where it would remain off until you tried to access it, then it would spin
up. I'm not a Windows programmer, and don't know if anyone has written a
program to do this through the more recent operating systems.

A more practical approach might be to get an external USB case and put your
old HDD in that. Connect it via USB when you need it, leave it unplugged
when you don't.

 

[R-ton]

The Sleep feature has been part of the ATAPI command set for at least 10
years, so your old HDD almost certainly supports it. Back in the DOS and
Win9x days, I used to use a DOS utility to put the second HDD to sleep,
where it would remain off until you tried to access it, then it would spin
up. I'm not a Windows programmer, and don't know if anyone has written a
program to do this through the more recent operating systems.

A more practical approach might be to get an external USB case and put your
old HDD in that. Connect it via USB when you need it, leave it unplugged
when you don't.

Hello,
thanks dg1261,

2 questions :
Doesn't your DOS utility work under the "dos box" of WIN2000 ?
Will the ATAPI feature make one hard disk sleep, while the other one keeps
working ?

Thanks

R-ton

 

[dg1261]

Doesn't your DOS utility work under the "dos box" of WIN2000 ?
Will the ATAPI feature make one hard disk sleep, while the other
one keeps working ?

A DOS box is only emulating DOS. The operating system doesn't let you have
direct access to the hardware. A Windows programmer might know how to get
around that, but that's not me.

You send the command by loading specific control registers via the IO port
for the particular hard disk, so yes, you control each hard disk
independently.