Controlling spin-down & spin-up?

[DN]

I have a 2 drive configuration and the 2nd drive is only for file backups.
It is also very loud (WD!) and I would prefer it stay spinned-down most of
the time. I have set the power saving options in Win XP for it to spin down
after a few minutes but it will mysteriously spin-up for no apparent reason
all the time. I saw a utility that would log which apps are accessing your
drives, and thought I would use this to see what was causing the spin-ups,
but sadly this app does not work with XP.

My questions are:
1- is there a utility that works with XP that will give me full control over
spin up and spin down?
2- Is there a utility that works with XP that will log hard drive access so
I can at least figure out why it keeps turning on for no apparent reason?

Thanks for any replies.

 

[Trout]

I have a 2 drive configuration and the 2nd drive is only for file backups.
It is also very loud (WD!) and I would prefer it stay spinned-down most of
the time. I have set the power saving options in Win XP for it to spin down
after a few minutes but it will mysteriously spin-up for no apparent reason
all the time. I saw a utility that would log which apps are accessing your
drives, and thought I would use this to see what was causing the spin-ups,
but sadly this app does not work with XP.

My questions are:
1- is there a utility that works with XP that will give me full control over
spin up and spin down?

I searched Google for such an app one day but came up empty. Could
only find one for Macs.

 

[DN]

I have noticed this also. I wonder why this is not an issue worth someone
writing a utility for PC's?
I know that ultimately this type of thing is controlled by the BIOS but I'd
think it would be controllable through Windows- actually I know it is, since
you have some control in Power Management. But I want to be able to specify
which apps can spin up the drive, and have all others ignored...

 

[John Doe]

I have a 2 drive configuration and the 2nd drive is only for file
backups. It is also very loud (WD!) and I would prefer it stay
spinned-down most of the time. I have set the power saving options in
Win XP for it to spin down after a few minutes but it will mysteriously
spin-up for no apparent reason all the time.

Me to. That is just one of a boat load of really useful features we would
have if Microsoft were properly motivated.

You can try adjusting Recycle Bin properties to "Configure drives
independently" and "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin" for your backup
drive. That might help.

... is there a utility that works with XP that will give me full
control over spin up and spin down?

Like a simple ON/OFF switch. One might think that would be part of the
operating system, considering the alternative is to unplug the power and
data cable.

 

[kony]

I have noticed this also. I wonder why this is not an issue worth someone
writing a utility for PC's?
I know that ultimately this type of thing is controlled by the BIOS but I'd
think it would be controllable through Windows- actually I know it is, since
you have some control in Power Management. But I want to be able to specify
which apps can spin up the drive, and have all others ignored...

Such a particular desire isn't something a broad userbase
would request, who's going to take the time to write this
and market it if it may only sell a dozen copies?

 

[Overlord]

So kill Indexing under services

I have a 2 drive configuration and the 2nd drive is only for file backups.
It is also very loud (WD!) and I would prefer it stay spinned-down most of
the time. I have set the power saving options in Win XP for it to spin down
after a few minutes but it will mysteriously spin-up for no apparent reason
all the time. I saw a utility that would log which apps are accessing your
drives, and thought I would use this to see what was causing the spin-ups,
but sadly this app does not work with XP.

My questions are:
1- is there a utility that works with XP that will give me full control over
spin up and spin down?
2- Is there a utility that works with XP that will log hard drive access so
I can at least figure out why it keeps turning on for no apparent reason?

Thanks for any replies.

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[David Maynard]

So kill Indexing under services

Or turn it off for just that drive.

While most programs don't seem to care it should be noted that some filters
in Photoshop (CS, at least) 'loose' where some of their features are. In
particular, light rendering looses all it's lighting configurations.

Turning it off (properties for the drive) for the 'backup' drive would
leave the other drive unaffected.

I have a 2 drive configuration and the 2nd drive is only for file backups.
It is also very loud (WD!) and I would prefer it stay spinned-down most of
the time. I have set the power saving options in Win XP for it to spin down
after a few minutes but it will mysteriously spin-up for no apparent reason
all the time. I saw a utility that would log which apps are accessing your
drives, and thought I would use this to see what was causing the spin-ups,
but sadly this app does not work with XP.

My questions are:
1- is there a utility that works with XP that will give me full control over
spin up and spin down?
2- Is there a utility that works with XP that will log hard drive access so
I can at least figure out why it keeps turning on for no apparent reason?

Thanks for any replies.

~~~~~~
Bait for spammers:
root@localhost
postmaster@localhost
admin@localhost
abuse@localhost
postmaster@[127.0.0.1]
(e-mail address removed)
~~~~~~
Remove "spamless" to email me.