Powering down external USB harddrive

[windsurferLA]

My external USB 300 Gbyte Seagate hard drive (HDD) gets dangerously hot
even though it is mounted in a heavy aluminum case with good thermal
features. It runs continuously on power from its separate power pack.
It doesn’t even shut down when my Pentium IV computer, to which it is
attached, is turned off. MyWinXP Pro power controls are set to turn off
my harddrives after an hour of inactivity, but they don’t seem to affect
this USB connected drive. The HDD cable options on the HDD are set for
the HDD to be “master.”

Is there a way to get the drive to shut down when it has not been
accessed for a substantial period of time?

 

[Mistoffolees]

My external USB 300 Gbyte Seagate hard drive (HDD) gets dangerously hot
even though it is mounted in a heavy aluminum case with good thermal
features. It runs continuously on power from its separate power pack.
It doesn’t even shut down when my Pentium IV computer, to which it is
attached, is turned off. MyWinXP Pro power controls are set to turn off
my harddrives after an hour of inactivity, but they don’t seem to affect
this USB connected drive. The HDD cable options on the HDD are set for
the HDD to be “master.”

Is there a way to get the drive to shut down when it has not been
accessed for a substantial period of time?

Probably not unless there is an utility provided by the
maker of the USB enclosure that will allow such options.

 

[Jonny]

External hard drives, DVD/CDs, thumb drives on firewire and USB were meant
as time of usage only, not a 24/7 use.
If doing a 24/7 use, you need a good external case with built in fans
(plural).