External HDD keeps spinning in idle

[blackandwhite]

Hi! It takes at least like 5 minutes for my WD Elements 1Tb to stop spinning when I'm done using it. It make some audible noise, and I can hear it pretty well, because otherwise my mac with it's ssd is dead silent.

Is there any way to make it stop spinning sooner? Thank you in advance!

 

[thor220]

What you are looking to do is park the hard drive. As far as I know, it cannot be done manually anymore as it's handled by the drive automatically.

I did a quick search and couldn't find software that would do it.

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there blackandwhite,

Sorry that you are facing some issues with your WD drive.

You can try adjusting the Sleep Timer in WD Drives Utilities.
Thread on that: http://community.wd.com/t5/External-Drives-for-PC/How-to-control-spin-down-settings/td-p/748502
How to set up WD Drive Utilities: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=RlK8DK

After that, it will not hurt to test the drive with WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool in order to check out the drive's health status.
WD's DLG tool: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=m5Glkr

Hope this will help,
D_Know_WD

 

[jsmithepa]

OP, you can't really compare a SSD to a HD. I hate noise as much as the next guy, but IMO 5 min is reasonable, myself I may even up it to 10. Two schools of thoughts: what wears an HD faster, hours spun, or the repeat start-stop?