How to slow down HDDs on Ubuntu Server Terminal Only

[WretchedSoul44]

I'm using Ubuntu Server 12.04 as my home server. I know with a DE installed I can allow the HDDs to slow down after so long. I'm looking for a way to do this same thing but through the terminal since I'm wanting to maximize my speed (with a terminal) and I would be able to allow them to slow down when not being used thought SSH.

And is it possible to do this for a USB HDD.

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[nukemaster]

Chances are you are looking for the spin down feature. This would make the drive stop spinning and park its read/write heads.

You can not change the actual speeds, but this will reduce power consumption because the drive is pretty much off.

See if this helps
http://www.havetheknowhow.com/Configure-the-server/Spin-down-idle-drives.html
or maybe the info here may help
http://askubuntu.com/questions/137577/put-hdds-in-standby-after-x-minutes-using-hdparm-doesnt-work

I am not 100% sure if a USB drive will get the command.

 

[WretchedSoul44]

Chances are you are looking for the spin down feature. This would make the drive stop spinning and park its read/write heads.

You can not change the actual speeds, but this will reduce power consumption because the drive is pretty much off.

See if this helps
http://www.havetheknowhow.com/Configure-the-server/Spin-down-idle-drives.html
or maybe the info here may help
http://askubuntu.com/questions/137577/put-hdds-in-standby-after-x-minutes-using-hdparm-doesnt-work

I am not 100% sure if a USB drive will get the command.

I knew there was a syntax that I could use. I'm trying it out as we speak. I set it to 20 minutes as well since I'm only running on my home server partially after work. The rest of the time its just there. When the 20 minutes are up I'll see if my HDDs are but in stanby mode.

 

[WretchedSoul44]

Awesome it works. Thanks man your getting picked for the solution.

 

[nukemaster]

You know something funny, Users do not like one of the features on the WDC green drives, but they actually spin down after 8 seconds of inactivity. In a NAS(urge to buy a NAS and some WDC reds rising), this can kill them, but for you, it may have actually worked.

I also have a WDC 1TB blue notebook drive in my media center(quiet ). It spins down after 8 seconds as well(it only sucks to hear a slight click when it spins up and down while listening to music[mp3 so i guess the buffer holds enough for it to spin down mid song but spin up right away]. All the other spin down and up are silent too.).

Anyway, Enjoy the new server setup.