[SOLVED] Switching off one HDD while other HDD is running

[kenjroy]

I have two HDD's installed in my PC. One has Windows 10 installed, which I use much of the time. The other drive has Windows 7 installed for running older PC games. When running either drive, does the other drive continue running (spinning)? If so, is there a way of turning it off?

 

[jay32267]

Usually drives are spinning but I think Windows shuts them down after a period of time of no use. I also think sleep mode shuts them down.....but most of the time, they are spinning.

...as far as being able to control that specific drive (stopping it from spinning) and not the other one.....I am not aware of a way to do this without physically unplugging it....although maybe someone else knows.

 

[smorizio]

with windows you can spin the drive down to sleep. if you dont need the drive all the time use or install a drive bay, pull the non needed drive at post.

 

[cryoburner]

You could adjust the "Turn off hard disks" option in Windows "Power Options". After a drive has not been accessed for the specified number of minutes, Windows will automatically power it down. You probably won't need to worry about your active OS drive getting powered down though, as Windows will typically be regularly accessing it for various purposes.

The drive will automatically spin back up when you need to access it, but keep in mind that might take a few seconds. So you might not want to set the timer too low, otherwise if you are accessing files off of it, you might need to keep waiting for it to spin up each time.

 

[kenjroy]

Usually drives are spinning but I think Windows shuts them down after a period of time of no use. I also think sleep mode shuts them down.....but most of the time, they are spinning.

...as far as being able to control that specific drive (stopping it from spinning) and not the other one.....I am not aware of a way to do this without physically unplugging it....although maybe someone else knows.

 

[kenjroy]

Thanks so much for your quick response. I assumed the answer to be like yours. I'll go into the power settings and make changes there. I thank you again. Love your site and have been going to it for years. As soon as I figure out how to navigate, I will supply profile info, etc..

 

[RealBeast]

It is pretty simple just to shut off a drive other than the OS drive if you have an Icy Dock device like THIS one. I use them in several of my systems and they work well, although to you will want to enable the hot swap option on the specific SATA port that is used -- that is done in the bios on modern board.

To remount drives and to insure that all drive writes are completed before turning the power off to the drive it is helpful to use the Hotswap! free utility.

 

[kenjroy]

with windows you can spin the drive down to sleep. if you dont need the drive all the time use or install a drive bay, pull the non needed drive at post.

 

[kenjroy]

Good idea. Thanks much.

 

[kenjroy]

It is pretty simple just to shut off a drive other than the OS drive if you have an Icy Dock device like THIS one. I use them in several of my systems and they work well, although to you will want to enable the hot swap option on the specific SATA port that is used -- that is done in the bios on modern board.

To remount drives and to insure that all drive writes are completed before turning the power off to the drive it is helpful to use the Hotswap! free utility.

 

[kenjroy]

Interesting gadget. Will look at those. I have an Asus Z97-AR MOBO, and will check for "hot swap" feature. Thanks for the input.