External HDD problem


I have about 10 external HDDs gathering dust in the closet and about 30 more cleaned sata HDDs I'll never use (all are 500gb and up). Last year I donated probably 50 or so cleaned smaller drives and need to donate these. The only spinners I haven't replaced yet are in my Plex server for music and movies which I rarely ever use anymore. In any case, those are backed up and need to go, too..

As far as my day to day drives, now that I've experienced using SSDs and NVMEs in enclosures, I'll never go back to using spinners for storage and backups. They're not that expensive if you catch a good deal on Amazon Days or Black Friday. You don't have to dish out big bucks for a Samsung drive either. There are a lot of good lower cost drives out there if you do your research. Enclosures run around $20.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.4061
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme+256gb SKHynix m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+1tb Kingston m2.nvme+ 4gb Solidigm nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.4061
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26100.4061
I have about 10 external HDDs gathering dust in the closet and about 30 more cleaned sata HDDs I'll never use (all are 500gb and up). Last year I donated probably 50 or so cleaned smaller drives and need to donate these. The only spinners I haven't replaced yet are in my Plex server for music and movies which I rarely ever use anymore. In any case, those are backed up and need to go, too..

As far as my day to day drives, now that I've experienced using SSDs and NVMEs in enclosures, I'll never go back to using spinners for storage and backups. They're not that expensive if you catch a good deal on Amazon Days or Black Friday. You don't have to dish out big bucks for a Samsung drive either. There are a lot of good lower cost drives out there if you do your research. Enclosures run around $20.

I think my WD external HDD is from 2013. I guess I should buy another one since there's data that's only stored there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
For backups I try to size the external drives so they are 2-3 times larger than the drives that are being backed up. For example, my main desktop has 2 x 2TB M.2 NVME SSDs for a total of 4TB. I back up to a 12 TB Western Digital Elements external HDD. It would be really expensive to buy an SSD that large.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2022)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
    Memory
    Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 300Hz
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 990 Evo Plus (2TB M.2 NVME SSD)
    PSU
    n/a
    Mouse
    Wireless Mouse M510
    Internet Speed
    2000Mbps/300Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
    Memory
    G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung G50D IPS 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1440p/180Hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB XPG SX8200 Pro (M2. PCIe SSD) || 2TB Intel 660P (M2. PCIe SSD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase 5
    Cooling
    Scythe Mugen 6
    Mouse
    Logitech M310 (MK540 keyboard/mouse combo)
    Keyboard
    Logitech K520 (MK540 keyboard/mouse combo)
    Internet Speed
    2000 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes (Premium)
    Other Info
    ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
For backups I try to size the external drives so they are 2-3 times larger than the drives that are being backed up. For example, my main desktop has 2 x 2TB M.2 NVME SSDs for a total of 4TB. I back up to a 12 TB Western Digital Elements external HDD. It would be really expensive to buy an SSD that large.

For me even a 2.5" 1 TB external SSD is still expensive, let alone a 1 TB M.2 NVMe external SSD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
I didn't even try HDDScan. Where can I disable the PM timer on it?
First, make sure that your HDD is selected in the listbox at the top. Next, choose Tools, then Features. If supported, the PM feature should allow you to disable the Idle Timer of the HDD.

16.jpg


If this works for you, you can choose Tools again, then Command. This will let you build a command that can be run, e.g., from the command line or within a batch script. The command should contain the DevicePath of the HDD, followed by a parameter. E.g., the -Z parameter can be used to spin the HDD down immediately as soon as the command is run. The -PM parameter can be used to set the Idle Timer; it must be followed by a single space character followed by the number of seconds. For some HDDs, setting it to 0 is what disables the Idle Timer. Whereas, for some other HDDs, doing this has the same effect as setting the Idle Timer to the maximum value that it can support. If that's your case, you could try setting it to 255 to see if that causes it to be disabled, but I am only guessing at this point. I think that if the maximum that it can support is 240 (20 minutes), then setting it to 241 or higher has the same effect as setting it to 240. Depending on the make and model of your HDD, setting it to 255 might still disable the Idle Timer nevertheless. I really don't know, but you can find out.

Unplugging the external HDD, rebooting or waking the PC from sleep/hibernate causes the Idle Timer to be reset back to factory default. But it is still possible to add a task in Task Scheduler to run the command again each time after this happens. The HDDScan.exe command with the -PM parameter is essentially the same as hdparm -S on Linux.
Anyway, if disabling sleep, will it degrade the external HDD faster?
You can make a command that lets you re-enable sleep each time when you aren't going to use the HDD for a certain period, or are only going to use it in such a particular way that sleep doesn't disturb your work for a certain period. If you can remember to avoid keeping the HDD spinning for multiple dozens of hours per week on total average when there is absolutely no good reason to keep it spinning for that long, then you should be fine.

KeepAliveHD might be more practical to use. It has a convenient button to make it start/stop writing to the HDD, and, it also has an easy option to make it stop writing to the HDD after the user is idle for a period that you can specify. Again, just remember to avoid keeping the HDD spinning for a terrible lot longer than really should be needed to achieve the goal of not letting sleep disturb your work, but also remember that any storage device can suddenly fail with no prior warning signs of any kind whatsoever so all data stored on it can be permanently lost.

If you don't have a reliable backup strategy to protect all your important data, then if you had spent more than just a few percent extra money on a HDD that had less than one percent failure rate (i.e., according to some test results that might or might not become statistically relevant within the next couple of years), you still would have been much better off getting the cheaper HDD that presumably had one or two (or three) percent higher failure rate. That's just because this extra money would be better spent on fixing the problem that actually matters, as reliable backups are the only true way to be safe enough that you can justify their cost. (Even, if it means that you have to skimp on the HDDs themselves a tad to able to afford what's needed to transform unreliable backups into reliable backups.)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
First, make sure that your HDD is selected in the listbox at the top. Next, choose Tools, then Features. If supported, the PM feature should allow you to disable the Idle Timer of the HDD.

16.jpg


If this works for you, you can choose Tools again, then Command. This will let you build a command that can be run, e.g., from the command line or within a batch script. The command should contain the DevicePath of the HDD, followed by a parameter. E.g., the -Z parameter can be used to spin the HDD down immediately as soon as the command is run. The -PM parameter can be used to set the Idle Timer; it must be followed by a single space character followed by the number of seconds. For some HDDs, setting it to 0 is what disables the Idle Timer. Whereas, for some other HDDs, doing this has the same effect as setting the Idle Timer to the maximum value that it can support. If that's your case, you could try setting it to 255 to see if that causes it to be disabled, but I am only guessing at this point. I think that if the maximum that it can support is 240 (20 minutes), then setting it to 241 or higher has the same effect as setting it to 240. Depending on the make and model of your HDD, setting it to 255 might still disable the Idle Timer nevertheless. I really don't know, but you can find out.

Unplugging the external HDD, rebooting or waking the PC from sleep/hibernate causes the Idle Timer to be reset back to factory default. But it is still possible to add a task in Task Scheduler to run the command again each time after this happens. The HDDScan.exe command with the -PM parameter is essentially the same as hdparm -S on Linux.

You can make a command that lets you re-enable sleep each time when you aren't going to use the HDD for a certain period, or are only going to use it in such a particular way that sleep doesn't disturb your work for a certain period. If you can remember to avoid keeping the HDD spinning for multiple dozens of hours per week on total average when there is absolutely no good reason to keep it spinning for that long, then you should be fine.

KeepAliveHD might be more practical to use. It has a convenient button to make it start/stop writing to the HDD, and, it also has an easy option to make it stop writing to the HDD after the user is idle for a period that you can specify. Again, just remember to avoid keeping the HDD spinning for a terrible lot longer than really should be needed to achieve the goal of not letting sleep disturb your work, but also remember that any storage device can suddenly fail with no prior warning signs of any kind whatsoever so all data stored on it can be permanently lost.

If you don't have a reliable backup strategy to protect all your important data, then if you had spent more than just a few percent extra money on a HDD that had less than one percent failure rate (i.e., according to some test results that might or might not become statistically relevant within the next couple of years), you still would have been much better off getting the cheaper HDD that presumably had one or two (or three) percent higher failure rate. That's just because this extra money would be better spent on fixing the problem that actually matters, as reliable backups are the only true way to be safe enough that you can justify their cost. (Even, if it means that you have to skimp on the HDDs themselves a tad to able to afford what's needed to transform unreliable backups into reliable backups.)

HDDScan says my external HDD doesn't support "Automatic Acoustic Management". Where can I disable sleep mode, in "Power Management", after clicking "Set" next to "Idle Timer Disable"?

Also, may I have problems if disconnecting USB devices without ejecting them first? I'm asking it because of this (I have the "Quick removal" setting checked) and I just want to be sure.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
HDDScan says my external HDD doesn't support "Automatic Acoustic Management". Where can I disable sleep mode, in "Power Management", after clicking "Set" next to "Idle Timer Disable"?
Under "Power Management", try moving the little round button of the slider all the way to the left so that "Disable" appears in the white box (like shown in the example screenshot). Next, click on the "Set" button.
Also, may I have problems if disconnecting USB devices without ejecting them first? I'm asking it because of this (I have the "Quick removal" setting checked) and I just want to be sure.
For reasons that should be completely obvious, unplugging the drive when a file transfer on it has not yet been completed will still cause that transfer to be interrupted. So, "Quick removal" still assumes that you already know how to properly prevent this. How to Never "Safely Remove" a USB Drive Again on Windows 10
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
Under "Power Management", try moving the little round button of the slider all the way to the left so that "Disable" appears in the white box (like shown in the example screenshot). Next, click on the "Set" button.

For reasons that should be completely obvious, unplugging the drive when a file transfer on it has not yet been completed will still cause that transfer to be interrupted. So, "Quick removal" still assumes that you already know how to properly prevent this. How to Never "Safely Remove" a USB Drive Again on Windows 10

Where's the screenshot? Anyway, like I said, "Disable" already "Idle Timer" so is sleep already disabled? If so, it's weird. If not, do I have to click "Set"?

Of course I wouldn't do it when transferring files/folders from or to it but what if the external HDD is being used by an app or background process and I don't know it?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
For years, I just snatched a Flash Drive out of the USB port when I was done with it, never even thinking about using the very available function to "Safely remove hardware and Eject Media". and I usually got away with it, till..... A friend gave me a 1TB (no name) Flash Drive, that I was constantly having problems with, TILL, , , I started properly Ejecting that drive before removing it from the PC.

NOW, as long as I properly Eject the drive, when done with it, I'm OK and that Flash Drive works OK. That's good too, because that's one of my Main Backup drives.

Sometimes we're our own worse enemies, when we get in a hurry and don't do things the RIGHT way.

Cheers Mates,
TM :cool:
 

My Computer

For years, I just snatched a Flash Drive out of the USB port when I was done with it, never even thinking about using the very available function to "Safely remove hardware and Eject Media". and I usually got away with it, till..... A friend gave me a 1TB (no name) Flash Drive, that I was constantly having problems with, TILL, , , I started properly Ejecting that drive before removing it from the PC.

NOW, as long as I properly Eject the drive, when done with it, I'm OK and that Flash Drive works OK. That's good too, because that's one of my Main Backup drives.

Sometimes we're our own worse enemies, when we get in a hurry and don't do things the RIGHT way.

Cheers Mates,
TM :cool:

Which problems are those? I don't get it why ejecting the drive fixed them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
The main issue I see with disconnecting USB drives is Windows is not always through writing to them which can cause corrupted files or sometimes antivirus is not finished scanning.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
The main issue I see with disconnecting USB drives is Windows is not always through writing to them which can cause corrupted files or sometimes antivirus is not finished scanning.

That's why I don't disconnect USB drives when copying files/folders to them or from there. What if the external HDD is being used by an app, background process or Windows process and I don't know it?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
That's why I don't disconnect USB drives when copying files/folders to them or from there. What if the external HDD is being used by an app, background process or Windows process and I don't know it?
Hence the warning, helps prevent disaster, a lot like other things in our lives if we just pay attention.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Where's the screenshot? Anyway, like I said, "Disable" already "Idle Timer" so is sleep already disabled? If so, it's weird. If not, do I have to click "Set"?
It's the example screenshot in my post #25. I haven't played with this setting enough to know anything much about how the sleep behavior of various different HDD models from various different HDD brands might be affected by it. On my 8TB Seagate HDD (ST8000DM002 old model) while using an ASMT 2105 USB 3.0 adapter piece on it, setting it to Disabled (0) causes the HDD to still fall asleep after more than just a few minutes. I haven't measured the time that it takes. This specific 8TB model from Seagate is not a "green" HDD. It is a decent-performing 7200rpm 3.5″ desktop model that's in the consumer-grade HDD product lineup of Seagate, and, it uses CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording) instead of SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording).

If setting the internal Idle Timer of your HDD to 0 does not stop your HDD from still falling asleep after you already changed the "turn off hard disk after" setting in your currently active Power Plan to "Never", probably it means that sleep cannot be disabled on your HDD.
but what if the external HDD is being used by an app or background process and I don't know it?
Then basically, you are SOL (Sh!t Outta Luck). lol
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
It's the example screenshot in my post #25. I haven't played with this setting enough to know anything much about how the sleep behavior of various different HDD models from various different HDD brands might be affected by it. On my 8TB Seagate HDD (ST8000DM002 old model) while using an ASMT 2105 USB 3.0 adapter piece on it, setting it to Disabled (0) causes the HDD to still fall asleep after more than just a few minutes. I haven't measured the time that it takes. This specific 8TB model from Seagate is not a "green" HDD. It is a decent-performing 7200rpm 3.5″ desktop model that's in the consumer-grade HDD product lineup of Seagate, and, it uses CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording) instead of SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording).

If setting the internal Idle Timer of your HDD to 0 does not stop your HDD from still falling asleep after you already changed the "turn off hard disk after" setting in your currently active Power Plan to "Never", probably it means that sleep cannot be disabled on your HDD.

Then basically, you are SOL (Sh!t Outta Luck). lol

My screenshot matches yours and I didn't do anything besides opening HDDScan. How can I set the timer to 0? I'm not on the PC right now. Yes, that Windows setting should be enough to disable it, not using a program like HDDScan and maybe the said setting as well. I didn't touch the Windows setting in my current install but I think I did in previous ones and it didn't work. Also, may the external HDD be affected if Windows goes to sleep, hibernates, the screen turns off, etc. (I'm excluding turning off, restarting, signing out and maybe locking out for obvious reasons)? I'm asking this because I use another external HDD in this PC for a thing which happens outside the PC and that requires I have access to it since it uses some files in it.

How can I know if my HDD is green? Do I have to take the enclosure?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
How can I know if my HDD is green? Do I have to take the enclosure?
Yes, some may be easy to do but not all are. The various brands seldom specify exactly which model they use, e.g. I've had NAS drives from WD that one had the green label and one that had the blue label and from Buffalo that used different model names such as IronWolf. If wanting specific models or specifications one can get empty NAS cases and buy their desired model of drives. The same for the USB cases.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Yes, some may be easy to do but not all are. The various brands seldom specify exactly which model they use, e.g. I've had NAS drives from WD that one had the green label and one that had the blue label and from Buffalo that used different model names such as IronWolf. If wanting specific models or specifications one can get empty NAS cases and buy their desired model of drives. The same for the USB cases.

What if I search the external HDD's model on the web?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
My screenshot matches yours and I didn't do anything besides opening HDDScan. How can I set the timer to 0?
I already explained this. On some (or a lot of) HDDs, the internal Idle Timer cannot be disabled. As a result, setting it to 0 might or might not disable it. Moving the slider (under Power Management) all the way to the left before you click on "Set" should set it to 0, and, as an alternative method, a command can also be used to set it to 0 (i.e., with the -PM parameter). It also is possible that 0 is the factory default value in the HDD you have. If that's your case, then unplugging/booting/waking up from sleep/hibernate will also set it to 0, as unplugging/booting/waking up from sleep/hibernate will set it to the factory default value.
I'm not on the PC right now. Yes, that Windows setting should be enough to disable it, not using a program like HDDScan and maybe the said setting as well.
If the internal Idle Timer of the HDD in question is disabled by factory default, then yes, the advanced setting in the Power Plan of Windows should do the trick. If, however, the internal Idle Timer of the HDD cannot be disabled, then the only way to keep the HDD from falling alseep is to periodically stop the HDD from staying idle, which is what KeepAliveHD effectively lets you achieve, and lets you achieve in a fairly user-friendly manner. KeepAliveHD not only is free, but also it is open source, and hosted on GitHub. It should work with every HDD, and should work regardless of whether the internal Idle Timer of the HDD can be disabled. What do you want more?

That being said, keeping a HDD awake is a piece of cake. But the same cannot be said about preventing Windows from waking it up each time when you want it to stay alseep; it actually took several years until I finally found the solution myself.
I didn't touch the Windows setting in my current install but I think I did in previous ones and it didn't work.
See above. The internal Idle Timer of the HDD must also be disabled or else it simply won't work.
Also, may the external HDD be affected if Windows goes to sleep, hibernates, the screen turns off, etc. (I'm excluding turning off, restarting, signing out and maybe locking out for obvious reasons)? I'm asking this because I use another external HDD in this PC for a thing which happens outside the PC and that requires I have access to it since it uses some files in it.
It shouldn't be affected if you use KeepAliveHD and you enable the setting that lets KeepAliveHD automatically start when Windows starts. Whereas if you use HDDScan, the sleep hehavior of the HDD will be reverted back to its factory default like I already said, but only turning the screen off has no effect on it if the system doesn't support Modern Standby.
How can I know if my HDD is green? Do I have to take the enclosure?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
I already explained this. On some (or a lot of) HDDs, the internal Idle Timer cannot be disabled. As a result, setting it to 0 might or might not disable it. Moving the slider (under Power Management) all the way to the left before you click on "Set" should set it to 0, and, as an alternative method, a command can also be used to set it to 0 (i.e., with the -PM parameter). It also is possible that 0 is the factory default value in the HDD you have. If that's your case, then unplugging/booting/waking up from sleep/hibernate will also set it to 0, as unplugging/booting/waking up from sleep/hibernate will set it to the factory default value.

If the internal Idle Timer of the HDD in question is disabled by factory default, then yes, the advanced setting in the Power Plan of Windows should do the trick. If, however, the internal Idle Timer of the HDD cannot be disabled, then the only way to keep the HDD from falling alseep is to periodically stop the HDD from staying idle, which is what KeepAliveHD effectively lets you achieve, and lets you achieve in a fairly user-friendly manner. KeepAliveHD not only is free, but also it is open source, and hosted on GitHub. It should work with every HDD, and should work regardless of whether the internal Idle Timer of the HDD can be disabled. What do you want more?

That being said, keeping a HDD awake is a piece of cake. But the same cannot be said about preventing Windows from waking it up each time when you want it to stay alseep; it actually took several years until I finally found the solution myself.

See above. The internal Idle Timer of the HDD must also be disabled or else it simply won't work.

It shouldn't be affected if you use KeepAliveHD and you enable the setting that lets KeepAliveHD automatically start when Windows starts. Whereas if you use HDDScan, the sleep hehavior of the HDD will be reverted back to its factory default like I already said, but only turning the screen off has no effect on it if the system doesn't support Modern Standby.


I made a mistake. I thought that Window setting regarded USB devices but it actually concerns the internal HDD/SSD and the files I need are on the internal SSD and not on the external SSD, even if I can get them working if they're on the latter, on an USB flash drive or on microSD card connected via USB adapter (both connected to the PC) but then they might sleep when being used (as well as on the internal SSD, I guess).

Isn't there a way to prevent the internal HDD from sleeping just by using Windows settings?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Katana 15 B12VGK
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-12650H
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR5-4800MHz SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU 8 GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate 16:9 IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    SSD 1 TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4
    PSU
    240 W Power Supply
    Case
    Core Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Boost 5
    Keyboard
    Backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and PT-PT layout
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
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