Have 2nd HD power off while computer is running? (1 Viewer)

[Kyle McKnight]

I just ordered an 80GB 2.5" drive for my laptop and am thinking of using my current 60GB drive as the main one in my desktop (reduced noise/heat/power consumption is what I'm after.)

Of course 60gigs isn't enough to meet my storage demands. Is it possible to have a 2nd HDD to use just for storage, where windows wont access the drive unless I call for it? I'd like for it to stay powered off until I try to run media or a game from it. Anything that I use normally I will keep installed on the 2.5" drive along with windows.


Thanks for any input.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

there is a feature in windows that allows you to control how long a device is active before it shuts off. monitors and hard drives only, i believe. under power settings in the control panel. but, i dont know if that controls all drives, or if you can change the settings individually.

CJ

 

[Mike LS]

The feature is under Control Panel/Power Options, but I'm pretty sure it groups all drives together. It allows you to specify that your drive(s) power down after X minutes of inactivity, but these settings would also control your C drive which would be a pain in the butt.

The only way I can think of to do this is put the secondary drive in an external enclosure and power the enclosure down when you're not using the drive. Only downside is that you have to do this manually.

 

[Steve Felix]

The Windows power settings do group all the drives, but it will power off individual drives that aren't being used. So if you set the hard drives to power down after 30 minutes of inactivity, the storage drive would be on for the first 30 minutes you used the system, but after that, as long as you're still on the computer, only C: will be on.