[CyberWastedSLAYER]

Greetings,

Thanks for taking the time to read.
I have just purchased a Western Digital 1 Terrabyte External hard Drive with no off power button. What I am after is a software program (preferably Freeware) which allows me to turn the hard drive off and on with out having to eject the drive using the "safely remove hardware" option in the tool bar every time I wish to turn it off (& subsequently having to unplug and replug the usb to switch on the drive while the computer hasn't been cycled). Is there such a program? I believe these drives are designed to "spin down" into a sort off standby state after a short time of being idle. I've just noticed after 5 or so minutes there is no drive vibration anymore but it's still active. How much wear & tare does this wind down save and how much reduction in power consumption is achieved?
My computer stays on for long periods. Is spin down an adequate means of preserving the drive, or should I be getting on my knees under the desk & disconnecting the drives power source?

Once again thanks.

Regards,

CyberWastedSLAYER

Addit: I found the program on the WD website which allows you to force their drives into spin down. Works well.
Here's the link for anyone who's looking for a similar product:
http://support.wdc.c...s...=17&lang=en

Cheers

Edited by CyberWastedSLAYER, 23 March 2009 - 06:42 AM.

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The whole point of "Safely Remove Hardware" is so you can unplug it safely without losing data.
Any power features built into your external drive (assuming it's a totally sealed unit) should be available with any software you had on CD with the unit.

[Neil Jones]

The whole point of "Safely Remove Hardware" is so you can unplug it safely without losing data.
Any power features built into your external drive (assuming it's a totally sealed unit) should be available with any software you had on CD with the unit.