Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2018 08:36:52 +0100 From: Ralf Mardorf <ralf.mardorf@rocketmail.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: How to prevent HDD spin-down. Message-ID: <20180306083652.4444971b@archlinux.localdomain> In-Reply-To: <4a967d5f-0f83-e23e-ded3-1c89d2469c0d@gmail.com> References: <99f2e64c-577c-20e1-b595-9b8391efaf8e@gmail.com> <4a967d5f-0f83-e23e-ded3-1c89d2469c0d@gmail.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Tue, 6 Mar 2018 07:30:59 +0100, Johan Hendriks wrote: >Op 06/03/2018 om 03:37 schreef J.B.: >> Hey. I purchased a new WD laptop hard disk drive, but it keeps >> spinning down and parking its heads after 25 seconds of inactivity. >> How can I disable that feature or extend the timeout to something >> less idiotic? I checked the BIOS, but there's no setting for it. I >> booted into a Linux (Debian-based) OS duel-booting on the same disk, >> and the disk doesn't spin down, so either Linux is doing something >> to override that feature, or FreeBSD is doing something to enable it >> (possibly a package I installed). Thanks. >> >I do not think linux is doing something special. I think the disk on >Linux do not spin down because the OS is touching the disk every so >second for log or other things. Just install a fresh Ubuntu with no >special options and boot it. You will see disk activity every x seconds >even when the box is idle. >On FreeBSD however there is almost no disk activity if a box is idle. >So the disks is not touched for 25 seconds and the disk will spindown. > >If you are using Western Digital disks, there is a utility you can run >to disable this feature or give it a timeout large enough so the os has >touched the disk. It has been a long time since i used it and if i >remember it worked only in DOS or windows. Just use google and search >for your disk and disable headparking. GVFS and other software much used by default Linux installs wake up sleeping drives immediately, IOW the spin down and up again and again. I replace GVFS by an empty dummy packge to fullfill dependencies. But I'm using e.g. libfm, which suffered from the same issue. Fortunately a developer fixed it, after I reported this bug, somethging those from bloated DEs such as GNOME or KDE never ever would do. See https://github.com/lxde/libfm/commit/994a1e25ba0c3da80575fc002af17ab02ed5998b A workaround would be to write a script, that would touch the drive, before it could spin down. Again, don't confuse a drivre that never spins down, with a drive that spins down and up again and again.
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20180306083652.4444971b>