Can Win7 power down USB devices not in use?

Hi All

Either I made this all up in my mind and am imagining things or I did hear from some where that Win 7 is able to power down and shut off USB devices (for example my 1tb external) automatically when not in use for a certain period of time. Just wondering if this is true and if there is already a feature like this that Im missing out on or like I said I just made it up in my head

Cheers

noobvious said:

My 1TB external drive will put itself into stand-by mode, after 5-10 minutes of inactivity. It's not done by Windows 7 though. I'm not sure if 7 will do it for you or not.

Really...what kind of external do you have...

kucing13 said:

I just unplugged it when it's not in use :)

Yah thats what I normally do, but some times I'm transferring a huge load of crap and I was just hoping there was a way that it would just go on standby by itself cus Im not always around when its done transferring.

j1n said:

Hi All

Either I made this all up in my mind and am imagining things or I did hear from some where that Win 7 is able to power down and shut off USB devices (for example my 1tb external) automatically when not in use for a certain period of time. Just wondering if this is true and if there is already a feature like this that Im missing out on or like I said I just made it up in my head

Cheers

Don't have an external usb drive connected at this very minute, but--
principle is the same as in this example:

WIN key | type DEVMGMT.MSC | ENTER key
From the devices shown, find your drive, then
right-click on the drive
Select Properties item
Select the Power Management tab
checkmark Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

I've included a snapshot for a novatel modem.

j1n said:

I was just hoping there was a way that it would just go on standby by itself cus Im not always around when its done transferring.

If you go into device manager, under Universal Serial Device... you will have a set of "USB Root Hub" entries. Each one has a power management tab that allows the computer to shut off power to the port.

Not sure if that's what you're asking?

Ap

j1n said:

Hi All

Either I made this all up in my mind and am imagining things or I did hear from some where that Win 7 is able to power down and shut off USB devices (for example my 1tb external) automatically when not in use for a certain period of time. Just wondering if this is true and if there is already a feature like this that Im missing out on or like I said I just made it up in my head

Cheers

And here's another approach:
CONTROL PANEL | Power Options
click on Change Plan Settings for the plan you want to change
click on Change advanced power settings
I've included a snapshot of the USB settings

ahh sounds interesting...hopefully one of those tips will actually be what im looking for...is there an option to set the usb device to be shutdown or put on standby after "X" time of being idle??...Cus from the screen shots it doesnt seem that way

I recommend that you investigate all of the advanced power settings options.

Play with them if you desire since the dialog also has a "Defaults" button.