Get more performance from your hard drives

swarfega

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If you think that switching to the high performance power plan is enough to set your computer to the best plan, well, it isnt.

Heres how to set your hard drives so they are included in the high performance:

1. open control panel
2. type power in the search bar and click "change power-saving settings"
3. to the right of the plan name click "change plan settings"
4. Click "change advanced power settings"
5. Go to the hard disk section and then "turn off hard disk after"
6. Enter 0 (zero) in the box (this will change to never)

Doing this prevents your disks from being "turned off".
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
self built
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU
Intel E8400 3GHz
Motherboard
Intel DX48BT2
Memory
Kingston PC3-10700H 4Gb
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon HD 5850 BlackEd.
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DG
Monitor(s) Displays
2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
Screen Resolution
1680x1050 on two monitors
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 2 120gb 3.5" (OS)
Seagate Momentus XT 500gb
Samsung F3 1Tb (games)
2x Samsung F1 1Tb
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
Case
Thermaltake Armor
Cooling
Scythe Mugen II
Keyboard
Microsoft Comfort Curve USB
Mouse
Razer Diamondback 3G
Internet Speed
8128/443
What's wrong with the HDD beeing off if u don't use it ?
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 PRO x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz, 2999 MHz
Motherboard
Intel Dragontail Peak DP35DP
Memory
2 x Kingston 2G-UDIMM
Graphics Card(s)
nVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT (Gigabyte GV-NX85T)
Sound Card
SigmaTel STAC9271D @ Intel 82801IB ICH9
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC 193FW
Hard Drives
Drive #1 - WDC WD2500JB-00REA0 (232 GB)
Drive #2 - ST3360320AS (335 GB)
This is good advice. The hard drive spinning up and down (and heating up and cooling) all the time will limit the lifespan of the drive. I have always done this.

Now that I have an SSD it's not as much of an issue, but I still use 3 "spinners"

Will this work with ALL drives hooked to the motherboard or just the "System" drive I wonder.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Keeps changing - (Custom)
OS
Windows 7 Professional x64
CPU
Intel Core i7 860
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P
Memory
4GB DDR3 Mushkin 1600Mhz @ 7-8-7-20
Graphics Card(s)
MSI GTS250 1GB DDR3 Twin Frozr
Sound Card
Onboard realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SyncMaster 24" P2450 + Samsung 20" 2033
Screen Resolution
1920 X 1080 and 1600 X 900 (#2 system 1440 X 900)
Hard Drives
Patriot Inferno 120GB SSD + 3 WD Blue 640GB drives
PSU
Corsair 750 HX Modular
Case
Lancool PC-K62
Cooling
Cooler Master TX3 CPU cooler and 4-140mm and 1-120mm case
Keyboard
Gigabyte USB keyboard
Mouse
Microsoft wireless laser mouse 5000
Internet Speed
7 Mb down 1.5 up
Other Info
System #2: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T (Freezer 7 Pro cooler) - Gigabyte 880GMA-UD2H - WD 500GB Black - 9500GT (1GB) 500W OCZ modular PSU - Antec 200 case. System #3 (LapTop) Core 2 Duo T6670 - 320GB 7200RPM HD - 4GB DDR3 RAM.
What's wrong with the HDD beeing off if u don't use it ?


for me it the drives took ages to come alive when i used them for the first time.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
self built
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU
Intel E8400 3GHz
Motherboard
Intel DX48BT2
Memory
Kingston PC3-10700H 4Gb
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon HD 5850 BlackEd.
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DG
Monitor(s) Displays
2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
Screen Resolution
1680x1050 on two monitors
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 2 120gb 3.5" (OS)
Seagate Momentus XT 500gb
Samsung F3 1Tb (games)
2x Samsung F1 1Tb
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
Case
Thermaltake Armor
Cooling
Scythe Mugen II
Keyboard
Microsoft Comfort Curve USB
Mouse
Razer Diamondback 3G
Internet Speed
8128/443
What's wrong with the HDD beeing off if u don't use it ?

It's contents can vanish from Windows Explorer and cause huge lags in performance when you attempt a read operation whilst the drive is dormant... ;)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom built machine
OS
W7 x64
CPU
Intel Q9300 2.5Ghz Quad LGA775 (Would like Q9650)
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3R (F6 Bios)
Memory
4Gb OCZ Gold 1,333Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Palit HD4850 O/C Sonic 512Mb DDR3, Dual DViD's
Sound Card
Azalia to twin Samson 50w Studio Monitors
Monitor(s) Displays
Twin Dell (E-IPS) U2311H 23.6" Screens
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz
Hard Drives
Crucial M4 SSD, archives on twin Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX, 2TB, 7200rpm HDD's, Samsung Ritemaster CD/DVD Burner...
PSU
OCZ 600w
Case
Lian-Li PC8 acoustifoamed' aluminium tower
Cooling
Scythe 140mm Zipang
Keyboard
Cherry PS/2 custom model
Mouse
Lenovo USB laser "Thinkpad" Mouse
Internet Speed
ADSL2+ @14Mbps downstream & Cat6 Gigabit Ethernet
Antivirus
NOD32
Browser
Opera
Other Info
Silicon Dust HD Homerun Dual FTA (Ethernet) TV Tuners, Dray Tek Vigor 2850Vn router and 8x HP Gigabit Switch. Lian-Li CR26 Card Reader, Canon MF4430 iSensys laser printer/scanner.
Will this work with ALL drives hooked to the motherboard or just the "System" drive I wonder.

It's all drives from my experience. As far as I'm aware you cannot select an individual drive to turn off.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Systems by SmartEyeball
OS
8 Pro x64
CPU
i7 3770K 4.6GHz
Motherboard
ASUS P8Z77 WS
Memory
16GB G.Skill Trident X 2666mhz
Graphics Card(s)
x2 EVGA 780 Ti Superclocked SLI
Sound Card
SB X-FI Surround 5.1 PRO USB / ATH-AD900 Headphones
Monitor(s) Displays
x3 Dell U2410 / 58" Samsung
Screen Resolution
5760*1200/ 1920*1200
Hard Drives
2x Intel 520 240GB (RAID 0) * 2x WD Caviar Blacks 2TB (RAID 0) * 2TB WD Caviar Black * Sony Optirac DVD
PSU
Silverstone Strider Evolution 1200W
Case
Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition
Cooling
Noctua NH-D14
Keyboard
Topre Realforce // Ducky Shine MX Black // Filco Ninja TKL
Mouse
Thermaltake Theron (Highly Recommended) + Razer Imperator
Antivirus
MSE
Browser
IE, FF, WaterFox
Other Info
GT Extreme V2 Sim Racing Cockpit + 40" LCD and K/B Mouse stand ▼
Fanatec CSR Elite Wheel + Clubsport V1 Pedals + CSR shifter/7G-H ▼Saitek X52 Pro ▼ TrackIR 5 Pro
Buttkicker v2 Seat Rumbler with Dedicated 5.1 and Sub Woofer attached to frame ▼
=
Bloody Big Grin
This a greate advice..but im think lets the hdd choose itsself to off or on..when we dun use it,it off,when want to use,its on....
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
AMD-ATI
OS
Windows 7 Build 7600 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 920
Motherboard
TA 790GX 128M
Memory
Kingston HyperX 8GB-With Cooling Fan!
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 280
Sound Card
Realtek® HD
Monitor(s) Displays
SyncMaster Samsung 24 Inc and 19 Inc
Hard Drives
Sata 1TB ,Maxtor 250GB x1
PSU
1000W
Case
Cooler Master
Cooling
XpressCool
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
Logitech
Internet Speed
Connection 1GBPS but slow
Will this work with ALL drives hooked to the motherboard or just the "System" drive I wonder.

It's all drives from my experience. As far as I'm aware you cannot select an individual drive to turn off.

Thanks for the reply. I think it's all drives too. I just leave mine running and I rarely have had problems with them.

At work, they have them set to turn off and on....I have had 3 hard drives fail on me at work.

I don't think it's a coincidence.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Keeps changing - (Custom)
OS
Windows 7 Professional x64
CPU
Intel Core i7 860
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P
Memory
4GB DDR3 Mushkin 1600Mhz @ 7-8-7-20
Graphics Card(s)
MSI GTS250 1GB DDR3 Twin Frozr
Sound Card
Onboard realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SyncMaster 24" P2450 + Samsung 20" 2033
Screen Resolution
1920 X 1080 and 1600 X 900 (#2 system 1440 X 900)
Hard Drives
Patriot Inferno 120GB SSD + 3 WD Blue 640GB drives
PSU
Corsair 750 HX Modular
Case
Lancool PC-K62
Cooling
Cooler Master TX3 CPU cooler and 4-140mm and 1-120mm case
Keyboard
Gigabyte USB keyboard
Mouse
Microsoft wireless laser mouse 5000
Internet Speed
7 Mb down 1.5 up
Other Info
System #2: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T (Freezer 7 Pro cooler) - Gigabyte 880GMA-UD2H - WD 500GB Black - 9500GT (1GB) 500W OCZ modular PSU - Antec 200 case. System #3 (LapTop) Core 2 Duo T6670 - 320GB 7200RPM HD - 4GB DDR3 RAM.
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