My solution to spin down the HDD in the OptiBay

jrabbit · 09:29 AM

There are numerous threads about removing the SuperDrive from the OptiBay, moving the HDD into the OptiBay, and installing an SSD in the main HDD space. I did these things using the DataDoubler from OWC; I'm very happy with the bracket quality and the overall results.

Like many, I was annoyed with the fact that there seemed to be no way under Lion to make the HDD in the OptiBay spin down. Fiddling with the Spotlight settings, using pmset to adjust parameters, and so forth did not resolve the issue.

To make peace, I did the following:

Create "MountHDD" and "UnmountHDD" AppleScript "applications" that I can call easily using Alfred
Set up SleepWatcher to run a script upon wakeup that will spin down the HDD volumes

Here is the contents of the "MountHDD" script:

Code:

do shell script "diskutil mount `diskutil list | grep 'Macintosh Data' | grep -o '\\(disk[0-9s]*\\)'`"
do shell script "diskutil mount `diskutil list | grep 'BOOTCAMP' | grep -o '\\(disk[0-9s]*\\)'`"

Here is the contents of the "UnmountHDD" script:

Code:

do shell script "diskutil eject 'Macintosh Data'"
do shell script "diskutil eject BOOTCAMP"

Here are the details for setting up SleepWatcher:

Tools
SleepWatcher 2.2 (from http://www.bernhard-baehr.de/)

Setup
Install the SleepWatcher software:
1. Execute the following commands in Terminal:

Code:

$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/sbin /usr/local/share/man/man8
$ sudo cp ~/Downloads/sleepwatcher_2.2/sleepwatcher /usr/local/sbin
$ sudo cp ~/Downloads/sleepwatcher_2.2/sleepwatcher.8 /usr/local/share/man/man8

2. Read the man page and think about the features of SleepWatcher you want to use:

Code:

$ man sleepwatcher

3. Create a shell script to unmount the partitions on wake using Terminal:

Code:

pico ~/.wakeup

3. a. Enter the following as the contents:

Code:

#!/bin/sh
diskutil eject 'Macintosh Data'
diskutil eject 'BOOTCAMP'

3. b. Set the wakeup script to be executable:

Code:

chmod a+x ~/.wakeup

4. Copy the sample 'de.bernhard-baehr.sleepwatcher-20compatibility-localuser.plist' file into the ~/Library/LaunchAgents directory
5. Load the launchd agent configuration using launchctl in Terminal:

Code:

cd ~/Library/LaunchAgents
launchctl load de.bernhard-baehr.sleepwatcher-20compatibility-localuser.plist

6. Verify that the agent is running in Terminal:

Code:

launchctl list | grep sleepwatcher

Now the HDD will spin up/down when my MBP wakes up, and if I need the HDD volumes, I just have Alfred run the MoundHDD application. The MBP is fast and quiet, and I'm happy.

One additional note: the drives in the OptiBay are spun up and mounted upon system startup. I did not do anything to automatically unmount them, so if I'm not going to use them, I just call upon Alfred to run the UnmountHDD script.

Hope this helps someone else...

visim91 · Dec 16, 2011, 04:51 PM

This is really cool.
Now, about the opposite - a SSD in the optibay & HDD in the primary disc space - would I have to worry about such things?

- The HDD is a storage bin for movies & media, SSD holds OSx etc.

-Also, I do not have SATA III in my Mac, thus I opted to keep the spinning drive in the primary enclosure, and the solid-state in the optibay.

miker2209 · Dec 17, 2011, 12:22 AM

Just try not to let any program wake the HDD, like if u have iStat pro make sure it's not checking the memory or the temps on the HDD and Spotlight go to privacy and add the HDD in the Not to Search list.
Or easier just dismount the damn thing when your not using in, but IMO disabling Spotlight search or HDD and iStat pro will do the trick.

wikus · Dec 17, 2011, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by visim91

This is really cool.
Now, about the opposite - a SSD in the optibay & HDD in the primary disc space - would I have to worry about such things?

- The HDD is a storage bin for movies & media, SSD holds OSx etc.

-Also, I do not have SATA III in my Mac, thus I opted to keep the spinning drive in the primary enclosure, and the solid-state in the optibay.

Its recommended that you have your SSD drive in the optibay. The main bay has some kind of anti-shock mechanism specifically for HDDs. You'll want to leave your stock HDD or replacement HDD in its default location, which is what I did (120gb Intel 320 SSD in optibay and Western Digital 1TB in the primary bay).

visim91 · Dec 17, 2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wikus

Its recommended that you have your SSD drive in the optibay. The main bay has some kind of anti-shock mechanism specifically for HDDs. You'll want to leave your stock HDD or replacement HDD in its default location, which is what I did (120gb Intel 320 SSD in optibay and Western Digital 1TB in the primary bay).

We can do such things because our Mac's maximum speed remains 3.0 GB/s - also known as "SATA II".
Those with newer models can attain speeds up to 6.0 GB/s - also known as "SATA III"; but, only if they elect to keep their SSD in the main bay, where the SATA III configuration is present.
The optibay, in their situation, is only SATA II; thus, it would be counterproductive to place the SSD there.

This is as far as I know, if I am wrong please correct me.

Ant.honey · Dec 17, 2011, 09:49 AM

I'm sure it's rewarding and such to write and run the scripts, but just dismounting seems like a lot less trouble to me. Also, perhaps I'm not as sensitive, but the spinning hard drive I don't really hear or at least it doesn't ever bother me. If it's cutting battery life, it's very insignificant. YMMV.

Satnam1989 · Dec 17, 2011, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrabbit

There are numerous threads about removing the SuperDrive from the OptiBay, moving the HDD into the OptiBay, and installing an SSD in the main HDD space. I did these things using the DataDouble from OWC; I'm very happy with the bracket quality and the overall results.

Like many, I was annoyed with the fact that there seemed to be no way under Lion to make the HDD in the OptiBay spin down. Fiddling with the Spotlight settings, using pmset to adjust parameters, and so forth did not resolve the issue.

To make peace, I did the following:

Create "MountHDD" and "UnmountHDD" AppleScript "applications" that I can call easily using Alfred
Set up SleepWatcher to run a script upon wakeup that will spin down the HDD volumes

Here is the contents of the "MountHDD" script:

Code:

do shell script "diskutil mount `diskutil list | grep 'Macintosh Data' | grep -o '\\(disk[0-9s]*\\)'`"
do shell script "diskutil mount `diskutil list | grep 'BOOTCAMP' | grep -o '\\(disk[0-9s]*\\)'`"

Here is the contents of the "UnmountHDD" script:

Code:

do shell script "diskutil eject 'Macintosh Data'"
do shell script "diskutil eject BOOTCAMP"

Here are the details for setting up SleepWatcher:

Tools
SleepWatcher 2.2 (from http://www.bernhard-baehr.de/)

Setup
Install the SleepWatcher software:
1. Execute the following commands in Terminal:

Code:

$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/sbin /usr/local/share/man/man8
$ sudo cp ~/Downloads/sleepwatcher_2.2/sleepwatcher /usr/local/sbin
$ sudo cp ~/Downloads/sleepwatcher_2.2/sleepwatcher.8 /usr/local/share/man/man8

2. Read the man page and think about the features of SleepWatcher you want to use:

Code:

$ man sleepwatcher

3. Create a shell script to unmount the partitions on wake using Terminal:

Code:

pico ~/.wakeup

3. a. Enter the following as the contents:

Code:

#!/bin/sh
diskutil eject 'Macintosh Data'
diskutil eject 'BOOTCAMP'

3. b. Set the wakeup script to be executable:

Code:

chmod a+x ~/.wakeup

4. Copy the sample 'de.bernhard-baehr.sleepwatcher-20compatibility-localuser.plist' file into the ~/Library/LaunchAgents directory
5. Load the launchd agent configuration using launchctl in Terminal:

Code:

cd ~/Library/LaunchAgents
launchctl load de.bernhard-baehr.sleepwatcher-20compatibility-localuser.plist

6. Verify that the agent is running in Terminal:

Code:

launchctl list | grep sleepwatcher

Now the HDD will spin up/down when my MBP wakes up, and if I need the HDD volumes, I just have Alfred run the MoundHDD application. The MBP is fast and quiet, and I'm happy.

Hope this helps someone else...

Excellent post, ill have to give it a try sometime when I'm up for it, been kinda looking for a solution maybe apple will be nice enough to add the spin down features into Lion once th enew MBP's hit the shelves and if they opt to remove the OD and add support for dual HDD's

happle · Dec 17, 2011, 10:44 AM

woulding spinning down the drive often make the load cycle count go out of control?

Satnam1989 · Dec 17, 2011, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happle

woulding spinning down the drive often make the load cycle count go out of control?

I can't answer ur question but I did try another guys HDAPM command/instal instructions from this forum, changed the disk for it to work on to disk1(which is my HDD) from disk0, but noticed that it didn't work after I restarted my MBP that day....since then my heads been parking as it did before......btw if you can't run the commands just unmount your partitions(all that you have for ur optical bay HDD) make sure iSTAT is not running at all, I have my HDD Space monitoring and temperature turned off in iSTAT but it still wakes up my HDD as soon as I launch my dashboard....so iSTAT is definitely a HDD waker!

VillasManzanill · Mar 7, 2012, 02:34 PM

Hi jrabbit

Could you explain it but as if you were explaing it to a baby or a 89 year old guy?

i very new about scripts and terminal etc.

thanks.

jrabbit · Mar 8, 2012, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VillasManzanill

Hi jrabbit

Could you explain it but as if you were explaing it to a baby or a 89 year old guy?

i very new about scripts and terminal etc.

thanks.

I'm not sure I can do better... which part/parts doesn't/don't make sense?

dusk007 · Mar 8, 2012, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VillasManzanill

Hi jrabbit

Could you explain it but as if you were explaing it to a baby or a 89 year old guy?

i very new about scripts and terminal etc.

The stuff in his code that is supposed to make a script just needs to get into a script file.
Launch AppleScript Editor (Spotlight should find it) copy the text. Click the compile button and save it as an Application in some folder where Spotlight and therefore Alfred can find it.
I'd put it into a folder inside the Applications folder or into Applications/Utilities or just straight into Applications.

For terminal stuff. Just open terminal and type exactly the stuff he wrote.
Where he put a $ sign in fron of the line that is terminal commands. The $ is not supposed to be part of what you are typing. It starts with sudo ...
On second glance all the following is also terminal stuff. pico is an editor you might as well edit the file in finder if you can find it. Though explaining how to find a hidden file in finder is probably more complicated than using pico.

The whole sleepwatcher stuff is stuff you don't really need it is just convenience. I only ever used the un/mount scripts and hit it after wake up. Now with my data partition in exFAT I have no spin up problems anymore and don't require any of those scripts.
The best solution is to just kill all apps that cause the spin ups, as well as ntfs drivers and use exFAT for Windows+OSX data drive. Exclude all NTFS drives from spotlight.
No mount scripts needed and it just spins up and down when needed. Only the save dialog is annoyingly always causing a spin up.

BTW learn a bit of terminal. It helps and will make you so much more confident with fixing stuff on your own. In my opinion most people that claim they don't know what to do when a solution is just a little difficult, usually just are afraid because they have this odd notion that a computer is such a fragile thing that breaks at the slightest little thing. People that know their way around computers are simply those that aren't afraid and just try stuff out.
Tipp for terminal.
$ man command
displays the manual for whatever command you need. like "man ln"
$ command -h or command --help
displays usually a short explanation of possible options.

A unix shell usually says nothing if everything worked and only displays errors if something went wrong.

VillasManzanill · Mar 9, 2012, 09:32 AM

i already did the applescripts, which i had to change the names of the hdd, i didn't know since it didn't said, so now whoever doesn't know much about this stuff now they know. i think i already installed sleep watcher, i just need to configure it to automatically run the script of unmount every time the computer wakes up, i already added the script to run automatically every time the computer starts. thats the help i need so far. thanks. i just can understand from point 2 of sleepwatcher onward. if you have some time to get in my computer with teamviewer (remote assistance program free) that will be awesome. thanks. you can contact me in trough my website and send an email trough it www.villasmanzanillo.com thanks so much for the script.

VillasManzanill · Mar 10, 2012, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrabbit

I'm not sure I can do better... which part/parts doesn't/don't make sense?

From point 2 onward of sleepwatcher.

VillasManzanill · Mar 12, 2012, 10:45 AM

nada?

VillasManzanill · Mar 17, 2012, 12:02 AM

bump

Jpalessi · Mar 17, 2012, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by visim91

We can do such things because our Mac's maximum speed remains 3.0 GB/s - also known as "SATA II".
Those with newer models can attain speeds up to 6.0 GB/s - also known as "SATA III"; but, only if they elect to keep their SSD in the main bay, where the SATA III configuration is present.
The optibay, in their situation, is only SATA II; thus, it would be counterproductive to place the SSD there.

This is as far as I know, if I am wrong please correct me.

You are correct but the real life speed difference between II n III is hardly noticeable, which for me does not out weight the safety of having your hdd in the default bay. Plus you can find better deals on sata II ssd's. I have a samsung 470 series in my 13" mbp and it's dumb fast. boots in 2 spins of the wheel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wikus

Its recommended that you have your SSD drive in the optibay. The main bay has some kind of anti-shock mechanism specifically for HDDs. You'll want to leave your stock HDD or replacement HDD in its default location, which is what I did (120gb Intel 320 SSD in optibay and Western Digital 1TB in the primary bay).

+1

VillasManzanill · Mar 18, 2012, 10:31 AM

Please Jrabbit have some compassion for those not so wise like you. Please explain from point 2 on.thx

WonkyPanda · Aug 2, 2012, 11:47 AM

now we just need this tweaked for ML

Dec 16, 2011, 04:40 PM	#1
jrabbit macrumors member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: St. Louis, MO	My solution to spin down the HDD in the OptiBay There are numerous threads about removing the SuperDrive from the OptiBay, moving the HDD into the OptiBay, and installing an SSD in the main HDD space. I did these things using the DataDoubler from OWC; I'm very happy with the bracket quality and the overall results. Like many, I was annoyed with the fact that there seemed to be no way under Lion to make the HDD in the OptiBay spin down. Fiddling with the Spotlight settings, using pmset to adjust parameters, and so forth did not resolve the issue. To make peace, I did the following: Create "MountHDD" and "UnmountHDD" AppleScript "applications" that I can call easily using Alfred Set up SleepWatcher to run a script upon wakeup that will spin down the HDD volumes Here is the contents of the "MountHDD" script: Code: do shell script "diskutil mount `diskutil list \| grep 'Macintosh Data' \| grep -o '\\(disk[0-9s]\\)'`" do shell script "diskutil mount `diskutil list \| grep 'BOOTCAMP' \| grep -o '\\(disk[0-9s]\\)'`" Here is the contents of the "UnmountHDD" script: Code: do shell script "diskutil eject 'Macintosh Data'" do shell script "diskutil eject BOOTCAMP" Here are the details for setting up SleepWatcher: Tools SleepWatcher 2.2 (from http://www.bernhard-baehr.de/) Setup Install the SleepWatcher software: 1. Execute the following commands in Terminal: Code: $ sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/sbin /usr/local/share/man/man8 $ sudo cp ~/Downloads/sleepwatcher_2.2/sleepwatcher /usr/local/sbin $ sudo cp ~/Downloads/sleepwatcher_2.2/sleepwatcher.8 /usr/local/share/man/man8 2. Read the man page and think about the features of SleepWatcher you want to use: Code: $ man sleepwatcher 3. Create a shell script to unmount the partitions on wake using Terminal: Code: pico ~/.wakeup 3. a. Enter the following as the contents: Code: #!/bin/sh diskutil eject 'Macintosh Data' diskutil eject 'BOOTCAMP' 3. b. Set the wakeup script to be executable: Code: chmod a+x ~/.wakeup 4. Copy the sample 'de.bernhard-baehr.sleepwatcher-20compatibility-localuser.plist' file into the ~/Library/LaunchAgents directory 5. Load the launchd agent configuration using launchctl in Terminal: Code: cd ~/Library/LaunchAgents launchctl load de.bernhard-baehr.sleepwatcher-20compatibility-localuser.plist 6. Verify that the agent is running in Terminal: Code: launchctl list \| grep sleepwatcher Now the HDD will spin up/down when my MBP wakes up, and if I need the HDD volumes, I just have Alfred run the MoundHDD application. The MBP is fast and quiet, and I'm happy. One additional note: the drives in the OptiBay are spun up and mounted upon system startup. I did not do anything to automatically unmount them, so if I'm not going to use them, I just call upon Alfred to run the UnmountHDD script. Hope this helps someone else... __________________ MBP 15 (late 2011) 2.4GHz, 6770M, 16GB Crucial RAM, 240GB OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD (HDD bay), 480GB Mushkin Callisto 3G SSD (optical bay); iPhone 4 32GB Last edited by jrabbit; Mar 8, 2012 at 09:29 AM.
	2

Dec 17, 2011, 12:22 AM	#3
miker2209 macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2010	Just try not to let any program wake the HDD, like if u have iStat pro make sure it's not checking the memory or the temps on the HDD and Spotlight go to privacy and add the HDD in the Not to Search list. Or easier just dismount the damn thing when your not using in, but IMO disabling Spotlight search or HDD and iStat pro will do the trick. __________________ 13" MacbookPro (Early 2011), 2.3GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB Crucial M4 SSD + 320GB Optibay HDD
	0

Dec 17, 2011, 10:44 AM	#8
happle macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2010	woulding spinning down the drive often make the load cycle count go out of control? __________________ 15" MBP Hi-Res AG, 2.4GHz i7 Quad, HD 6770M 1GB VRAM, 8GB Crucial 1333 RAM, 128GB Toshiba SSD, 640GB Hitachi 7k in Optibay 64gb iTouch
	0

Mar 7, 2012, 02:34 PM	#10
VillasManzanill macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	Noob Hi jrabbit Could you explain it but as if you were explaing it to a baby or a 89 year old guy? i very new about scripts and terminal etc. thanks.
	0

Mar 9, 2012, 09:32 AM	#13
VillasManzanill macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	Automatic i already did the applescripts, which i had to change the names of the hdd, i didn't know since it didn't said, so now whoever doesn't know much about this stuff now they know. i think i already installed sleep watcher, i just need to configure it to automatically run the script of unmount every time the computer wakes up, i already added the script to run automatically every time the computer starts. thats the help i need so far. thanks. i just can understand from point 2 of sleepwatcher onward. if you have some time to get in my computer with teamviewer (remote assistance program free) that will be awesome. thanks. you can contact me in trough my website and send an email trough it www.villasmanzanillo.com thanks so much for the script.
	0

Dec 16, 2011, 04:51 PM	#2
visim91 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2011	This is really cool. Now, about the opposite - a SSD in the optibay & HDD in the primary disc space - would I have to worry about such things? - The HDD is a storage bin for movies & media, SSD holds OSx etc. -Also, I do not have SATA III in my Mac, thus I opted to keep the spinning drive in the primary enclosure, and the solid-state in the optibay.
	0

Dec 17, 2011, 09:49 AM	#6
Ant.honey macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New York City	I'm sure it's rewarding and such to write and run the scripts, but just dismounting seems like a lot less trouble to me. Also, perhaps I'm not as sensitive, but the spinning hard drive I don't really hear or at least it doesn't ever bother me. If it's cutting battery life, it's very insignificant. YMMV.
	0

Mar 12, 2012, 10:45 AM	#15
VillasManzanill macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	nada?
	0

Mar 17, 2012, 12:02 AM	#16
VillasManzanill macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	bump
	0

Mar 18, 2012, 10:31 AM	#18
VillasManzanill macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	Please Jrabbit have some compassion for those not so wise like you. Please explain from point 2 on.thx
	0

Aug 2, 2012, 11:47 AM	#19
WonkyPanda macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2010	now we just need this tweaked for ML __________________ Former Owner Of:Late 08' UB 2.4ghz C2D MacBook Mid '10 2.4ghz i5 Macbook Pro Current Owner: Early '11 2.2ghz i7 HR-Glossy Macbook Pro GO LAKERS
	0

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