Getting an external HD to stop spinning down

[Thomas Veil]

This is probably a really basic question, but...is there any way to get an external HD to stop spinning down all the time?

I have an ACOM that spins down about every 15 minutes, and when I'm working with large graphics files, it's a pain to watch everything grind to a halt as the HD spins down and leaves me watching a spinning beach ball. It does this even when I'm actively doing something, not just when there's no activity.

I've tried ACOM's support site, but they don't mention anything about how to control this, if possible.

Can anything be done via Disk Utility or some other program?

 

[aristobrat]

Does the System Pref > Energy Saver "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" feature have any effect on external drives?

 

[dllavaneras]

It has a checkbox, "put hard disk(s) to sleep whenever possible" I just unchecked mine to see if my external HD spins down. I can imagine it won't, though

 

[dukebound85]

It has a checkbox, "put hard disk(s) to sleep whenever possible" I just unchecked mine to see if my external HD spins down. I can imagine it won't, though

i had that same issue and this does NOT prevent the spin down in my case. any ideas? and why does it do this...seems like its harder than just always running

 

[Joony]

My Western Digital My Book Premium edition does the same thing. It does not follow the checkbox option either.

I guess that the firewire bridge board does something that forces it to sleep!

Your best bet might be to go for a eSATA for external storage, or find another external drive that does not sleep.

 

[ronni3]

Your best bet might be to go for a eSATA for external storage...

Actually the external eSATA drives do the same thing. I one connected to my laptop PC and I constantly hear it spinning down. I hate that it does this, as I believe this will eventually take effect on the drives life expectancy. I have seen several externals die an early death, whereas if you placed the same drive internally they live a much longer life. I wonder if the USB supplied power or the power brick have any effect on the drive itself?