Turning Off Hard Disk

[mrclose]

If I set my power options to:
Turn off Hard Disk
(after x amount of minutes)

Turn off Moniter
(also after so many minutes)

What is the difference between that and setting the pc to sleep mode?

I ask because a number of times, coming out of sleep ... it doesn't!

The HD will click and then nothing!
Takes a hard shutdown and reboot to get running again!

Believe me, I've done every work-a-round, (for the last six months) and tried every suggestion in trying to fix this headache and nothing has worked!

Searching, this appears to be a problem with Windows 10 that a lot of folks have been having.
Some have solved the problem while others have not.

Seems that no one solution is a fix for everyone.

I've disabled hybrid and hibernate using only sleep.
Re-enabled hibernate with sleep disabled ... but the problem still exists!

And yes, I've run every chk disk and troubleshooter that I can find and ... nothing!


I figure that allowing the disk to go into idle and having the monitor shut down is the only step that I have left?

My concern is .. I don't want to shut down the pc every time I have something else that I need to do but ... I also don't want to risk something like a cooling fan going bad and my hard disk burning up when I'm not around!

Thanks in advance everyone!!

This is a snapshot of my system ...
Windows 10, version 1903 and Windows Server, version 1903

 

[Regedit32]

There are four states you can choose to enter your computer into when you are not using it:

1. Shutdown [ power-off state ]
2. Sleep mode [ low-power state ]
3. Hibernate mode [ current state is saved ]
4. Hybrid mode [ low-power state blended with current state ]
   
   Note: Hybrid mode is by default disabled on laptops as its a state intended more for a Desktop computer.

The state you choose really depends on your personal preferences and/or beliefs, such as saving $$$ on power, or preserving hardware [i.e. helping reduce usage of hardware to make the computer last longer], or paranoia someone else will access your data if you've left computer alone but on. Thus what state you choose to use is up to the individual.

1. Shutdown [ power-off state ]
   
   I imagine most Users understand that if you shutdown your computer then all open applications are closed, and obviously, your operating system [ in this case Windows 10 Home ] is also closed. At this point your computer is using the absolute minimum of power [ and then only, if your leave the outlet on wall turned on ].
   
   If you choose this state then you need to manually save any work you have been doing, so as to be able to access it when you next reboot your computer.
   
   If you chose this state then obviously, to use your computer and its applications again, you need to reboot the operating system, and allow the hardware to initialize, then re-open the application you intend to use, and then the document or file you are wanting to work with.
   
   
2. Sleep mode [low-power state is saved ]
   
   In the Sleep mode the computer enters into a low-power usage state. Laptops for example, enter this state when their lid is closed.
   
   In this mode, the current state of your activities, be that an open browser, a Word document, etcetera, is stored in Memory, with the view that when you awake the computer, you will see all the applications, documents, etcetera you were working on prior to entering sleep mode.
   
   During sleep mode, hardware devices and other parts of your computer will not use power.
   
   The advantage of Sleep mode are two fold:
   
   > You can relax knowing unsaved work will be accessible once you wake the computer, plus there is not need to reboot computer.
   > If you are using a laptop, then the battery on the laptop is not drained of all power.
   
   
   
3. Hibernate mode [ current state is saved ]
   
   This mode required sufficient space on your hard drive. The reason for that is because your computers current state [ i.e. any open applications or documents, etcetera ] is saved as a file to your hard drive. [i.e. Everything in your computers memory is dumped as a file onto your hard drive].
   
   This allows you to access any active program and its data, prior to entering hibernation, after you have booted your computer up.
   
   It also uses less power than if you enter sleep mode! In fact, it uses almost the same amount of power as if you had shutdown your computer.
   
   The catch! It takes longer for the computer to wake from hibernation, because first the hard drive needs to initialize, then that dumped memory file [ the previous current state ], needs to be read, then displayed to your monitor.
   
   
   
4. Hybrid mode [ low-power state blended with current state ]
   
   This is the mode intended for Desktop computers only. Hence, it is disabled on laptops.
   
   This mode is a mix of Sleep mode and Hibernate mode. What it does, is that it dumps your current state memory to the hard drive as a file, but at the same time it enters a low-power state thus supplying your memory with power, while other components sleep.
   
   The advantage of this mode, is that you can quickly wake your computer to its previous current state, with the comfort of knowing, if there was a power cut, you would still be able to reboot your computer to its previous current state, once power is restored in your neighborhood.
   
   
   
   Hopefully, that may help you decide what mode you would like to use, and with any luck it will do what its intended to do.
   
   You can give it a go, then follow up here if you still need help to resolve the issue you have experienced.

Regards,

Regedit32

 

[mrclose]

Except as I mentioned in my post: I can turn off the disk and hard drive individually.
Even after I disable sleep and hybrid!
(Shown in capture below)

Is there any difference than just using sleep mode?

 

[Regedit32]

Yes there is a difference.

If you opt to turn off your hard disk in the manner you are suggesting then you are choosing not to preserve the current state.

If you are not needing to preserve the current state of your usage, then opting into that Turn off hard disk after x minutes is fine.

If you do want to preserve the current state then choosing either Sleep, Hibernate or Hybrid mode would be your options to choose from.

 

[Macs R We]

Except as I mentioned in my post: I can turn off the disk and hard drive individually.
Even after I disable sleep and hybrid!
(Shown in capture below)

Is there any difference than just using sleep mode?

To answer the question that no one has yet answered for you, which is, why would you want to sleep only the drive and the monitor but not the entire PC?

You would do this if you intend to access the PC remotely, e.g., for filesharing, screen sharing, remote login, as a home server, or anything else that requires it to be listening for connections but not actively working.

If instead you put the entire PC to sleep, then you are never going to be able to connect to it -- unless it supports wake-on-network, and that can be a pain to set up depending on your computer and the networking equipment that you have inside your home, which may or may not be capable of supporting that.

 

[Regedit32]

Interesting concept Macs.

If they wanted to use a wake-on-lan (WOL) network standard to remotely access their desktop from another device, it would not matter whether it was in sleep mode, hibernate mode or powered off.

So long as their Bios and Network card support magic packets they'd be fine.

I did not think they were wanting to do this at all, but rather just trying to understand the difference between the States they can choose to manage power and the additional option of simply turning off a screen or hard drive at a set interval.

 

[djbillyd]

If I set my power options to:
Turn off Hard Disk
(after x amount of minutes)

Turn off Moniter
(also after so many minutes)

What is the difference between that and setting the pc to sleep mode?

I ask because a number of times, coming out of sleep ... it doesn't!

The HD will click and then nothing!
Takes a hard shutdown and reboot to get running again!

Believe me, I've done every work-a-round, (for the last six months) and tried every suggestion in trying to fix this headache and nothing has worked!

Searching, this appears to be a problem with Windows 10 that a lot of folks have been having.
Some have solved the problem while others have not.

Seems that no one solution is a fix for everyone.

I've disabled hybrid and hibernate using only sleep.
Re-enabled hibernate with sleep disabled ... but the problem still exists!

And yes, I've run every chk disk and troubleshooter that I can find and ... nothing!


I figure that allowing the disk to go into idle and having the monitor shut down is the only step that I have left?

My concern is .. I don't want to shut down the pc every time I have something else that I need to do but ... I also don't want to risk something like a cooling fan going bad and my hard disk burning up when I'm not around!

Thanks in advance everyone!!

This is a snapshot of my system ...
Windows 10, version 1903 and Windows Server, version 1903

I just never shut my HDD down. Monitor, go to sleep in 10. Everything else, keeps running. Cooling fans are not that expensive. They start humming, I chunk 'em!

 

[sasafried]

[Hard drive won't come out of sleep]

Make sure you are up to date with Windows 10.
I had a different sleep problem with auto sleep not working anymore on 1903.
After some weeks Microsoft issued an update that fixed it back to normal.

I feel for you, but I don't know what can help.
I've never had your specific problem, except for a Fujitsu hard drive that went wonky then dropped dead. Too much heat I think.

Unplug/plugin the connectors to the hard drive a few times(when the computer is shut down), to rule out oxide on the metal contacts, so the maximum current goes to the hard drive.

What else can be done on your machine?
Leave "turn off hard drives" settings longer/shorter or never. "Never" won't have spin up problems, but will get warm, not as hot as when its read/write head is working hard though.

Try a different hard drive or solid-state drive.

Windows 10 is a fast operating system that I like.
I don't like how they are always breaking something, and then having to wait for them to fix it.

Have you given feedback on Feedback Hub?
I entered "Hard drive won't wake after sleep" on Feedback Hub to see any results.
There are some comments where users had to do a total shutdown and restart to get working.
The more people complain about legit issues, the faster Microsoft will make an update fix.

 

[mrclose]

Thank You All for your help and feedback.

I'm going with the Turn off HD as well as the monitor in the individual settings (see above).

I'll let you know what happens in a few days.

Again .. Thank You!

 

[sasafried]

One last thing.
This is the Win 10 update for 1903 (KB4505903), that fixed it for my sleep issue as well as a bunch of other people.
Check your update history "View update history" to be sure it got installed.
Good luck either way. Bye

 

[Pradip Shah]

Actually turning off the hard disk is a very bad idea. It is the start and stop of the rotating disk platters that are more damaging than continuous operation. In fact IBM specifically recommended never to power off the computer and to leave the drives running all the time. Of course this does not apply to SSDs.

 

[sasafried]

[Actually turning off the hard disk is a very bad idea]

Really? Hard drives have come a long way from those early IBM ones.

From what I have experienced, usually,
there is more stress to the computer power supply by constantly shutting down/starting it up.
Power supplies also have electrolytic capacitors that will dry out and fail.
The cooling fan will clog up with dust and wear out, and the semiconductors fail from surges/overheating.

Hard drives last longer than the power supply in my cases (except for the Fujitsu).
The hard drive fails in that the memory size becomes useless over time.
Try installing Win 10 on an old 1 gig drive.

Well designed hard drives use tantalum, and ceramic capacitors that last many years,
The circuitry and internal monitoring programs ensure soft start-up, long spin downtimes to reduce stress.

Windows would not put 'turn off hard drive' settings in there without a good reason.
It saves energy and saves continuous wear and friction heat on the hard drive platter bearing.
For me and my desktop pc in the bedroom, it's the noise of the extra hard drives that bugs me the most.
I have hard drives shut off after 30 minutes, so I can sleep.

 

[Pradip Shah]

"Try installing Win 10 on an old 1 gig drive. " This would not be possible even on a brand new drive. The minimum Win 10 requirements are like 15 times its capacity.

I am surprised your hard disks make so much noise. I have 2 internal and 4 external USB drives connected to my PC. I can't hear any of them. Even when the whole setup is out in the open and not in a PC cabinet, spread out om my work bench. So either my drives are super quiet OR I am becoming "hearing impaired" !!! BTW these are ALL WD.

 

[sasafried]

Getting a little off subject now.

I'll say it a different way:
The original IBM 1 gig hard drive was basically useless in memory capacity,
when I upgraded to Windows 98, I ran out of space and had to transfer to a 6 gig hard drive.
The old drive outlasted its usefulness but did not fail.

What I did was intentionally tried to break it by removing the cover.
It still worked for a number of days until I pushed the head hard onto the metal surface scratching it.

My game and video hard drives are Seagate Barracudas.
I buy whatever is on sale. Had WD drives way back. They all whine, click and chatter with my ears.
The next upgrade will be a Helium hard drive.

 

[Pradip Shah]

Getting a little off subject now.

I'll say it a different way:
The original IBM 1 gig hard drive was basically useless in memory capacity,
when I upgraded to Windows 98, I ran out of space and had to transfer to a 6 gig hard drive.
The old drive outlasted its usefulness but did not fail.

What I did was intentionally tried to break it by removing the cover.
It still worked for a number of days until I pushed the head hard onto the metal surface scratching it.

My game and video hard drives are Seagate Barracudas.
I buy whatever is on sale. Had WD drives way back. They all whine, click and chatter with my ears.
The next upgrade will be a Helium hard drive.

Just like you mentioned earlier the drives have evolved quite a bit. The WD drives I have are all 1 to 3 years old and NONE can be heard even with my ear say 3 to 4 inches away.