Backup HDs in tower PC

[Mike Halmarack]

I'm abandoning my HP micro server.
I'd like to put it's 3 hard drives in my tower PC for archiving
purposes, along with the existing drives.
Is there a way to have these extra drives be running only when
required, in a switch-on-able, switch-offable way?

[Theo]

Post by Mike Halmarack
I'm abandoning my HP micro server.
I'd like to put it's 3 hard drives in my tower PC for archiving
purposes, along with the existing drives.
Is there a way to have these extra drives be running only when
required, in a switch-on-able, switch-offable way?

What OS is your tower PC running?

It's possible for software to spin down the drives. Not sure about Windows
but I think it might do that if you 'eject' them. Then they'll spin back up
again if you try to access them. Or there is software to set them to
automatically spin down if not accessed for N seconds/minutes.

(I think on Windows it's typically made by the HDD manufacturer - eg
WDIDLE3)

Theo

[Mike Halmarack]

On 10 Mar 2024 18:26:37 +0000 (GMT), Theo

Post by Theo

Post by Mike Halmarack
I'm abandoning my HP micro server.
I'd like to put it's 3 hard drives in my tower PC for archiving
purposes, along with the existing drives.
Is there a way to have these extra drives be running only when
required, in a switch-on-able, switch-offable way?

What OS is your tower PC running?

Windows 10

Post by Theo
It's possible for software to spin down the drives. Not sure about Windows
but I think it might do that if you 'eject' them. Then they'll spin back up
again if you try to access them. Or there is software to set them to
automatically spin down if not accessed for N seconds/minutes.

My first thought was
to eject the drives but the most troublesome one would never eject
becuase it was always "being used".

Post by Theo
(I think on Windows it's typically made by the HDD manufacturer - eg
WDIDLE3)

Thanks I'll look into that.

Post by Theo
Theo

[SH]

Post by Mike Halmarack
I'm abandoning my HP micro server.
I'd like to put it's 3 hard drives in my tower PC for archiving
purposes, along with the existing drives.
Is there a way to have these extra drives be running only when
required, in a switch-on-able, switch-offable way?

There are 2 ways:

One would unfortunately involve an external drive box, such as
https://www.amazon.co.uk/QNAP-TR-004-Desktop-Expansion-Enclosure/dp/B07K23ZJFN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BTYB32F0X4W7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mGNKI0BLiDy2jlkIKbcodr2jaBhy7_5uVNsrEhYGGl2QSlCk6zHzkD19RMYt5IX6K3WzSDZL3C59JPbGYUgCjgpwu2-x8mE3HqZusbehvFsV93uaCjFbrS4OCqHqoA0z5FVaZDOSNjuAf3vB-atju-6-sxQNdaJQNg5Kiw_vokeJulBmBQqNJHKUWcunaneiQSKJy2partMaSGFQ1pDuLJG0FFtOfAmCOrQD2QLFuyk.vdremrOeRHXwPGX5C9z5rsA9EbYXNqg1QpaqjKEfTkg&dib_tag=se&keywords=QNAP+DAS&qid=1710099130&sprefix=qnap+das%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f

Simply unmount the USB drives and then pull the USB cable.

Replug the USB cable and the drives will automount.

Another option is to use a SATA add on card that permits hot plugging
and use some HDD caddies such as those by ICY DOCK or by StarTech:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=icy+dock+5.25+bay&crid=1LX4YNYXFPJLI&sprefix=Icy+dock+%2Caps%2C94&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_9

S.

[Mike Halmarack]

Thanks for the advice.
I went for this one

Post by SH
One would unfortunately involve an external drive box, such as
https://www.amazon.co.uk/QNAP-TR-004-Desktop-Expansion-Enclosure/dp/B07K23ZJFN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BTYB32F0X4W7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mGNKI0BLiDy2jlkIKbcodr2jaBhy7_5uVNsrEhYGGl2QSlCk6zHzkD19RMYt5IX6K3WzSDZL3C59JPbGYUgCjgpwu2-x8mE3HqZusbehvFsV93uaCjFbrS4OCqHqoA0z5FVaZDOSNjuAf3vB-atju-6-sxQNdaJQNg5Kiw_vokeJulBmBQqNJHKUWcunaneiQSKJy2partMaSGFQ1pDuLJG0FFtOfAmCOrQD2QLFuyk.vdremrOeRHXwPGX5C9z5rsA9EbYXNqg1QpaqjKEfTkg&dib_tag=se&keywords=QNAP+DAS&qid=1710099130&sprefix=qnap+das%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Mike Halmarack
Thanks for the advice.
I went for this one

Post by SH
One would unfortunately involve an external drive box, such as

https://www.amazon.co.uk/QNAP-TR-004-Desktop-Expansion-Enclosure/dp/B07K23ZJFN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BTYB32F0X4W7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mGNKI0BLiDy2jlkIKbcodr2jaBhy7_5uVNsrEhYGGl2QSlCk6zHzkD19RMYt5IX6K3WzSDZL3C59JPbGYUgCjgpwu2-x8mE3HqZusbehvFsV93uaCjFbrS4OCqHqoA0z5FVaZDOSNjuAf3vB-atju-6-sxQNdaJQNg5Kiw_vokeJulBmBQqNJHKUWcunaneiQSKJy2partMaSGFQ1pDuLJG0FFtOfAmCOrQD2QLFuyk.vdremrOeRHXwPGX5C9z5rsA9EbYXNqg1QpaqjKEfTkg&dib_tag=se&keywords=QNAP+DAS&qid=1710099130&sprefix=qnap+das%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7

I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

[Mike Halmarack]

Post by SH

Post by Mike Halmarack
Thanks for the advice.
I went for this one

Post by SH
One would unfortunately involve an external drive box, such as

https://www.amazon.co.uk/QNAP-TR-004-Desktop-Expansion-Enclosure/dp/B07K23ZJFN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BTYB32F0X4W7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mGNKI0BLiDy2jlkIKbcodr2jaBhy7_5uVNsrEhYGGl2QSlCk6zHzkD19RMYt5IX6K3WzSDZL3C59JPbGYUgCjgpwu2-x8mE3HqZusbehvFsV93uaCjFbrS4OCqHqoA0z5FVaZDOSNjuAf3vB-atju-6-sxQNdaJQNg5Kiw_vokeJulBmBQqNJHKUWcunaneiQSKJy2partMaSGFQ1pDuLJG0FFtOfAmCOrQD2QLFuyk.vdremrOeRHXwPGX5C9z5rsA9EbYXNqg1QpaqjKEfTkg&dib_tag=se&keywords=QNAP+DAS&qid=1710099130&sprefix=qnap+das%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Mike Halmarack

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

I haven't tried that I must admit, it disconnects in a couple of seconds
when you press the eject button. The drives are treated as external drives
(actually that's logical) and so they appear in the "Safely remove
hardware.." icon - and in the send to context menu. Anything there that
helps?

[Mike Halmarack]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Mike Halmarack

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

I haven't tried that I must admit, it disconnects in a couple of seconds
when you press the eject button. The drives are treated as external drives
(actually that's logical) and so they appear in the "Safely remove
hardware.." icon - and in the send to context menu. Anything there that
helps?

Sounds promising, thanks.

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Mike Halmarack

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

I haven't tried that I must admit, it disconnects in a couple of seconds
when you press the eject button. The drives are treated as external drives
(actually that's logical) and so they appear in the "Safely remove
hardware.." icon - and in the send to context menu. Anything there that
helps?

How do you reconnect them when you want them?

Cheers - Jaimie

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jaimie Vandenbergh

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Mike Halmarack

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

I haven't tried that I must admit, it disconnects in a couple of seconds
when you press the eject button. The drives are treated as external drives
(actually that's logical) and so they appear in the "Safely remove
hardware.." icon - and in the send to context menu. Anything there that
helps?

How do you reconnect them when you want them?
Cheers - Jaimie

Haven't quite figured that out....

[Mike Halmarack]

On 13 Mar 2024 20:10:52 GMT, Jaimie Vandenbergh

Post by Jaimie Vandenbergh

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Mike Halmarack

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

I haven't tried that I must admit, it disconnects in a couple of seconds
when you press the eject button. The drives are treated as external drives
(actually that's logical) and so they appear in the "Safely remove
hardware.." icon - and in the send to context menu. Anything there that
helps?

How do you reconnect them when you want them?
Cheers - Jaimie

Could it be that if each HD is shown as an individual drive in Disk
Manager, then shortcuts to each could be dragged to the desktop from
the "This PC" Devices and Drives list, then clicked on individually to
restart a specific drive?
Here's hoping.

[Mike Halmarack]

On Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:35:18 +0000, Mike Halmarack

Post by Mike Halmarack
On 13 Mar 2024 20:10:52 GMT, Jaimie Vandenbergh

Post by Jaimie Vandenbergh

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Mike Halmarack

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

I haven't tried that I must admit, it disconnects in a couple of seconds
when you press the eject button. The drives are treated as external drives
(actually that's logical) and so they appear in the "Safely remove
hardware.." icon - and in the send to context menu. Anything there that
helps?

How do you reconnect them when you want them?
Cheers - Jaimie

Could it be that if each HD is shown as an individual drive in Disk
Manager, then shortcuts to each could be dragged to the desktop from
the "This PC" Devices and Drives list, then clicked on individually to
restart a specific drive?
Here's hoping.

Sadly, that doesn't seem to work.

In Windows 10 Disk Management, each of the 4 drives in the box can be
individually switched between Online and Offline.
Is this considered a safe move in terms of possible interference with
any background Read And Write activity?
If it is considered safe, what are the benefits of doing this in terms
of drive wear and power consumption?

[Mike Halmarack]

On 13 Mar 2024 20:10:52 GMT, Jaimie Vandenbergh

Post by Jaimie Vandenbergh

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Mike Halmarack

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have just got one. What took 17 minutes to copy over the network now
takes 1.5 minutes over USB3! This is even though the 4 bay version seems
to share something that means it runs at 3 GB/s rather than 6 GB/s.

Mine arrives tomorrow. What are the chances that I'll be a able to
turn off or eject any one or more of the 4 drives without having to
pulll the plug on all of them?

I haven't tried that I must admit, it disconnects in a couple of seconds
when you press the eject button. The drives are treated as external drives
(actually that's logical) and so they appear in the "Safely remove
hardware.." icon - and in the send to context menu. Anything there that
helps?

How do you reconnect them when you want them?
Cheers - Jaimie

The third party software "USB Safely Remove" both stops and restarts
individual drives in the QNAP box. It costs more than 20quid, though I
was happy to pay it.