halt an hdd

[Cerf]

Hey,

I was just wondering if there was a way to halt a single device that is internal to the computer? I ask because one of my HDDs is rather noisy and I can't sleep with the computer on - if I can remove power to it, then I will be able to fold all night long.

[retsaw]

hdparm can do this, read the man page for more info.

[Cerf]

Originally posted by retsaw
hdparm can do this, read the man page for more info.

This is safe right? I wont be damaging my HDD will I?

[retsaw]

It's not likely to damage your drive, and I haven't had any problems doing it myself, but I won't give any guarantees though. Doing this excessively could cause your hard drive to fail sooner as when the drive starts/stops is when the drive is under most mechanical stress, but it isn't really any different from when you turn your computer on or off.