Any way to make HDD idle when not actively used?

[MushroomedHill]

Hello again. So I have a noisy yet new secondary HDD. On my last computer, it made a startup sound and really only made noise when I opened the D: drive in file explorer, or emptied my recycle bin.
In my new PC, it is on all the time thus making noises all the time. I was wondering if there is a setting somewhere on my PC or in the BIOS that can make it like my old PC where it was kinda "Idle" unless accessing its files? Is there such a thing, or is there a different reason it would act that way on my old PC vs my new one?

Is it ok to keep it running and making noise at all times? It's not TOO annoying i suppose, but it's just my backup drive, so I really only open it when I'm going to watch videos on it or play some games occasionally (which I might just move to my main SDD)

Also, did I do anything wrong or are some HDDs just noisy like this? (Seagate/barracuda) Been like that since I got it. It's screwed in nicely and has been in different positions while hooked up, all the same crinkley noises. Any assistance is always appreciated!

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I had Barracudas for 10 years or so until very recently, they did make some weird noises when powering down, one of them sounded like some sort of bird call at times. Anyway maybe you can alter your power plan to make it go idle sooner like this?

Change Turn Off Hard Disk After Idle Time in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to change how long HDDs are inactive before automatically turned off in Windows 10 and Windows 11. The Turn off hard disk after setting in Power Options lets you specify the period of inactivity before the disk is automatically powered down. Having your HDDs...

www.elevenforum.com

 

[Colif]

I guess as long as the noise isn't a click, as you don't want to hear that from a drive.

I should do that. though it would have to be off about much longer than 203 days to catch up to my nvme. both installed on same day
Hdd - 780 days
Nvme - 577 days
It can't delete usage so it has to basically be removed from PC and maybe over time it might pass the nvme in efficiency. Even longer again for my ssd which is only on 72 days used and spends most of its life asleep.

 

[MushroomedHill]

I had Barracudas for 10 years or so until very recently, they did make some weird noises when powering down, one of them sounded like some sort of bird call at times. Anyway maybe you can alter your power plan to make it go idle sooner like this?

Change Turn Off Hard Disk After Idle Time in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to change how long HDDs are inactive before automatically turned off in Windows 10 and Windows 11. The Turn off hard disk after setting in Power Options lets you specify the period of inactivity before the disk is automatically powered down. Having your HDDs...

www.elevenforum.com

hmm this was set to the 20 min default, and after lowering it, it's still going. im not sure what might be keeping it active software side now if anything. I know win11 has a lot of things to keep apps "always active" in the bg, but i disabled most of those and none of them come from my HDD files anyway. I also have onedrive disabled I believe so it's not like its trying to back all those up.

Though when I open my D: drive it still makes a different noise too, so maybe it is technically going to idle?? but still making noises when "off" ??

No idea why it makes its crinkly chime noises every 10 seconds. Not sure if partitioning it on another computer makes it act this way on a new one or if i had to do anything besides just plugging it in. Hmmm!

 

[Brian Boru]

Any way you can pop it in another PC just to make sure it is in fact the HDD which is the problem?

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Assuming youre monitoring the drive health?

CrystalDiskInfo 9.2.3 Download

Download CrystalDiskInfo - CrystalDiskInfo is a simple tool designed to check the condition of your hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and some external drives. It's a free program that helps you understand more about your computer's storage devices, focusing on their health and...

www.guru3d.com

Shouldnt be making noises that often, trying in a different PC like Brian suggests or with a different SATA cable is a good idea.

 

[MushroomedHill]

Assuming youre monitoring the drive health?

CrystalDiskInfo 9.2.3 Download

Download CrystalDiskInfo - CrystalDiskInfo is a simple tool designed to check the condition of your hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and some external drives. It's a free program that helps you understand more about your computer's storage devices, focusing on their health and...

www.guru3d.com

Shouldnt be making noises that often, trying in a different PC like Brian suggests or with a different SATA cable is a good idea.

i had another program which im p sure said drive health is great, i might try that different sata cable cuz the one im using is a lil weird and i yoinked it from some old office PC, so that'd probably be a good start. of course i noticed the nice fancy new spare sata cables AFTER i put it in with this one. and it is very likely the HDD being the noise since its the same noises from my last pc i had it in after stickin it in there, but i will try this new PC without it too just to help isolate n notice other noises while im at it. been a busy weekend but i'll update this/the original when i get around to trying all that. thanks!

 

[MushroomedHill]

i had another program which im p sure said drive health is great, i might try that different sata cable cuz the one im using is a lil weird and i yoinked it from some old office PC, so that'd probably be a good start. of course i noticed the nice fancy new spare sata cables AFTER i put it in with this one. and it is very likely the HDD being the noise since its the same noises from my last pc i had it in after stickin it in there, but i will try this new PC without it too just to help isolate n notice other noises while im at it. been a busy weekend but i'll update this/the original when i get around to trying all that. thanks!

well the new SATA cable is having it make different noises, but the occasional tinkley chime is still present. it stops for a while, happens twice, then goes back to those 10 second intervals. i do think this is an improvement though, since the regular constant running and crinkly noises are lot more quiet and muffled, at least. I don't know what may have been different between this and my last pc aside from it being vertically mounted in this one and flat in the other, and this power supply is higher quality and wattage.
though if my pc is running all parts at full force, its at 720 out of 750 (according to ibuypower) but i dont think hooking up an HDD was gonna make it go over or anything.. unless that is a possibility.

if its merely an annoyance so be it, but perhaps i'll look into an SSD and keep this as a beefy transfer/backup drive instead. Thanks for all the help btw!