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?
--

Mike

Mike Halmarack <mikehalmarack@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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

On 10/03/2024 17:11, Mike Halmarack wrote:
> 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.

Thanks for the advice.
I went for this one

>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
--

Mike

On 11/03/2024 in message <4aqtui98kqofnse0s35ktvbibarqo771ao@4ax.com> Mike
Halmarack wrote:

>Thanks for the advice.
>I went for this one
>
>
>>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.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.

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
If it's not broken, mess around with it until it is

On 10 Mar 2024 18:26:37 +0000 (GMT), Theo
<theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

>Mike Halmarack <mikehalmarack@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 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

>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".

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

Thanks I'll look into that.

>Theo
--

Mike

On 11 Mar 2024 11:57:29 GMT, "Jeff Gaines" <jgnewsid@outlook.com>
wrote:

>On 11/03/2024 in message <4aqtui98kqofnse0s35ktvbibarqo771ao@4ax.com> Mike
>Halmarack wrote:
>
>>Thanks for the advice.
>>I went for this one
>>
>>
>>>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.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?
--

Mike

On 13/03/2024 in message <rat2vilf01dbccpt55b4b3068ujnjkh7rm@4ax.com> Mike
Halmarack wrote:

>>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?

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
This is as bad as it can get, but don't bet on it

On 13 Mar 2024 10:00:06 GMT, "Jeff Gaines" <jgnewsid@outlook.com>
wrote:

>On 13/03/2024 in message <rat2vilf01dbccpt55b4b3068ujnjkh7rm@4ax.com> Mike
>Halmarack wrote:
>
>>>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.
--

Mike

On 13 Mar 2024 at 10:00:06 GMT, ""Jeff Gaines"" <jgnewsid@outlook.com>
wrote:

> On 13/03/2024 in message <rat2vilf01dbccpt55b4b3068ujnjkh7rm@4ax.com> Mike
> Halmarack wrote:
>
>>> 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 only thing we learn from history is that we learn
nothing from history.
-- Hegel

On 13/03/2024 in message <l5eficFobmgU1@mid.individual.net> Jaimie
Vandenbergh wrote:

>On 13 Mar 2024 at 10:00:06 GMT, ""Jeff Gaines"" <jgnewsid@outlook.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On 13/03/2024 in message <rat2vilf01dbccpt55b4b3068ujnjkh7rm@4ax.com> Mike
>>Halmarack wrote:
>>
>>>>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....

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
George Washington was a British subject until well after his 40th birthday.
(Margaret Thatcher, speech at the White House 17 December 1979)

On 13 Mar 2024 20:10:52 GMT, Jaimie Vandenbergh
<jaimie@usually.sessile.org> wrote:

>On 13 Mar 2024 at 10:00:06 GMT, ""Jeff Gaines"" <jgnewsid@outlook.com>
>wrote:
>
>> On 13/03/2024 in message <rat2vilf01dbccpt55b4b3068ujnjkh7rm@4ax.com> Mike
>> Halmarack wrote:
>>
>>>> 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

On Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:35:18 +0000, Mike Halmarack
<mikehalmarack@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 13 Mar 2024 20:10:52 GMT, Jaimie Vandenbergh
><jaimie@usually.sessile.org> wrote:
>
>>On 13 Mar 2024 at 10:00:06 GMT, ""Jeff Gaines"" <jgnewsid@outlook.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>> On 13/03/2024 in message <rat2vilf01dbccpt55b4b3068ujnjkh7rm@4ax.com> Mike
>>> Halmarack wrote:
>>>
>>>>> 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

On 13 Mar 2024 20:10:52 GMT, Jaimie Vandenbergh
<jaimie@usually.sessile.org> wrote:

>On 13 Mar 2024 at 10:00:06 GMT, ""Jeff Gaines"" <jgnewsid@outlook.com>
>wrote:
>
>> On 13/03/2024 in message <rat2vilf01dbccpt55b4b3068ujnjkh7rm@4ax.com> Mike
>> Halmarack wrote:
>>
>>>> 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.
--

Mike