# Can I stop this hardware annoyance?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stop-this-hardware-annoyance/371371>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 4, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stop-this-hardware-annoyance/371371 "2006-09-04T04:55:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phrontist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phrontist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phrontist)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stop-this-hardware-annoyance/371371/1 "2006-09-04T04:55:40Z")

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So I’ve got a seperate hard drive from which I run Linux. It has a very distinctive whine when it’s active, nothing alarming, just the sound it makes. When I’m running Linux it is always on, as it should be.

Now, when I run Windows, this drive doesn’t even show up in My Computer, and there is no reason for anything to be accessing it, and a few minutes after I start up it usually powers down.

The problem is that every 30 minutes or so it will power up again, causing my computer to pause and if I’m watching a movie for example, it will cough, which is very annoying. After 15 or 20 minutes, it will power down again.

Is there anything I can do to stop this?

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stop-this-hardware-annoyance/371371/2 "2006-09-04T13:15:01Z")

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I saw a hard drive control panel for the 5.5 slot that can be used to turn power individualy on and off for some hard drives. You don’t want to do so while the computer is on. It saves you from having to open the case everytime. It’s been three years since I’ve loomked at stuff like that, so you’ll have to find it yourself if interested. You also have the external case path to try.

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stop-this-hardware-annoyance/371371/3 "2006-09-04T13:16:26Z")

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The nice thing about cutting power to drive is that it produces less heat and they don’t fail as quickly.

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**Author:** ![Phrontist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phrontist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phrontist)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stop-this-hardware-annoyance/371371/4 "2006-09-05T01:26:34Z")

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Solution - Go to Device Manager and disable the Drive.

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**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stop-this-hardware-annoyance/371371/5 "2006-09-05T05:04:57Z")

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Or get a mobile tray for the drive, then it is physicaly disconnected and safe from lightning, etc.