On/off switch for internal drive?

[wendell]

I would like to use one internal HDD just for backups, having it spin-up only when needed. It appears that the most convenient way to prevent unwanted spin-up is to keep the HDD unconnected. To avoid having to fiddle inside the case every time, is there a convenient device to allow an external on/off switch on the case?

[quest_for_silence]

I mean a convenient SATA swap bay, maybe like this (.pdf file).

Or, if you're a win guy, you may try out some soft trick: HDDScan or revoSleep.

[wendell]

I just discovered the Lian Li Six HDD Power Switch Panel. It looks great, but I only need to control one HDD and can't spare the 5.25" bay in a Mini ITX case.

If there is no premade device, are there instructions somewhere for doing this with generic parts?

Software solutions on both Linux and Windows have two big problems. First, it seems there is no way to prevent spin-up on booting. Second, you can't predict every case where some random utility will decide to touch the HDD.

[Fire-Flare]

All you need is a drill, some glue, and any on/off switch you think will look good.

Buy or salvage a switch you like and drill a hole in your case. Then rig it up on a molex cable connected to the drive and glue the switch in place.

[JamieG]

I did something similar to what you want here. Basically, with a bit of soldering and a switch of some sort, you should be able to interpose a switch in the middle of a 4 pin molex extension so that the current is turned off when the switch is thrown one way but flows through to boot up the hdd when the switch is thrown the other way. Then use a molex to sata adapter to connect your SATA HDD as necessary.

[ces]

I would like to use one internal HDD just for backups, having it spin-up only when needed. It appears that the most convenient way to prevent unwanted spin-up is to keep the HDD unconnected. To avoid having to fiddle inside the case every time, is there a convenient device to allow an external on/off switch on the case?

This will do what you want: Mitron Hard Drive Selector
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/duduhadrposw.html

It will select 1 drive, a second drive, or both drives.... and I think, neither drive.

[NeilBlanchard]

The challenge with turning off a drive with a manual switch is if you turn it off *right* as it is doing something. Can you "eject" internal hard drives?

My best suggestion would be to put the hard drive in an external case with a USB connection, and then you turn it on when you want it, and you eject it before turning it off.

[HFat]

In most operating systems you can unmount non-system drives (you can do it in Windows too but it's probably simpler to tell Windows which fixed drives to handle as removable drives). After that you should be able to disconnect them safely (after a couple of seconds to let them flush their caches if needed). Some SSDs might not be safe to turn off that way however.

My problem with simple switches is that I don't know if they're liable to damage something. The SATA plugs are designed to be pulled so that should be safe.

An eSATA external case will give you better performance and more features than USB

[wendell]

My best suggestion would be to put the hard drive in an external case with a USB connection, and then you turn it on when you want it, and you eject it before turning it off.

I agree that using an external drive would be the safest from the perspective of mounting/unmounting. I've seriously considered going that route, but external drives tend to be noisier and fail more. Plus, you have one more thing to shuffle about on the desk.

The bay devices are neat, but I need to make more economical use of the external bays in a Mini ITX case.

So, it looks like I'll have to inline a switch on a molex cable...and try to remember not to flip it when the system is running.

[fumino]

what might work is having capped military switches; when they're in the up position have the drive be powered off though, that way the cap would somewhat prevent them from being turned off when they're in use.

performance pcs has a nice selection of military switches(among other styles), and even offer pre-wired harnesses for them... im sure you could find something similar at other retailers as well.