How does system auto standby/low power mode affect hard drive life?

[airborne]

Apparently platter type hard drives aren't very fond of being powered on and off, parking the heads etc.

I want to save power by having my Windows 10 computer go into low power standby mode if there is 10 mins of no activity. This may mean my computer will go through perhaps 10 sleep/wake-up cycles per day.

My OS drive is a 256gb SSD which I assume wouldn't mind being switched on and off but my data drive is a 2TB WD Green drive and that probably will. How do modern platter hard drives respond to being switched on and off repeatedly, was that an issue in the past now resolved, perhaps just old wives tale, or is it a real concern?

 

[sajunky]

Don't worry if it happens 10 times a day. Just disable switching off your hard drive in the operating system, as WD Green goes automatically into power saving mode when iddle.

 

[airborne]

Don't worry if it happens 10 times a day. Just disable switching off your hard drive in the operating system, as WD Green goes automatically into power saving mode when iddle.

I've already done that, because the os would park the heads and spin down the drive and then the computer would glitch for a few sec if I tried to access the drive.

But that's got nothing to do with standby, the hard drive must be switched off then, I can even hear the drive spinning up when I come out of standby, that is with switching off the drive disabled under power saving option's?

 

[sajunky]

But that's got nothing to do with standby, the hard drive must be switched off then, I can even hear the drive spinning up when I come out of standby, that is with switching off the drive disabled under power saving option's?

Of course, everything is shutdown except devices needed for wakeup and RAM, but did you read the following?

Don't worry if it happens 10 times a day.

Do I have to say more?

 

[Arthur]

In my systems with winchester disks I like to keep the drives running 24x7. More than any other single factor, it's the thermal cycling from power-on power-off cycles that causes the greatest damage.

 

[Wasabee!]

Just backup and don't worry. Also check if your drive needs to be fixed as some green drives would park too frequently meaning shorter life.

Search Wdidle green firmware as that was keyword in the command to run.

 

[airborne]

Just backup and don't worry. Also check if your drive needs to be fixed as some green drives would park too frequently meaning shorter life.

Search Wdidle green firmware as that was keyword in the command to run.

Checked that, my drive is a goody.
Not sure I like standby, been trying it the last few days, doesn't sound good, all the whirring and spin ups every wake up. I'm just trying to save electricity so I suppose I better soldier on.

 

[Rickster]

Checked that, my drive is a goody.
Not sure I like standby, been trying it the last few days, doesn't sound good, all the whirring and spin ups every wake up. I'm just trying to save electricity so I suppose I better soldier on.

A pc in idle hardly uses any power, my pc with 5 drives constantly spinning uses less than 100 watts.

And yes, constant stop start is rather bad for a hard drive.

 

[airborne]

A pc in idle hardly uses any power, my pc with 5 drives constantly spinning uses less than 100 watts.

And yes, constant stop start is rather bad for a hard drive.

In idle you mean powered on and logged in but the user isn't working per say, browser windows open etc, which is how I leave it and then do other stuff away from the computer. Currently I've set it to go into standby but I don't think it's worth it.