In my Windows machine I have 3 drives, 1 of them SSD (boot drive). I leave the 2 HDDs to sleep (which means the disks stop spinning) on 30 mins of inactivity (that's default option in Power Options). When I need to access files (e.g. open a Save dialog to choose where to download a file) and if the 2 HDDs are not ready, Windows freezes for a 5-10 seconds, until the HDDs finishing accelerating/startup. Why does the system hang, while I haven't chosen which drive I want to look at yet (in fact most of the time, I only access the SSD)? How can I fix this (without setting the 2 HDDs to run 24/7 - bad for energy saving and the environment)?
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Are you asking the reason SSDs are able to instantaneously wake up and mechanical HDDs require a few seconds to respond? Because the difference is that SSDs have no moving parts.– RamhoundCommented Jul 2, 2019 at 11:53
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No, that's not what I meant. Please my comment here: superuser.com/questions/1455272/…– dnangCommented Jul 3, 2019 at 4:33
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You should edit your question instead of using a comment to clarify your question.– RamhoundCommented Jul 3, 2019 at 12:00
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Done editing, hope it's clearer now.– dnangCommented Jul 4, 2019 at 13:40
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1 Answer
The reason your windows hangs is because the Save as or Open dialog queries all available devices the moment it accesses This Computer. In order to give a proper status, it will attempt to wake the device, ask for its status and then present it to you.
This is why it takes time, and you cannot avoid it other than not letting your HDD go to sleep.
So either, don't make it go into sleep or accept the delay.
Do note, the drive will not wear significantly if you don't power it down. I have had computers that I purposely not let the drive spin down on inactivity, with mild use that after 5 years still worked, but the motherboard itself died.
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2It is commonly believed that turning a computer on/off, powering down HDDs, all create unnecessary wear. I am not saying that continuous 24/7 writing to an HDD is something that should be done, but powering off a mechanical device dozens of times a day, isn't good on mechanical devices either. I leave my computer on 24/7 and have never had an HDD failure due to that usage. Nearly all my mechanical HDDs exceeded the warranty period.– RamhoundCommented Jul 2, 2019 at 12:05
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@Ramhound Yeah, that is basically what I meant to say in my answer. :)– LPChipCommented Jul 2, 2019 at 12:07
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Thanks, interesting point re 24/7 spinning drive still working well after 5 years, I'll take note of that. Still prefer some energy saver if possible. Also, in many kinds of software they have a way of doing things called lazy-loading. Based on that model, the HDD content should only be loaded (thus starting up the disks) when a system process or a user explicitly choose to open it. I access my HDD 1, 2 times per day, doesn't make any sense to keep it on or for the OS to load every drive in the system when nothing will access it.– dnangCommented Jul 2, 2019 at 15:05