[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
On 31/07/17 10:26, Roland Tarver via list wrote: > Hi Folks, > > So, I have had a bit of spare time lately and I think I have managed to > setup my pi (B+) as some network attached storage (I have learned heaps > :-)). > > I have plugged in x2 external hard disks. Both have their own power > supplies. Both are the same size - 2TB. Both connect via USB to the pi. > The pi's power source is a 1A HTC mobile charger. I understand that this > is too low, but it's what I had to hand and everything appears to be > working fine. > > I have shoved the lot in a cupboard and have left it on. It's headless, > accessed via ssh. > > I was hoping for a virtually noiseless environment. However, one of the > disks (Seagate) is constantly spinning and making an annoying hum. It > does not appear to be writing/reading data - at least a cannot hear the > clicking sound I normally associate with such. The other disk (Western > Digital) sits dead quiet until it's in use; and even then it is a lot > quieter than the Seagate drive. The SG drive is notable warmer than the > WD drive, presumably since it is always spinning. I do not suspect > anything to be wrong with either drive. They are both fairly new and > have a "low mileage". > > Rightly or wrongly (?) I am using the WD disk as a "master" (for want of > a better phrase), which is rsync'ed every hour to the "slave" Seagate > disk. Each disk is mounted manually with no options; ie, mount /dev/sd?? > /mount/point??. > > I don't know enough about how disk drives work, but I think the WD disk > controller or the pi itself is putting the WD drive into a "standby" > mode and spinning it down? Perhaps? Whilst the SG drive does not appear > to do the same. > > Could anyone suggest a way to investigate this further please? > > Bright ideas on a post card... > > Many thanks > Roly :-) Read up on hdparm, but in short "sudo hdparm -I /dev/sdX" will tell you all about your drives, including power states and acoustic management properties. Be *very* careful about using hdparm to modify disk parameters however, that's a good way to destroy them if you're too enthusiastic. Check dmesg and the rest of the logs on the Pi for disk related issues or general errors and also look at the disk SMART status. The easiest check of all would be to simply remove the suspect Seagate drive from the Pi and to plug it into something else for a while to keep an eye on it - is it still just as noisy or does it spin down normally under idle when connected to your PC or laptop? Once you've got your exact make/model from hdparm, I'd look for some online reviews of that unit as well to see if it's a known issue. All drives are not created equal and it could be that Seagate is just a crappy disk (or it's USB enclosure is a rubbish one)! Cheers -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG https://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq