This is a Linux tip. If you are familiar with hdparm application for tuning a hard drive, you know that it can also save battery life on your laptop, or make life quieter for you by spinning down drives.

hdparm -y /dev/hdb
hdparm -Y /dev/hdb
hdparm -S 36 /dev/hdb

In Linux these commands will (by order): (1) cause the drive to switch to Standby mode, (2) switch to Sleep mode, and finally (3) set the Automatic spindown timeout. This last includes a numeric variable, whose units are blocks of 5 seconds (for example, a value of 12 would equal one minute).

Tags | Howto, Linux, Tips and Tricks