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Question

How do I get my HDD Enclosure fans to stop running?

Mar 22, 2018 5:29PM PDT

Hi, I have 2x Mediasonic ProBox HF2-SU3S2 4 Bay 3.5” SATA HDD Enclosures. One has 4x HDD's in it all 8TB and the second has 2x HDD in it one 8TB and one 4TB. When I was first using these units they were dead quiet and the enclosure fan would only run and be noticeably loud if I was actually using the HDDs in them such as transferring files and watching movies. And then when I stopped using them, they would be dead quiet. I recently purchased a new PC and now, as soon as I turn them on, the fan starts spinning on both enclosures as if the hard drives are in use but they are not. How can I troubleshoot this, to get the fans and hard drives (I'm guessing) to stop being active? I'm running Windows 10.

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Link notes 3 settings.
Mar 22, 2018 5:37PM PDT
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I've tried all fan settings. Unmounting...hmmm
Mar 22, 2018 7:47PM PDT

Yes even in low mode it's audible. With both enclosures running the combined noise is bothersome. I leave my pc on 24/7 and would like to do the same with my enclosures as well...but as the pc is in my room, the noise is distracting. I would prefer them to not run at all so it's 100% silent like my pc is.

There is an option to unmount drives in windows....haven't tried that, the only problem I can see with that is how would I remount them? And even then, unmounting 7 drives all the time would be a pain in the neck.

I was thinking of getting a Smart Surge Protector...and say if I wanted to watch a movie off the drives, I could turn the power on with my phone say if I was in the other room and didn't want to walk in to turn them on...or if I was in another town/state and wanted to TeamView to my drives....but then I'd have to also restart my pc to "wake up" the enclosures.

So I'm still stumped.

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Why Do Drives Not In Use Need Cooling?
Mar 22, 2018 7:50PM PDT

I'm just wondering...if nothing is accessing the drives...why would they even need cooling? And if the fans were silent before...why would they be running now? I might have been running Windows 7 before when they were silent.

I've disassembled the fans and cleaned them btw and they were only slightly dusty so dirty fans isn't a problem. I was thinking of replacing the fans with more expensive quieter ones...but would prefer fixing whatever is making my drives hot so they don't run at all.

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May be a warranty issue.
Mar 22, 2018 9:53PM PDT

If the product has failed, time to talk to the maker how to test the spindown feature. Even drives that are not spinning eat power, generate heat so the temp sensor likely says "cool it down."

I am not the maker so I can only write ideas about this,. I am however an electronics designer so to me it seems that in a full box, there may be enough heat to always need a breeze,

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Answer
software
Mar 22, 2018 5:37PM PDT

IN Linux you'd just "unmount" the drives. In Windows, I suspect there was software that came with the enclosures you loaded onto your old system, but forgot about it. Load that software on W10. If it refuses to allow it, then try in Compatibility Mode.

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Answer
Spindown Issues
Mar 22, 2018 8:10PM PDT

So I guess it's something I just got to live with because the new versions of these enclosures apparently have firmware issues where they spindown too fast making dealing with files dangerous and just having them run all the time is better for the life of the drives. I was reading a few posts on the mediasonic link in the forums. So I think my best bet is to buy some quieter fans and just leave it the way it is.

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Answer
Light reading. Just read this article.
Mar 23, 2018 4:24PM PDT