Attached HDD sleep-mode fix…

[SorenBalle]

I know this is somewhat of a hot potato.

Personally I just recently switched from an older netgear nighthawk router to Asus rt-ax86u pro … did a pretty thorough read-thru of all reviews — and NEVER did I stumble on this issue.

So I attached the same drive that was hooked in my nighthawk router for years; and would always ‘sleep’ when not in use … it has been spinning for 24 hours straight the last 3-4 days in my new asus router! (And yes; I have activated ‘hibernation’ mode)

I read all the threads here … but no one ever posted if they successfully got their attached drives into sleep mode? Any advice? This seems so random and weird that this would even be an issue !!

 

[bbunge]

The drive spin down depends on the drive enclosure.
I have a 2 TB drive in a NexStar TX USB3 enclosure. Externally powered. For S&G's I plugged it into my AX86U Pro and enabled Samba. Transferred a couple of files and walked away for about 1/2 hour. Came back and connected to the router from a Windows File Manager, logged in, accessed a directory and heard the drive spin up.
While I do not use or recommend a router for file storage I was rather impressed with the file transfer rate.

 

[Tech9]

Asus had some changes in firmware and what used to sleep now doesn't. I don't see it as an issue though because spinning 24/7 drive has longer life expectancy compared to the same drive doing multiple spin up/down cycles every day. My NAS drives spin 24/7 for years, sleep disabled.

 

[SorenBalle]

The drive spin down depends on the drive enclosure.
I have a 2 TB drive in a NexStar TX USB3 enclosure. Externally powered. For S&G's I plugged it into my AX86U Pro and enabled Samba. Transferred a couple of files and walked away for about 1/2 hour. Came back and connected to the router from a Windows File Manager, logged in, accessed a directory and heard the drive spin up.
While I do not use or recommend a router for file storage I was rather impressed with the file transfer rate.

Well - as mentioned - it is THE EXACT same hdd that I had connected to my netgear router — Where it went to sleep mode just fine. So it is definitely not the disc that is the problem …

 

[Tech9]

It's the router, but not exactly a problem.

 

[SorenBalle]

Asus had some changes in firmware and what used to sleep now doesn't. I don't see it as an issue though because spinning 24/7 drive has longer life expectancy compared to the same drive doing multiple spin up/down cycles every day. My NAS drives spin 24/7 for years, sleep disabled.

It's the router, but not exactly a problem.

I use the hdd maybe twice a week for a couple of hours. It seems silly to have it running 24/7. Also the sound is annoying.

I understand that people who like their discs running constantly don’t see this as a problem … but since “activate hibernation” is part of the features on the Asus router-series … and it doesn’t work - I definitely consider this a problem. Why offer a feature that doesn’t work ??

 

[Tech9]

Why offer a feature that doesn’t work ??

This is not the only firmware feature that doesn't work. Home AIO router, normal situation. Wait and they'll fix it, eventually.

 

[SorenBalle]

This is not the only firmware feature that doesn't work. Home AIO router, normal situation. Wait and they'll fix it, eventually.

I hope so. But based on threads in this forum it probably will not be. Apparently it used to work a few years back … and now for more than a couple of years has no longer worked.

(A couple of conspiracy theories about ASUS doing it on purpose to push consumers to more expensive dedicated NAS-drives)

 

[Tech9]

The firmware is complex and the change is perhaps solving some other issue. It happened before Asus enables/disables features under the hood. It is perhaps router model related as well. AC-class routers are on 386, some AX-class are on 388 and some Pro models are on the new 3.0.0.6 Pro base.

 

[SorenBalle]

The firmware is complex and the change is perhaps solving some other issue. It happened before Asus enables/disables features under the hood. It is perhaps router model related as well. AC-class routers are on 386, some AX-class are on 388 and some Pro models are on the new 3.0.0.6 Pro base.

Allright. Thx for taking your time to cast some more light on the issue. Was hoping for some sort of quick-fix, but guess that won’t happen

I was really frustrated with my old netgear nighthawk and happily changed to ASUS — only to run into this issue. Guess there is always something right ?

 

[Tech9]

There will be always something different. No quick fix because the change is buried into Asuswrt code. Not sure if in open or closed source part. Unlikely Asus is steering the customers to their NAS boxes. Most folks will perhaps go to QNAP or Synology when they need a home NAS, not Asus.

 

[SorenBalle]

There will be always something different. No quick fix because the change is buried into Asuswrt code. Not sure if in open or closed source part. Unlikely Asus is steering the customers to their NAS boxes. Most folks will perhaps go to QNAP or Synology when they need a home NAS, not Asus.

I agree — just quoting other threads and what theories people were having b/c the issue seems oddly deliberate … or easily fixable if they wanted to

 

[Tech9]

I would remove completely this feature from firmware. I see it as potential issue if the HDD spins down and hibernates.

Connected HDD spins up constantly

Hey all, Even if I'm a new user here, I've been lurking for a little while now... I just never had a reason to create a user, as I could usually find an answer to my questions. I'm starting to go crazy from my external HDD connected to my RT-AX56U (Merlin 388.2_2) constantly spinning up...

www.snbforums.com

 

[glens]

I don't see it as an issue though because spinning 24/7 drive has longer life expectancy compared to the same drive doing multiple spin up/down cycles every day.

Absolutely this, and it doesn't even have to be multiple times per day. Startup is the the most taxing thing the drive does, and is often /the/ moment of failure.