Hardisk always spinning

Hello to all here
I’ve a problem that drives me crazy,maybe someone better skilled than me,can help me…
I’ve a small pc,Shuttle DS67u,silent,with no vents at all.Leap 42.2 is installed on a small 128gb m2.ssd and two days ago I’ve installed an 1tb 2.5inch Hitachi hdd for storage.
I’ve made with Yast partitioner only one big partition ,ext4.
The hdd never goes in standby,and the sound is disturbing.
If I manually send a standby command like hdparm -y /dev/sda ,everything it’s ok,the drive stops spinning.
But,after a few minutes,the hardrive is waking up by itself.I’m not doing anything,it’s just waking up alone and never goes back to sleep,it’s spinning non-stop.
Can someone help me how to find exactly what is waking up the hdd?
I was reading a lot of forums,but I can’t find the solution.
I’ve tried this http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/29409/finding-out-what-is-spinning-up-harddrive ,but nothing.
Thanks a lot!
Best Regards!

Provide info about which desktop you are using: Gnome? KDE? Xfce?

Provide output of

fdisk -l

and

parted -l

Info about amount of RAM, size of swap, and so forth…

Sorry for the missing details.
I’m using KDE ,and I’ve 16gb ddr3L so-dimm.

linux-j34p:~ # fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sdb: 119.2 GiB, 128035676160 bytes, 250069680 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x00065bc0

Device     Boot     Start       End   Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1        29349888  33560575   4210688    2G 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb2  *     33560576 138913791 105353216 50.2G 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3       138913792 250068991 111155200   53G 83 Linux


Disk /dev/sda: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x000a6923

Device     Boot Start        End    Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sda1        2048 1953523711 1953521664 931.5G 83 Linux
linux-j34p:~ # 
linux-j34p:~ # parted -l
Model: ATA HGST HTS721010A9 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
 1      1049kB  1000GB  1000GB  primary  ext4         type=83


Model: ATA PLEXTOR PX-128M6 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 128GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system     Flags                                                                                                                    
 1      15.0GB  17.2GB  2156MB  primary  linux-swap(v1)  type=82                                                                                                                  
 2      17.2GB  71.1GB  53.9GB  primary  btrfs           boot, type=83                                                                                                            
 3      71.1GB  128GB   56.9GB  primary  xfs             type=83                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                  
linux-j34p:~ #

Thanks for trying to help me!
Best Regards!

Sorry for the lack of patience,but the noise of the always spinning hardrive is killing me.The little PC is always on,and the only source of noise is the hdd.
Any sugestion please ,how to find what is waking up the hdd (without touching anything) or ,at least,why is not entering in standby by itself ?
Thanks again!

Lack of patience understood.:wink:

The output you gave above actually did not provide me any clues, as I see nothing wrong with it, and I am not sure what to suggest at this time.

You have plenty of RAM, so I cannot see any need for constant drive access.

Check your power management settings to see if there is a clue in there (drive always on or some such).

You should run the following commands as root (ie: Start the terminal, issue su and enter the root pw, then run the commands):

Start with this:

hdparm -y /dev/sda

You should hear it spin down.

Check spin-down settings with:

hdparm -S

Generally, a value of 1 to 127 allows spinning down. Values of 128 to 254 do not permit spinning down. A value of 255 (some drives permit this, but not all do) disables APM (Advanced Power Management) altogether.

You can change the value as follows:

hdparm -S180 /dev/sda

should set it to spin down after 15 minutes.

*hdparm -B127 */dev/sda

This should set the drive to allow the most performance while allowing it to still spin down.

If it still does not spin down, try:

*hdparm -B255 */dev/sda

then try again:

hdparm -y /dev/sda

Some drives require the 255 setting because of a bug.

Perhaps provide the output of:

hdparm -I /dev/sda

which will list detailed info about the Hard Drive at sda.

Also, provide output of:

smartctl -a /dev/sda

Maybe someone here will then spot something and have further suggestions.

Thanks again for trying to help me!
Here it is :

linux-j34p:~ # hdparm -y /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 issuing standby command
linux-j34p:~ # hdparm -S
  -S: bad/missing standby-interval value (0..255)
linux-j34p:~ # hdparm -I /dev/sda

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
        Model Number:       HGST HTS721010A9E630                    
        Serial Number:      JR1000D30AY4YE
        Firmware Revision:  JB0OA3J0
        Transport:          Serial, ATA8-AST, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5, SATA Rev 2.6, SATA Rev 3.0; Revision: ATA8-AST T13 Project D1697 Revision 0b
Standards:
        Used: unknown (minor revision code 0x0028) 
        Supported: 8 7 6 5 
        Likely used: 8
Configuration:
        Logical         max     current
        cylinders       16383   16383
        heads           16      16
        sectors/track   63      63
        --
        CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064
        LBA    user addressable sectors:  268435455
        LBA48  user addressable sectors: 1953525168
        Logical  Sector size:                   512 bytes
        Physical Sector size:                  4096 bytes
        Logical Sector-0 offset:                  0 bytes
        device size with M = 1024*1024:      953869 MBytes
        device size with M = 1000*1000:     1000204 MBytes (1000 GB)
        cache/buffer size  = unknown
        Form Factor: 2.5 inch
        Nominal Media Rotation Rate: 7200
Capabilities:
        LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
        Queue depth: 32
        Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, no device specific minimum
        R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16  Current = 16                                                                                                                      
        Advanced power management level: 128                                                                                                                                      
        DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 udma5 *udma6                                                                                                         
             Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns                                                                                                                              
        PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4                                                                                                                                             
             Cycle time: no flow control=120ns  IORDY flow control=120ns                                                                                                          
Commands/features:                                                                                                                                                                
        Enabled Supported:                                                                                                                                                        
           *    SMART feature set                                                                                                                                                 
                Security Mode feature set                                                                                                                                         
           *    Power Management feature set                                                                                                                                      
           *    Write cache                                                                                                                                                       
           *    Look-ahead                                                                                                                                                        
           *    Host Protected Area feature set                                                                                                                                   
           *    WRITE_BUFFER command                                                                                                                                              
           *    READ_BUFFER command                                                                                                                                               
           *    NOP cmd
           *    DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
           *    Advanced Power Management feature set
                Power-Up In Standby feature set
           *    SET_FEATURES required to spinup after power up
                SET_MAX security extension
           *    48-bit Address feature set
           *    Device Configuration Overlay feature set
           *    Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
           *    FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
           *    SMART error logging
           *    SMART self-test
           *    General Purpose Logging feature set
           *    WRITE_{DMA|MULTIPLE}_FUA_EXT
           *    64-bit World wide name
           *    IDLE_IMMEDIATE with UNLOAD
           *    WRITE_UNCORRECTABLE_EXT command
           *    {READ,WRITE}_DMA_EXT_GPL commands
           *    Segmented DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
           *    Gen1 signaling speed (1.5Gb/s)
           *    Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)
           *    Gen3 signaling speed (6.0Gb/s)
           *    Native Command Queueing (NCQ)
           *    Host-initiated interface power management
           *    Phy event counters
           *    Idle-Unload when NCQ is active
           *    NCQ priority information
           *    unknown 76[15]
                Non-Zero buffer offsets in DMA Setup FIS
           *    DMA Setup Auto-Activate optimization
                Device-initiated interface power management
                In-order data delivery
           *    Software settings preservation
           *    SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
           *    SCT Write Same (AC2)
           *    SCT Error Recovery Control (AC3)
           *    SCT Features Control (AC4)
           *    SCT Data Tables (AC5)
Security: 
        Master password revision code = 65534
                supported
        not     enabled
        not     locked
                frozen
        not     expired: security count
                supported: enhanced erase
        182min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 184min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 
Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 5000cca8c8c4f92c
        NAA             : 5
        IEEE OUI        : 000cca
        Unique ID       : 8c8c4f92c
Checksum: correct
linux-j34p:~ # smartctl -a /dev/sda
smartctl 6.2 2013-11-07 r3856 [x86_64-linux-4.4.49-16-default] (SUSE RPM)
Copyright (C) 2002-13, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     HGST Travelstar 7K1000
Device Model:     HGST HTS721010A9E630
Serial Number:    JR1000D30AY4YE
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000cca 8c8c4f92c
Firmware Version: JB0OA3J0
User Capacity:    1,000,204,886,016 bytes [1.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    7200 rpm
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 6
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sun Mar 19 14:50:44 2017 EET
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x00) Offline data collection activity
                                        was never started.
                                        Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
                                        without error or no self-test has ever 
                                        been run.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection:                (   45) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:                    (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                                        Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                                        Suspend Offline collection upon new
                                        command.
                                        Offline surface scan supported.
                                        Self-test supported.
                                        No Conveyance Self-test supported.
                                        Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                                        power-saving mode.
                                        Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                                        General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time:        (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:        ( 184) minutes.
SCT capabilities:              (0x003d) SCT Status supported.
                                        SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
                                        SCT Feature Control supported.
                                        SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000b   100   100   062    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  2 Throughput_Performance  0x0005   100   100   040    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0007   125   125   033    Pre-fail  Always       -       2
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0012   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       76
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   005    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000b   100   100   067    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   0x0005   100   100   040    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0012   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       235
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0013   100   100   060    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       64
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate      0x000a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       4
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0012   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       1650
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0002   153   153   000    Old_age   Always       -       39 (Min/Max 10/48)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0008   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x000a   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
223 Load_Retry_Count        0x000a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%        99         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

linux-j34p:~ # 

It seems that I don’t have enabled default any standby time.
What period do you think it’s ok? 15 min?
Best Regards!

Yep, that line in the output from the first command you issued says it all. I marked it bold & red here so others who look into this thread can see what they are looking for.

As for time period, that is completely up to you, but – yeah, try the 15 minute setting and see if it is working.

Once you’ve got the spin-down time configured as you like, you can make it permanent using a systemd unit file as described here…

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/hdparm#Putting_a_drive_to_sleep_directly_after_boot

Obviously, you’ll just change the ‘ExecStart=’ line to suit.

Get it enabled and started using…

systemctl enable hdparm.service
systemctl start hdparm.service