HD keeps going to sleep

[greatFox]

Hi all, I have a bit of a maddening problem with my laptop since I got it:
The data drive I use for PT files keeps spinning down, even though I have told windows to never put it to sleep. It spins down after a minute or so. I don't know if this is considered "sleep", but it has to spin back up when you access it again. This I think is causing 9073 errors, even when recording only one track and maybe having one more track in the session. Even with the 5400 RPM data drive (yes, I know it's slower, but I should be able to record one track while having one more track in the session, a very light usage), it should not be spinning the drive down after a minute.

Thanks much. If it helps, this is a Sager laptop, not sure which motherboard it has offhand.

System: PT 2021.12.0, Core i7-9750H, 32 GB RAM, Windows 10.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by greatFox

Hi all, I have a bit of a maddening problem with my laptop since I got it:
The data drive I use for PT files keeps spinning down, even though I have told windows to never put it to sleep. It spins down after a minute or so. I don't know if this is considered "sleep", but it has to spin back up when you access it again. This I think is causing 9073 errors, even when recording only one track and maybe having one more track in the session. Even with the 5400 RPM data drive (yes, I know it's slower, but I should be able to record one track while having one more track in the session, a very light usage), it should not be spinning the drive down after a minute.

Thanks much. If it helps, this is a Sager laptop, not sure which motherboard it has offhand.

System: PT latest version, Core i7-9750H, 32 GB RAM, Windows 10.

Suggestion: You should be able to set a few GBs in disk cache in setup/playbacksettings. That way your session and its audio files should be loaded into RAM when you open it, and the drive speed should not matter (too much). I'll leave it to others to comment on the drive sleep issue.

[dominicperry]

There are plenty of details power settings hidden beneath the pretty Windows 10 top-level scheme stuff. You need to dig into the old control panel and check each of the power settings under the scheme you are using. Also be aware that there are settings which change when you unplug (i.e. one set for powered and another for battery) - they all need changing.

It's possible that your disk controller has a mind of its own which isn't under the control of Windows, but that's unlikely.

BTW, "latest version" is generally really unhelpful. When someone comes to this post in 6 months time, or 3 years, do you expect them to work out which version was the latest at the time of the post? It's not important here for PT, but I see it frequently in relation to a range of things - you know "latest Windows, latest plugins, latest PT". Firstly, you may not actually have the latest version, and secondly, it doesn't help anyone else.

[The Weed]

This^^^^ especially Control Panel>Device Manager>Universal Serial Bus controllers and highlight each entry, Right Click, choose Properties and if there is a Power Management Tab, open that and make sure to UNcheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

And any Windows optimizations you've done, make sure to check them after any Windows Update as sometimes the Update will default settings.

[greatFox]

Originally Posted by Ben Jenssen

Suggestion: You should be able to set a few GBs in disk cache in setup/playbacksettings. That way your session and its audio files should be loaded into RAM when you open it, and the drive speed should not matter (too much). I'll leave it to others to comment on the drive sleep issue.

Hi, so my cache is set to normal. Should I try maybe half my RAM amount?

[greatFox]

Originally Posted by dominicperry

There are plenty of details power settings hidden beneath the pretty Windows 10 top-level scheme stuff. You need to dig into the old control panel and check each of the power settings under the scheme you are using. Also be aware that there are settings which change when you unplug (i.e. one set for powered and another for battery) - they all need changing.

It's possible that your disk controller has a mind of its own which isn't under the control of Windows, but that's unlikely.

BTW, "latest version" is generally really unhelpful. When someone comes to this post in 6 months time, or 3 years, do you expect them to work out which version was the latest at the time of the post? It's not important here for PT, but I see it frequently in relation to a range of things - you know "latest Windows, latest plugins, latest PT". Firstly, you may not actually have the latest version, and secondly, it doesn't help anyone else.

I do have a bad feeling it's being controlled by the motherboard. My windows power settings for the HDD in the old control panel settings are Turn off hard disk after: Never (plugged in).

I added my PT version.

[greatFox]

Originally Posted by The Weed

This^^^^ especially Control Panel>Device Manager>Universal Serial Bus controllers and highlight each entry, Right Click, choose Properties and if there is a Power Management Tab, open that and make sure to UNcheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

And any Windows optimizations you've done, make sure to check them after any Windows Update as sometimes the Update will default settings.

OK thanks. I did set the USB settings to that according to the avid optimization suggestions.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by greatFox

Hi, so my cache is set to normal. Should I try maybe half my RAM amount?

'Normal' actually means 'off'.
Just set it so it is large enough for your average session. My small sessions, 3-4gbs is usually enough. You can see how much the cache fills up in 'System usage' window.

[The Weed]

The drive may be failing. I'd replace it with an external SSD if you're using it for sessions.

[nsureit]

Hate to say it, but it's time to migrate to an SSD drive. They are so inexpensive these days.