How to power-off a USB HDD

[johannes-z]

Disclaimer: Linux noob here

Is there a way to power-off (and later power-on) a specific USB port? (=> for shutting down connected devices)

I just recently installed proxmox with a Ubuntu Server VM. I also use a USB HDD Case for external HDDs, which are not always needed however - I'd prefer a script I manually have to execute when I need access to the data on those HDDs, as they are kind of loud and in the middle of my living room. The Case supports a *sync* mode, where the Case shuts down if the PC it's conntected to is shut down or disconnected from USB.

I'm assuming the power-off has to come from the Host. I tried `echo '2-3' > /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind`, which removed the usb device from the host, but the HDD Case still didn't shut down. Actually, I was even able to access the HDDs from the guest's filesystem (mounted on e.g. /media/

 

[Lukas Wagner]

Hey,

I don't really know if there is a way to power down the USB port, but I've had a similar situation once and I solved it by unmounting the drive and then using hdparm -Y /dev/<disk> to manually power down the disk itself. Maybe that would also work in your case?

 

[johannes-z]

Hey,

I don't really know if there is a way to power down the USB port, but I've had a similar situation once and I solved it by unmounting the drive and then using hdparm -Y /dev/<disk> to manually power down the disk itself. Maybe that would also work in your case?

Thanks, I'll try that! Are you doing this on the host or guest?

 

[Lukas Wagner]

Are you doing this on the host or guest?

On the host.

 

[entilza]

So what's the point of this, is this for some sort of backup security by turning off the external HDD until the next day?

 

[Dunuin]

I guess less power usage and prevent the disk from spinning.
External 3.5" HDDs usually also get way to hot when spinning 24/7.

 

[Lukas Wagner]

as they are kind of loud and in the middle of my living room

I guess it's a noise problem