• The forum software that supports hummy.tv has been upgraded to XenForo 2.3!

    Please bear with us as we continue to tweak things, and feel free to post any questions, issues or suggestions in the upgrade thread.

Is it possible to spin down HDD or adjust Fan settings?

Kev_w

Kev_w

Member
Hello All,

A few questions for the pros of hummy.tv

Basically my HDR is making too much noise. When I first got my box I never heard the fan spin up but now i hear it around half of the time.

Below is what sysmon shows:

Screenshot_2013-07-02-05-58-45.png


Is this normal? It looks like the fan is doing its job and stopping the HDD from overheating but I would rather the fan was constantly on at quarter speed - as I can only hear it when at half speed. Is there any way to adjust the behaviour of the fan?

My second question regards the HDD it's self. I've recently upgraded to a 2TB drive and it is definatly louder than my 500GB drive (also seems to vibrate alot). So I've been investigating trying to force the disk to spin down.

I've turned off timeshifting with "disable_tsr" and tried putting the disk to sleep using "hdparm -y /dev/sda" but the disk just spins staight back up. So my question is, is it worth trying to get my disk to spin down using "hdparm -S 60 /dev/sda" or it there too many HDD requests going on to make it worthwhile?

Screenshot_2013-07-02-07-48-00.png
 
If you have disabled the TSR buffer then I don't see why the disk wouldn't spin down if you configure it to, although the EPG database is written to fairly frequently so it might be enough to keep it awake.
My 2TB drive is pretty much silent - a vast improvement over the stock 1TB!

We haven't yet found a way to override the fan, although it's something I'm looking at for maintenance mode.
 
Hmmm...strange that your drive is silent. I think i've got the same 2tb pipeline HD that you have. Maybe I was just spoiled with a very quiet 500gb drive. I am worried that the new drive seems to make my fox vibrate though. It seemed ok when I fitted both my HDDs in my pc to transfer the files. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Anyway, I'll experiment with closing packages down (sysmon for one :rolleyes: ) and see how long I can keep the disk spun down for. Is there a way to get a more detailed overview of user and system process - like a task manager?

Being able to adjust the fan would be awesome. It seems with my setup it would be best to have the fan constantly going at quarter speed...

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Your fan does seem to be turning on more often than normal (usually a 60Min. plus cycle) although obviously it may have something to do with the weather, I'm guessing that your new 2TB hard disk drive generates more heat than the standard 500GB one, It has been reported that standing the HDR on it's side has much better air flow and results in the fan rarely turning on, it's probably not very practice for most users though.

You can get a sort of task manager display if you have access to Telnet by running top from the command line e.g.

top.jpg
BTW
CTRL C to exit from top
 
Telnet top - thanks Ezra.

My new drive actually seems slightly cooler than my original. The fact my HDD was getting hot was one of the reasons I used to convince myself that I "needed" a new one. My old drive peaked at 59 degrees whereas this one hasnt gone over 54 yet.
I suspect poor airflow in my solid oak tv cabinet - it is pretty though.

Any1 had any issues with vibrating HDDs though? Something doesn't seem right with my new drive. Its not like the hummy visibly shakes or anything but if you rest your hand on it it feels as though its been sonicated...

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Kev_w said:
Any1 had any issues with vibrating HDDs though? Something doesn't seem right with my new drive. Its not like the hummy visibly shakes or anything but if you rest your hand on it it feels as though its been sonicated...
Click to expand...

I changed my original 500GB HDD for a WD 1TB model. Even though it is quieter than the original, you still hear a hum of sorts enhanced by the wooden (Ash) cabinet it
is sitting in.

I fitted four anti-vibration feet I purchased online from QuietPC. They work a treat and I highly recommend them.

Code: 
http://www.quietpc.com/acoustifeet
 
Hi Kev

I asked about controlling the fan speed a while ago.

In the meantime, I have taken the back screws, holding the top in place, out and used a plastic peg to lift the back of the top (approx. 2.5 cm) to let the warm/hot air out.

It works for me with an open shelf but if your Humax is on an enclosed shelf or in a cupboard, it still could be worth trying.
 
Just had a look at that quiet pc website - they have a decent range of quiet fans!

Any1 know what the fan dimensions are? I could wait til I get home and measure it myself but I'm impatient and if I order in 4 hours I'd get it tomorrow :-)

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Next question. How is the fan speed regulated? Does it use a tachometer signal because the fans im looking at are 2 pin but for some reason I thought I remembered 3 on the hummy fan...

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top