I’m slowly swapping my HDDs for SSDs, with the space I’m gaining in the case I want to re-use a single 18TB HDD to add an extra level of backup in the form of a basic Robocopy replica of key folders. Once a week, during the night. Just because I can.
I’m looking for a SATA power switch/controller that has the option for USB remote control. I’ve seen lots of manually switched controllers that fit in 5.25" bays, that form factor is fine but manual switching isn’t. If there are no other options I will get a manual controller and add an Arduino + relay to provide remote control, I thought I’d ask here first.
Alternatives I’ve already considered are loading the disk manually into the hot swap bay I have - too much effort like manually switching the disk on. Absolute last resort would be an eSATA enclosure and a smart socket, an 18TB disk in one of those would be LOUD.
Thanks, I’ve used power plans in the past to spin down HDDs and it worked quite well. The only issue was these 18TB Toshiba enterprise disks are very reluctant to spin down and they click at idle, which is what caused me to start upgrading to SSD.
Aside from noise and power use, I would really like to properly power off the disk to isolate it from the machine, to avoid damage by malware or my fat fingers. I know that physically removing it from the machine is the best way to do this as it would also avoid power spikes and such but I would rather not have to remember to put the disk in and remove it.