I have a WD RED 1tb hard drive in my dlink Nas drive and i currecntly have the device set to spin down the drive after 10 mins, is it safe to do this or is the drive better off running 24x7?
The timer depends on how frequent the NAS is accessed. If you access it every 11 minutes and have the timer set at 10 minutes, it would not help much. If you access it once every half an hour or longer, 10 minutes is good.
Leaving it to spin 24x7 would generate unnecessary heat and probably reduce its lifespan.
i heard that using the spin down feature would shorten life span? as these drives are designed for 24x7 use
I am sure the default configuration that came with the drive is the most optimal for it.
Common sense tell me that constant spin up and down (imagine you accelerate your car, press the brake, and repeat the cycle again nonstop - it’ll shorten your car’s life, and probably yours too :P) could shorten its life, but as I said, if it’s rarely used, it’s probably better to spin down to reduce heat. I have some older drives that don’t have the autopark/spin down feature but some lasts above 30k hours. They’re rarely used though, perhaps only 2-3 hours a day.
