How can I prevent my external HDD (and I guess other USB devices) from apparently shutting off in Windows 10 since when I access its content and the recycle bin it takes some time for File Explorer to show its content and the external HDD starts making noise (if I don't access its content for some time it will stop making noise)? Even after doing a clean install the external HDD's still shuts off after some time.
Have you tried to look in advanced energie options? There is one setting for USB periphere energie save mode.
This is a function of your drive. Does your HDD have a program by its manufacturer to control those settings?
do u have it install in 3.0 port? also do u have a different cable to test it...mite be a cable issue.
It is not good idea to prevent an external hdd from sleeping. It is default setting for external hdds by any manufacturer to sleep after 2 minutes of idle time. Thats how hdd reduce wear and tear and run for long life. The sound when you access it tells that hdd life is fading away. Run "hard disk sentinal" program and see what it is telling about your external hdd's remaining life and try moving data to another hdd before it dies.
IIRC, it does this noise for some years so does it mean it may be fading away since that time? Anyway, I ran CrystalDiskInfo and it's blue in all attributes and it appears as "healthy" but it only detects the FAT32 partition and not the NTFS one too. On the other hand, my PC's HDD is blue in all attributes except in the Reallocated Sectors Count one and appears as "allert" (if I hover the mouse over the latter it states "Alert [05] Reallocated Sectors Count : 34" and if I click on it looks like I may apply new values).
Just knowing hdd is healthy is not sufficient. Hdd sentinel app clearly shows how many days remain for your hdds before they die. So it is must that you run the app.
So, I ran Hard Disc Sentinel and it says my PC's HDD's (HGST HTS541075A9E680) health is 53% ("Fair"), its performance is 100% ("Excellent") and its temperature is 28º C and my external HDD's (WDC WD10TMVW-11ZSMS4) health is 100% ("Excellent"), its performance is 100% ("Excellent") and its temperature is 26º C. Regarding my PC's HDD, overview says: "There are 45 bad sectors on the disk surface. The contents of these sectors were moved to the spare area. Based on the number of remapping operations, the health of the disk was decreased in different steps. There are 376 weak sectors found on the disk surface. They may be remapped any time in the later use of the disk. It is recommended to examine the log of the disk regularly. All new problems found will be logged there. Power on time: 777 days, 9 hours Estimated remaining lifetime: 294 days Total start/stop count: 4752". Regarding my external HDD, overview says: "The hard disk status is PERFECT. Problematic or weak sectors were not found and there are no spin up or data transfer errors. No actions needed. Power on time: 343 days, 15 hours Estimated remaining lifetime: more than 1000 days Total start/stop count: 10757". So, it looks like I have to worry more about the PC's HDD than with the external HDD one. Are these readings trustworthy? Didn't you state that it seemed my external HDD's life was fading away because of the noise? Then how can I supposedly still have more than 1000 days left?
Yes you can trust it, because hdd sentinel told truth about my hdds too and they died exactly after the days the app specified.
Once the sector count on hard drives go beyond their "designed" failure rate, it will only get worse. Start saving up some $$$ now so you can look forward to that brand new drive or possibly a nice SSD.
Then I guess I should start copying my documents to the external HDD but it may become short in space. Anyway, if it's true then it's a coincidence it will stop working at the end of the year since it has been working fine (I guess) since I bought this PC and it was the first time I ran this program. This PC was bought in the Summer of 2014 so maybe I should get a new one instead of simply switching the HDD. Do you think the HDD may be fixed or it will inevitably stop working and I should buy a new HDD (or maybe a new PC) or maybe even a SSD or SSHD? If it stops working (which I guess will happen according to this program's readings) I guess the PC won't even turn on. EDIT: Now I remember in January of last year this laptop was always turning itself on and immediately shutting itself off afterwards until it ran out of battery and after that the PC was fine again. Do you think the HDD was behind this problem and/or the problem degraded it? How can I know the "designed" failure rate of the sector count on hard drives? I guess I shouldn't waste time/money trying to repair it and I should by a new one or maybe even a new PC. If I decide to buy a new disk maybe I should buy a SSD or a SSHD.
Depending on usage, average life of internal hdds are 5 to 8 years. You cannot repair physically worn out hdd. Spare for a new hdd from now because you knew it will go by end of this year. Regarding ssd , it is up to your satisfaction / money / need. For my purpose , i don't need ssd so i always bought internal hdds. If you are professional who needs speed at the work, you can buy ssd, otherwise get hdd instead. External hdds got no guarantee because of the hardware they use to connect from usb to sata (the pcb board inside) may die any time. If it die within warranty period, you get replacement or otherwise you can remove the cover and use it as internal hdd. If it get physically damaged inside , then you must buy a new external hdd.