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I am using a WD external HDD (WDC WD10JMVW-11AJGS4) as my system-drive for Linux/Lubuntu 16.04.5 LTS, 64 bit.

On http://idle3-tools.sourceforge.net/ it says under "compatibility":

Compatibility with SATA-to-USB adapters is uncertain. Since idle3ctl uses SMART ATA commands to get and set the idle3 timer, it should work if SMART information can be read from your drive.

Whenever I want to access SMART-info I use the command sudo smartctl -A -d sat /dev/sdX. This works. What do you think: would I be able to use idle3-tools?

Tnx for your opinon.

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  • hdparm also supports idle3 (hdparm -J) but I've never tried to use it with USB drive Commented Oct 26, 2018 at 11:51
  • Tnx for the info. Greetings. Commented Jun 1, 2021 at 14:48

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Looks like it might work then. However, it might be wise to try reading the idle3 value first (idle3ctl -g /dev/sdX). If it does work, setting the value should also work.

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  • Tnx a lot for your quick answer. Well, that sounds good. Backgound of my question is: I´m looking for an alternative to hdparm as I seem to have run into some kind of "problem" I couldn´t find an answer to (see: askubuntu.com/questions/1084918/…) Commented Oct 26, 2018 at 11:31
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I was able to use hdparm -J on an external WD My Book 1230 using a Blue WD50EZRZ drive connected through USB. I had no problems getting and setting the idle3 parameter.

idle3ctl was not able to detect the drive when getting the parameter so I did not try setting the parameter with it.

Versions used:
hdparm 9.61
idle3-tools 0.9.1

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  • Thanks @Stephan for the information. In the meantime I stick to hdparm commands as well. Greetings Commented Jun 1, 2021 at 14:50

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