hdparm

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hdparm is a command-line utility to set and view ATA and SATA hard disk drive hardware parameters.

Installation

USE flags for sys-apps/hdparm Utility to change hard drive performance parameters

static !!do not set this during bootstrap!! Causes binaries to be statically linked instead of dynamically

Data provided by the Gentoo Package Database · Last update: 2024-09-12 18:37 More information about USE flags

Emerge

Install sys-apps/hdparm:

root #emerge --ask sys-apps/hdparm

Configuration

Service

OpenRC

To set parameters on boot, edit the /etc/conf.d/hdparm configuration file:

sdX_args: Set parameters for the given drive (replace sdX with the right device file name).
discX_args: Set parameters for the given disc drive.
cdromX_args: Set parameters for the given optical drive.
all_args: Set parameters for all drives.

For example, to disable power management for all drivers and enable the DMA feature for /dev/sda:

FILE /etc/conf.d/hdparm

all_args="-B 255"
sda_args="-d1"

When finished modifying the configuration file be sure to add the hdparm service to the default runlevel so that it can start at system boot:

root #rc-update add hdparm default

Usage

General

Show identification and feature info:

root #hdparm -I /dev/sdX

Benchmarking drives

Be sure that no other programs are stressing the drive at the time of testing:

root #hdparm -tT /dev/sdX

Get current settings

This is not consistent: for some features the current values can be found in the common info, for other features hdparm must be called with the right parameters, but without any value, like -d:

root #hdparm -d /dev/sdX

Set features by put the value directly behind the parameter (without space), e.g. to enable the DMA mode:

root #hdparm -d1 /dev/sdX

Warning
Changing the default values can harm the drive or freeze the system.

The following tables introduces the most common parameters. For a complete list see the hdparm man page.

Parameter	Description
`-B`	Set the Advanced Power Management feature. The value 1 saves the most energy, the value 255 disables the feature. The values in-between are corresponding steps. Values of 127 and below allow the spin-down of the drive. Warning Aggressive power management can wear the drive because of often spin-downs.
`-d`	Set the DMA feature for IDE and PATA drives. The value 1 enables the feature, 0 disables the feature.
`-E`	Set CD / DVD drive speed. Lower speeds can reduces the running noise.
`-M`	Set the Automatic Acoustic Management feature. The values 0 disables the feature, 128 sets the most quiet mode, 254 is the fastest mode.
`-S`	Set the standby (spin-down after idling) timeout. The value 0 disables the feature, the values from 1 to 240 specifies time steps of 5 seconds, 241 to 251 time steps of 30 minutes.

External resources

Gentoo bugtracker: known bugs