Zitat von Fernando im Beitrag #15

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No. All previously in-use storage drivers are stored by the OS, but have no impact on the system. They are stored to have them available in case of a return to a previously set store point.
If you want to know, which Intel AHCI/RAID drivers you have installed and used since the OS installation, you can check it very easily by running the Device Manager, doing a right-click onto the Intel AHCI/RAID Controller and choosing the options "Update driver" > Browse my computer..." > "Let me pick...". Then you will see the previously used Controller names resp. their driver (provided, that the option "Show compatible hardware" is checked).

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@Lurk:

Zitat von Lurk im Beitrag #1

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In other words, when launching task manager the system freezes for a good two/three seconds, task manager window is not active, mouse is locked. Then the HD head ticks and activity resumes.

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@Lurk
Utility to configure head parking on WD drives.....http://downloads.wdc.com/sata/wdidle3_1_05.zip

And if that doesn't help - Intel RST release notes...with a loooong list of resolved & known issues maybe yours will be on the list... :)
https://downloadmirror.intel.com/27400/e...tes_15_9_pv.htm

Also fwiw I would check the smart details on your drive, it's quite possible you have bad sectors.
If anyone is interested - last year I tested approximately 30 HDD's, suspected of failing, some passed OK others did not.
What I noticed in the SMART data was that most of the failed HDD's had a very high Load/Unload cycle count, but Power on Hours were relatively low.
This was in contrast to other OK'd drives which had an enormous number of Power On Hours yet passed tests with flying colors....these drives had a common factor - the load/unload cycle count was always low.

So from what I could see it appears head parking shortens the life of a hdd considerably.

I still have maybe 15 of these lying around, if anyone is interested I could consolidate the SMART reports and upload it......


@Fernando - thx :P

@Pill Monster:
Thank you for your interesting answer. Your explanation could very well fit the problem I was having. It seemed like the drive(s) went into deep sleep and then suddenly awoke. I'm still on the raid drivers that Windows 10 1809 installs natively, and while I still sometimes hear the head of one of my hd's clicking, this doesn't in any way hamper system responsiveness; everything opens instantly, and the infamous task manager freeze has disappeared.
I had an extensive look at the RST drivers readme and couldn't find anything relevant, but please let me know if you stumble across any interesting piece of info.
As for fw updates, I have seen none available for my hd's, which btw are two sata6 2Tb's in a partitioned raid0 array plus one sata6 1Tb. They are Seagates and not WD's.

@Lurk:
Could you post the serial numbers and p/n numbers? Or take a pic..

Firmware updates for Seagate drives were released by OEM's recently, to improve lifespan & performance. I'd be happy to upload them..

Yes @Pill Monster you can use 1024 or 2048 for alignment, unsure what you mean by AFD?
You can disable head parking, or at least limit it, I remember setting this on my WD drives when first purchased. Do you need me to find the tool for you that does this?

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #23

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Yes @Pill Monster you can use 1024 or 2048 for alignment, unsure what you mean by AFD?

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Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #23

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You can disable head parking, or at least limit it, I remember setting this on my WD drives when first purchased. Do you need me to find the tool for you that does this?

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Hi, thought it would be easier to post these.
I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules in doing so.

Yes @Pill Monster I saw your link tonight as I scrolled down the page to reply, sorry I missed that.

The greens have been good to me, so far, fingers crossed! I think I have a few 2TB that are nearly 6 years old, maybe more, on all day every day and used half of that time..