I have a laptop running Windows 7 and it is configured to be “always on” I have the hard disk scheduled to turn off within 3 minutes of inactive but it still runs and never shuts down. This computer needs to run 24-7 and it seems to me a waste of energy and undo wear on the drive. Is there a solution for this?

Hi bkuptom, Thanks for the post! Since the computer is configured to be “Always on”, the hard drive cannot turn off. I recommend check the Power Option – Power saver – Change plan settings – Change advanced power settings. For example, expand Hard disk option, set the Turn off hard disk after 20 minutes. Then, expand Sleep option, set Sleep after 15 minutes. Click Apply – OK Now the laptop would work as the settings. Regards, MiyaThis posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. | Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Miya, thanks for your response. Allowing the computer to go to sleep is not an option the program must monitor environmental controls. The program does not use the hard disk it stores all its information to a SD card. So what you are saying is that the HD only shuts off when the computer sleeps. Is there any way to circumvent this?

No you cannot. Having a hard drive that shuts off (Windows Stops Working) means that the computer can not be on 24-7... You can make the monitor(s) turn off, but not the hard drive. If you were able to boot Windows from a USB drive, then you may be able to do this by having it turn off the hard drive, but I'm not sure if Windows would consider your internal hard drive the hard drive or if it would consider the USB drive as the hard drive, and even then, I'm sure windows still stop responding. If you're worried about electricity usage, get one of those Western Digital Green Drives.