Turning off 3rd party drives

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Is there some way to turn off an external drive when I put my iMac to sleep? I am using it for Time Machine, and it will run constantly if not turned off. I have a Hitachi 1T drive with an Acommdata case which has a manual power switch in the back.

Would leaving it on wear out the drive?
mjshack
 

chscag

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2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
If you open System Preferences, Energy Saver, Power Adapter Tab, place a check mark in the box that says: "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep......"

If the Hitachi can be put to sleep, that should resolve the problem.
 

chscag

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2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
It could be. Some drive carrier electronics which convert SATA to USB also prevent the drive from sleeping. If the Hitachi is a fairly new drive, I'm sure it could be put to sleep by your Mac if it wasn't being used in a carrier.
 

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