I finally have my new 2-TB WD "Green" disks installed in my computer (had to wait for my wife to bring them from California) and they are installed, the data is on them, the old disks removed, the backups done, etc.

All that is left is to run the WDidle3 program. Apparently this program won't run from a DOS prompt out of Windows, I have to boot directly into DOS. Is this correct?

How, exactly, do I do that? I'm guessing I need a DOS Boot CD or DVD. I have already a bootable Linux Live DVD. Can I run the WDidle3 program after booting from that? Neither of the new 2-TB drives is a system (i.e., "C:>") disk.

In words of one syllable or less (gotta keep it simple if I'm to understand it) what are the step by step instructions for running WDidle3?

tanstaafl.

I've always used bootdisk.com.

Sometimes I think I'm too dumb to own a computer. Maybe I should just get an Etch-a-Sketch and be satisfied with that.

OK, I've tried booting into Linux with my Linux Live DVD, and I can get a terminal emulator to find the WDidle3.exe file I put in the root directory of my C: drive. But I don't know how to make it execute. Clicking or double clicking does nothing, right-clicking gives no useful options. I hate that Linux distro (Knoppix) because it will not let me eject the DVD, I have to re-boot the computer, interrupt the boot to get into the BIOS and change the boot sequence if I ever want to boot back to anything other than Linux, after which I can go to Nero, and select "Eject" to get the damned DVD out of the drive.

I downloaded an MS-DOS boot disk (UltraBootCD) ISO file, burned it onto a DVD, and booted into DOS. It gives me access to about a hundred conveniently bundled utilities, but I guess when you boot that way all you have access to is the disk you booted from. I can't access my C: drive where the WDidle3 program is waiting. I don't know how to get the WDidle3 program onto the boot disk. There's probably a way and I'm just not smart enough to figure it out. (I'm using Nero 7 to burn the boot disk. I click on the "ubcd502.iso" file I downloaded and Nero 7 automatically burns it to DVD.)

This is becoming discouraging. Advice/instructions would be welcome!

tanstaafl.

I used Ultimate Boot CD and then slipstreamed WDIDLE3 into a new build of the ISO before burning it. So when booted, the program was in the DOS utils folder on one of the mounted virtual drives.

You can follow the instruction here: http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/tips/Disable_WDGreen_HeadParking.htm

It's not the site I used as a guide, but the instructions are pretty much the same. Keep in mind that the version number referenced in some of the commands will be different since the current version of the boot disk is newer (5.xxx or something)

Easy for you to say... The instructions you linked say "right click on the ultimate boot ISO and select extract files...." but right-clicking gives me no such option. That was my sticking point, I just don't know how to add something into an already-compiled ISO.

I did find an ISO that already had WDidle3 built into it, and was finally able to run the program. However, in addition to the pair of 2-TB "Green" drives, the WDidle3 program also set my 1-TB "Caviar Black" drive to 30 seconds before parking, which I hadn't intended to do. Thinking about it, I don't think that will affect me, that 1-TB drive is not a system drive, just a data backup drive and when it is accessed it is doing gigabyte transfers. If it turns out to be a problem, I'll just unplug it and then run the WDidle3 program again.

tanstaafl.

When I need to do 1980's stuff like this, I plug in my USB-floppy drive and do it with the appropriate technology for the software. Really easy that way.

DealExtreme.com has USB-floppy drives. Still.

Sorry Doug, I should have read the instructions through more carefully. The ones I followed were geared toward Windows and I believe I used WinRAR to open the original ISO first. I should have mentioned that.

Yes, WinRAR or most decent unpackers will do it. I've switched to 7zip myself and that will do it too.


Although, I have run into one or two computers that didn't let me boot to a USB device.

Yeah, with those boxes, I just insert the floppy disc directly into the small slot on the front.

It's easier than you would think.

using Windows:
Go to your windows explorer
put your floppy disk into the drive
select the drive (usually drive a:)
right click on the drive
select "format disk"
Now a format menu will appear. You can select Quickformat here (please do) BUT ALSO 'format MS DOS compatible disk' Do this.

After the formatting is done, copy the WDIDLE program to the disk.

Reboot your PC with the floppy disk inserted. Make sure to select the floppy disk as the first boot device in your PC's BIOS.

You will now boot into DOS mode.

Type WDIDLE3 /S30

Done.

In case your PC does not have a floppy drive anymore, get your hands on a USB floppy drive. The procedure is exactly the same. The only difference is you will need to select "usb floppy drive" as your primary boot device instead of "floppy drive" then.

I haven't laid eyes on a floppy drive, in person, in probably 4 years. I think Doug may not have a FD in his machine.

Obviously if WD were committed to customers actually using that program, they'd release it in a version that booted from CD or that simply worked in Windows.

I think about five years ago I had a computer with a floppy drive...


Too bad that won't work on a CD/DVD. (The "Create an MS-DOS start-up disk" option is grayed out.) That would be really useful.

tanstaafl.

It is my understanding (perhaps erroneous) that only newer computers will boot from USB. My computer, while still pretty competent (dual-core 3 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 6.5 TB hard drive) is going on four years old now.

tanstaafl.

Probably what I should have done right off the bat is to Google "How to edit an *.iso file", and from there gained an idea of what an iso file is and what can be done to it.

This site was what finally enabled me to get the job done, with a downloadable iso that already contained the wdidle3 program.

tanstaafl.

Your PC should be able to boot off USB. Its not THAT old.

They do. But for DOS apps, the easiest way by is to use a Floppy, USB drive or other. It's exactly for this reason I'm keeping one of those around. I used to need it mostly to update the BIOS'es of my motherboards, but thankfully mobo makers now almost always allow updating from USB stick. But for these kind of things, that USB floppy drive still comes in handy...

I don't know if it would work for motherboard BIOS updates, but everything else should work fine if you boot from a floppy image over the network.