# WDIDLE3 question/problem



## akbungle (Apr 23, 2011)

I'm having a problem getting WDIDLE3 to do anything on my 1.5 TB(WD15EARS) or my 2 TB(WD20EARS) upgrade tivo drives(Both drives purchased in April 2011).
I run the WDIDLE3 and type wdidle/d and it gives back some info including the HDD's model # and serial# and then some set of numbers like:
00 00 00 02 00 00 B0 (not the actual numbers but close)
But it never gives me the the result telling me it changed to the 62 minutes or whatever the number should be exactly.

Then if I try the wdidle/r (I think that is correct for result) it just hangs.

Now I'm a real novice at this stuff so it could be something super easy that I have missed but I just can't think of anything else to try.

Any help would be great-Andy

Oh and I think they do need this process done since both froze around the same time so I assume there was an update and I had to unplug the Tivos and plug them back in to make them respond to any commands.


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## Stuxnet (Feb 9, 2011)

don't know if it's a typo in your post but the disable command is

```
WDIDLE3 /D
```
Don't omit the "3" and leave a space between the "3" and "/D"

or you might try...

```
WDIDLE3 /S300
```
There's talk that that is a safer setting.


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## vwbug2007 (Mar 2, 2012)

*the command wdidle3 /D does nothing but enables it and timer set to 5 secs on wd10eacs i'm puzzled to it . the are drive is jan 24,2008 ,the first one had worked no issue in 1st premiere dvr and the 2nd hd i done works in 2nd dvr same model only it would freeze or have all lights blinking after certain period of non use so i suspect intellipark still active *


Stuxnet said:


> don't know if it's a typo in your post but the disable command is
> 
> ```
> WDIDLE3 /D
> ...


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

wdidle3 /S

will tell you the status

wdidle3 /D 

supposedly disables it, but 

wdidle3 /300

sets the time before sleeping to 5 minutes, which amounts to the same thing.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Where do you get the program (for running on the 20EURS)?


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Also, can I run it on a drive hooked to my computer via a thermaltake USB Dock? And if it can only be run under DOS, any help doing that? Boot CD? Etc......

Thanks ahead of time!


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## nooneuknow (Feb 5, 2011)

unitron said:


> wdidle3 /S
> 
> will tell you the status
> 
> ...


Unitron, you need some memory vitamins. I haven't used this tool in nearly a year, and I can remember the parameters and switches. 

It's /R to [Report] what the drive is set to. It's good to check before and after using /D [Disable], or the /S300 [Set] (note there is no space, and the value is 300 seconds).

It's (usually) best to make sure you are using the most current version from WD, and I use /S300, due to some reports of odd behavior and smart values ending up reading oddly with /D. Some versions of the tool had required the parameters be in CAPS (So, I always turn Caps Lock on, when using the tool).

Sometimes people don't realize this utility must be used with an MS-DOS type boot disk/USB stick/CD (doesn't work within Windows).

Also, some system boards will require changing the disk access mode to "IDE" or "Compatible", as opposed to "AHCI" or "Enhanced". Why some boards don't require this may just be an automatic detection of the boot environment.

Just don't forget to change that setting back, if you change it. Taking notes of all changes is a good idea.

I often just make a boot floppy/USB stick/CD with Hitachi Feature Tool, and add the wdidle3.exe file to the floppy, usb stick, or CD ISO image. This results in storage drivers being loaded that eliminate the worry about many potential issues, plus lets you change other drive parameters, in some cases (like acoustics, and LBA count, if need be). Once done with HFT, just exit, and use wdidle /? to get the details of what parameters that version will accept. The drivers HFT loads stay resident, and can often eliminate the need for changing any BIOS settings.

If the drive rejects accepting the values, WD has another tool for the WD Red NAS drives for the same purpose, worth trying. Just look up a WD40EFRX, like you own one, and download that utility. WDIDLE3.EXE never was made for the drives we all have been using it on, so it's just lucky that it's worked on so many drives, for so long now. It's made for < 5 models of drives, none of which would ever be used in a TiVo.

Perhaps they started limiting the scope of drives the most recent version works on, and getting an older version could be in order...

The other obvious thing is the drive MUST be connected directly to the board port, not via USB or other means.

The only way I was able to change to internal laptop drive in my laptop from continuing parking itself to death, was with a USB attached floppy drive and a boot disk like I described. No other means would work (for some bizarre reason). This is unusual, but then again, I was changing my settings in a whole different manner, for different reasons, and not doing a drive that was going into a TiVo.


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## nooneuknow (Feb 5, 2011)

jlb said:


> Also, can I run it on a drive hooked to my computer via a thermaltake USB Dock? And if it can only be run under DOS, any help doing that? Boot CD? Etc......
> 
> Thanks ahead of time!


As per my prior post, it MUST be a direct to mainboard connection, via SATA port in this case, preferably the very 1st port.

It really should be the ONLY drive you have attached, as any drive that can accept the setting will be set. You can't pick a specific drive. You could "bork" a drive that doesn't know what to do with the setting (or change a drive you didn't want to).

Yes, it MUST be a DOS-type boot environment, not within Windows. Boot disk/disc/usb-stick/etc. Not even the WinPE-based multipurpose CDs are acceptable.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Oy....not sure if my wife would be happy about my taking apart our primary computer to run this. Is it possible it comes defeated or turned off? And isn't the TiVo generally running 24x7 due to the live buffer?


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## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

jlb said:


> Oy....not sure if my wife would be happy about my taking apart our primary computer to run this. Is it possible it comes defeated or turned off? And isn't the TiVo generally running 24x7 due to the live buffer?


Apparently those drives originally came with the IntelliPark time delay before spin-down set so low (8 seconds maybe?) that the drive could actually spin down during the TiVo boot process. I think the default was later changed to disabled or at least to a more reasonable time value. Yes, once the TiVo is actually up and running, spin-down should never occur due to live buffering. But even then I wonder what might happen if all channels tuned were unreceivable and no transport streams were being written. It's best to make sure IntelliPark is disabled.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

In a "doh" moment, I realized that the Intellipark problem is really only at boot time, possibly. And I have easy access to the power, so if I can't get wdidle to run for whatever reason, the impact really would only be minimal. I.e., if I were on vacation and a boot occurs. When home, I could just pull the power. Right?

But I will try and run it. My concern is just mucking up the drive from our PC when disconnecting it to connect the new drive.......


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

nooneuknow said:


> Unitron, you need some memory vitamins. I haven't used this tool in nearly a year, and I can remember the parameters and switches.
> 
> It's /R to [Report] what the drive is set to. It's good to check before and after using /D [Disable], or the /S300 [Set] (note there is no space, and the value is 300 seconds).
> 
> ...


Didn't you post pretty much this same post a month or 3 ago, perhaps in a different thread?


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## nooneuknow (Feb 5, 2011)

unitron said:


> Didn't you post pretty much this same post a month or 3 ago, perhaps in a different thread?


Yep, that was me. 

I'd run out of subbed threads to read. I saw this thread in the New Posts lists, spotted the error, and opted to correct it, and then try to help if possible.

It never hurts to give a refresher course on WDIDLE3.EXE, or perhaps unconfuse those confused by an innocent error.

Last time you corrected your post, then I corrected the quote. Same offer here.

Even though I have yet to see a post stating intellipark causes any issues for ROAMIO upgrades, I still make sure my idle-timer is set to 300 seconds, even on my computer and "other" applications I use WD drives for.

APM (Advanced Power Management) is getting the be the new villain for drives parking to death, and more drives than ever are coming with that capability, and it enabled, by default. So far, it doesn't seem to be an issue for TiVo drives. I'm not 100% sure it will stay that way. If it ever does, HDPARM will be the new go to tool, making us "support providing folks" have a lot more headaches.

I'm going to stick with advising the non-Roamio upgraders to either buy the AV-GP drives (EURS/EURX), a Seagate Green AV equivalent, or to verify/change this setting on WD drives, for the foreseeable future.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

nooneuknow said:


> Yep, that was me.
> 
> I'd run out of subbed threads to read. I saw this thread in the New Posts lists, spotted the error, and opted to correct it, and then try to help if possible.
> 
> ...


What, a neophyte screw something up during the process of using hdparm?

Why, that's unpossible!


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## markr33 (Dec 20, 2002)

Something very odd. My Series 3 failed to boot a few days ago, it is stuck in the infinite boot loop. I checked power supplies and they are fine (though I do see some bulging capacitors that I will be changing (about a year ago I changed C701 because it was bulging at the same time as upgrading to a new 2TB drive). I *KNOW* I ran wdidle3 /d on that drive a year ago (even posted about it here somewhere), and today when I checked the status with wdidle3 /r, it shows that it was set to 62 minutes (3720 seconds). I have now run wdidle3/d on the drive and will reinstall it into the series 3 and test it. I checked it with wdidle3 /r and sure enough now it says "Idle3 Timer is disabled".

Is it possible that the disk somehow changed itself from disabled to 3720???


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

markr33 said:


> Something very odd. My Series 3 failed to boot a few days ago, it is stuck in the infinite boot loop. I checked power supplies and they are fine (though I do see some bulging capacitors that I will be changing (about a year ago I changed C701 because it was bulging at the same time as upgrading to a new 2TB drive). I *KNOW* I ran wdidle3 /d on that drive a year ago (even posted about it here somewhere), and today when I checked the status with wdidle3 /r, it shows that it was set to 62 minutes (3720 seconds). I have now run wdidle3/d on the drive and will reinstall it into the series 3 and test it. I checked it with wdidle3 /r and sure enough now it says "Idle3 Timer is disabled".
> 
> Is it possible that the disk somehow changed itself from disabled to 3720???


I've seen instances of wdidle3 disabling Intellipark by setting the timer period to some really long time period instead of actually disabling it, although for use in a TiVo

/S 300

(5 minutes) is sufficient disabling.

It might have to do with the particular model and firmware version of the drive as to whether it'll take

/D

or not.


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## markr33 (Dec 20, 2002)

unitron said:


> I've seen instances of wdidle3 disabling Intellipark by setting the timer period to some really long time period instead of actually disabling it, although for use in a TiVo
> 
> /S 300
> 
> ...


The thing is, after I ran WDIDLE3 /D, I checked it with WDIDLE3 /R and it does say disabled. It's a WD20EADS Caviar Green. By the way, I posted this with more information on the other thread (capacitors) here - http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10767884#post10767884


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