Short: NoiseSaver 2.1 - make temporarily unused HDs quiet. Author: maho@dfv.rwth-aachen.de (Martin Horneffer) Uploader: maho dfv rwth-aachen de (Martin Horneffer) Type: disk/misc Architecture: m68k-amigaos NoiseSaver watches SCSI harddisks and notices when they are not use for a certain amount of time. It uses a SCSI command to stop their motor in such a case. Whenever the HD is accessed again, NoiseSaver automatically switches its motor on again. Most useful for all people using their Amiga for a BBS, phone answering or FAX machine or something similar, where the Amiga runs all day long but is not really working all the time. It saves some power and a lot of noise (notebook computers use the same technique). This is version 2.1. Changes from Version 1.6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - now distinguishes units. Each HD can be switsched of independently. Thanks Franz-Josef Reichert for showing that this is possible [1]. - removing the BeginIO() patch is now safe (when terminating NoiseSaver.) - you can explicitly specify the units to work with OR scan all. Specifying them explicitly allows you to exclude non-HD SCSI unit like streamers, CD-ROMs, etc. Using a suitable unit number should allows you to use more SCSI-board and LUNs (not tested). Template: ~~~~~~~~~ DEVICE/K,TIMEOUT/N,UNIT/N,T2/N,U2/N,T3/N,U3/N,T4/N,U4/N,T5/N,U5/N, T6/N,U6/N,T7/N,U7/N,T8/N,U8/N,-H=HELP/S: Format: ~~~~~~~ run >nil: noisesaver [DEVICE ] [ [] [] [ [] [] [ [] [] ... ] ] ] Specification: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ist the scsi-device to use. Default is "scsi.device", which works for A3000 and A2091. Must be compatible with the "scsi-direct" standard. is the timeout in seconds that a HD must be idle to be switched off. Default is 300 seconds or the last timeout specified. is the SCSI unit to access. See your SCSI-board manual to see how to address other boards or LUNs. If no units are specified, then alls units 0 to 6 are all tried and those that can be opened are used. This makes NoiseSaver V2.1 compatible with V1.6. When NoiseSaver is running, use 'BREAK $NoiseSaver e' to stop the drives, 'BREAK $NoiseSaver f' to start them and 'BREAK $NoiseSaver c' to quit NoiseSaver. Bugs: ~~~~~ None known. ToDo: ~~~~~ - a GUI, e.g. make a commodity. I won't do that, because I don't need it. Ask FJR to do this for QuietSCSI [1]. - AI module to restart HDs 10 seconds before they will be used again. FAQ: ~~~~ Q: I have a GVP SCSI interface. I would like to use NoiseSaver, but it won't run. Can you make a version runnig with my GVP? A: Use "run NoiseSaver DEVICE=gvpscsi.device" Q: What other options does NoiseSaver have? A: Say "NoiseSaver HELP" or "NoiseSaver -h". Q: What does NoiseSaver do that QuietSCSI V1.0 [1] doesn't? A: - it features an Amiga-style version-string. - it can work with up to 8 drives at once. - you get all the source code. - it can be externally signalled to start (or stop) all drives. E.g. with TrapDoor use: RINGS 4 RINGCOMMAND "Break $Noisesaver f" and callers don't get timeouts because the're waiting for your HD to start spinning AFTER the connection is established... -- [1] QuietSCSI is © by Franz-Josef Reichert. You can find it on AmiNet, too. Martin Horneffer , 2-Nov-1994