turning on External Hard Drives when computer is turned on

[bishka]

I  have two external USB Hard drives with momentry action switches which have to be pressed to turn them on. Is there a way to get them to come on automatically when the computer is turned on. I could make a piece of hardware to do it, but if that is the case I would have thought that there was a software option!?

One drive is a Seagate the other a generic caddy with an old drive in it.
O/S Windows XP Home.

Regards Bishka

[soybean]

Hello and welcome to the forum.   

I find the phrase "momentry action switches" a bit odd.  Are we simply talking about an On/Off power switch here? 

One option to accomplish what you want might be to plug both the computer and the USB drives into one surge protector and then use the switch on the surge protector to turn everything on.  You may need to determine whether your computer can be started this way.  If it can not, then this idea won't work.

Is the old drive in the generic caddy a 3.5 inch drive?  If you have a 2.5 inch drive, the size commonly used in laptop computers, you can get external enclosures for them that are powered right off the USB port. So, they would immediately be accessible upon starting your computer without requiring a separate action to  power them on.  If you have no 2.5 inch drive, this is something to keep in mind for any future acquisitions of external storage devices.

[bishka]

Hello,
Thanks for such a quick reply. To answer your questions:-

Sorry about the term Momentry Action Switch (an electronics term)  A spring loaded push button switch. That, in the case of my hard drives, needs to be push in and held for a moment or two before the hard drives turn on.

The drive in a caddy is 3.5inch.

There is so many USB peripherals that have this type of switch on them, I just thought that perhaps the USB spec might include some means of turning on equipment from the computer , a means that could be automated so the equipment came on when the computer did....In theory I could make a bit of hardware to do the job, I did not want too, as it would be a bit of a bodge (My experience in electronics is mostly audio and very much as a hobbyist), but it might turn out to be the easiest option.


Regards Bishka

[Salmon Trout]

momentary

[bishka]

Sorry, I happen to be slightly dyslexic, so please excuse the odd (pun intended) spelling mistake.
regards Bishka

[Computer_Commando]

I suspect the switch in question is Alternate Action, not momentary.  Momentary would only apply power as long as it's depressed and held in that position.  Alternate Action is press once, it's on, press again, it's off, press again, it's on, etc.

[bishka]

Thanks for the reply,

I am sure they must be momentary switches as they performs more than one function. This is quite common. It's cheeper to use one momentary switch with a bit of software that times how long it is pressed for to select a particular function than it does to use two or three diffrent switches.  Nither is there any click sound that you might expect from the latching mechenisum.

Regards Bishka

[Computer_Commando]

You should be able to short the switch with a jumper wire; that would get them to come on automatically when the computer is turned on.

[bishka]

Thanks for the reply.
Shorting the switch will work for one but not the other because it comes on after the button is released.

I think rather than waste peoples time anymore I will open them up and see what's what. I should be able to make up something to turn them on and off. I hope it will be too difficult, I think it will just need a handfull of components. If I can make everything small enough I should be able to fit them inside the caddy/case.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

regards Bishka

[BC_Programmer]

You could always simply buy a different set of USB drives/enclosures. both my my externals use a rocket switch, so if I have them set to on then turning the power bar on will cause them to turn on as well.

[bishka]

Thanks for your reply.

I have a third hard drive in a caddy with a rocker switch which I got sometime ago. I had a look on eBay last night and found identical caddies at about £16 each, so, yes, that would be the best option, especially as I could use a couple more hard drives and,  it would save me mucking about with my soldering iron!! Although I don't think the circuit would be difficult, I recon about ten components, 3  resistors, 3 cap's, 2 diodes, 1 4017B, 1 4001B. All of which I already have.  The only trouble with DIY  electronics is that things never turnout as simple as you expect!!! 

regards Bishka