Beware of aggressive APM on Windows 10 Build 1809

[Freakezoit]

I went ahead and found the registry keys, and did the rest of the research.

First, there's no such thing as an "Advanced Power Management" setting(s) in Windows 10.

Totally wrong @ that point there is one :

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStorAC\Parameters - EnableAPM
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\Parameters - EnableAPM

AMD driver has also an HDD Parking setting :

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\amdsbs\Settings\CAM - EnableHDDParking

Even the intel iastore driver ini has and idle powermanagement option - EnableIdlePowerManagement.

And that whole issue is an windows 10 (@ some build it startet) issue but with 1607 its not there , so something has changed and that has nothing to do with hipm or dipm . Even if both are disabled that headparking thing ocures.

As for SSD my pro series with APM has no issues whatever build. (i think that it only affects some drives with APM and not all)

I will investigate that further.

 

[podkaracz]

Guys this thread is a classic example how you should not make a thread. Please post instructions how to disable this via registry instead of alarming about problem and saying there is a fix but find out how to apply this fix yourself. I downloaded mentioned crystaldisk but im not sure if i applied correct fix. Please post guidance if you advise some1 to fix something. My hdd has problems with latency since 1607 maybe thats the cause.

 

[Regeneration]

Guys this thread is a classic example how you should not make a thread. Please post instructions how to disable this via registry instead of alarming about problem and saying there is a fix but find out how to apply this fix yourself. I downloaded mentioned crystaldisk but im not sure if i applied correct fix. Please post guidance if you advise some1 to fix something. My hdd has problems with latency since 1607 maybe thats the cause.

There is no global way to disable APM. It depends on the controller and device.

Try this software: https://sites.google.com/site/disablehddapm/

Move the "Disable HDD APM" shortcut to the Windows' Startup folder.

 

[podkaracz]

There is no global way to disable APM. It depends on the controller and device.

Try this software: https://sites.google.com/site/disablehddapm/

Move the "Disable HDD APM" shortcut to the Windows' Startup folder.

Thanks for quick response also how is that i have msi h110m pro-d mobo and the only solution up until this time to fix latency on hdd was to install intel ahci driver for example 15.9.8.1050 version. What is different between generic ahci microsoft driver and intel that intel has no latency problems and microsoft one is unusable constant 100% usage spikes and latencymon shows iastorport.sys 3000 qs jumps ( i dont install rst cuz its bloatware for non-raid systems just inf ahci driver manually via device manager).

 

[Deleted member 193792]

Can someone provide a definitive *.reg file to permanently fix this?

 

[podkaracz]

Can someone provide a definitive *.reg file to permanently fix this?

First you need to know which intel ahci drivers suits your mobo there are different irst branches v15,v16,v17 and older . Then once you manually install ahci driver use this fix + registry that simplest explanation i found here :

 

[AsRock]

There is no global way to disable APM. It depends on the controller and device.

Try this software: https://sites.google.com/site/disablehddapm/

Move the "Disable HDD APM" shortcut to the Windows' Startup folder.

What brands are those ? or any list on those ?, i have never had one that i could not disable APM on, just like the old samsung i have now.

 

[podkaracz]

What brands are those ? or any list on those ?, i have never had one that i could not disable APM on, just like the old samsung i have now.

Could you please share software that you use to disable this and verify this registry tweak i posted above ?

 

[AsRock]

The software is Hard Drive Sentinel, i am on a AMD right now.

 

[Deleted member 193792]

First you need to know which intel ahci drivers suits your mobo there are different irst branches v15,v16,v17 and older . Then once you manually install ahci driver use this fix + registry that simplest explanation i found here :

I got AMD X470 and Windows 10 AHCI drivers in RAID0 mode.

 

[Regeneration]

What brands are those ? or any list on those ?, i have never had one that i could not disable APM on, just like the old samsung i have now.

I was referring to a fix without 3rd party software.

 

[lexluthermiester]

All the troubles depicted in this thread can be mitigated within the Windows power management settings themselves.

Go to "Power Options". Click on "Advanced power settings" where the power plans reside.
A new window will open. Regardless of which plan you choose, the hard drive sleep options can be changed.
Click on "Change plan settings" -> click on "Change advanced power settings".
A new window will open and the option at the very top will be "Hard Disk" -> "Turn off hard disk" -> "Setting(minutes):"
If you set it to "0"(zero) all of your drives will never shut down or sleep regardless of APM settings.

I currently have mine set for 240 minute(4hours) and Windows obeys that setting, keeping the drives awake until that time limit is reached.

How this setting has escaped everyone's attention is beyond me, but it really is that simple.

 

[trparky]

How this setting has escaped everyone's attention is beyond me, but it really is that simple.

Because people would generally like to bash Microsoft and suggest tons of tweaks only to turn around and have issues which they don’t blame themselves for but Microsoft instead and then whine and complain that Windows 10 sucks.

 

[lexluthermiester]

and complain that Windows 10 sucks.

Windows 10 does suck. It's just in this situation the solution was a matter of setting up the correct Windows config settings.

 

[trparky]

Windows 10 does suck.

You had to go there, didn't you? I'm of the opinion that if you keep Windows 10 as-is and you don't muck with it, you'll generally have no issues.

 

[lexluthermiester]

You had to go there, didn't you?

LOL! You can't make statements like that and not expect me to respond accordingly.

I'm of the opinion that if you keep Windows 10 as-is and you don't muck with it, you'll generally have no issues.

That is one school of thought. Not everyone has had the same experiences and not everyone is willing to run Windows 10 it's default configuration.

But we're getting off-topic here...

 

[trparky]

LOL! You can't make statements like that and not expect me to respond accordingly.

No, I guess I can't.

 

[INSTG8R]

How this setting has escaped everyone's attention is beyond me, but it really is that simple

Considering those settings have existed for at least a decade...

 

[R-T-B]

Hard disk sleep timer is different than APM mode, just FYI. You guys are discussing something entirely different from this threads topic.

 

[wyxchari]

I repeat this message that was in position # 37 and disappeared:

I had a laptop that I put a ssd on and the hdd I passed to the optical bay. Now the hdd turns off every 70 seconds like a DVD! I have also reviewed the external usb hdds, some turn off and others park their heads even every 5 seconds of the last access.

- To fix the internal hdd, I have installed the HDDScan application and it is done: Select disk, Tools, Command, APM 240 (20 minutes) and save the specific generated file.bat of each disk to start it and configure it at each boot. Example file.bat:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\HDDScan\HDDScan.exe" "\\?\Usbstor#disk&ven_st912081&prod_7as&rev_3.aa#52e14c23&0#{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}" -APM 240

- Fixing the external hdd is more complicated because you have to execute the command when you plug the hdd disk into the usb:
1.- First we put HDDScan as explained before and create a specific file.bat file for each disk.
2.- Create a scheduled task for each disk. In Action we put the disk specific file.bat. In triggers we put When an event occurs, Custom, New event filter, XML, Edit query:

<QueryList>
<Query Id="0" Path="Microsoft-Windows-StorageSpaces-Driver/Operational">
<Select Path="Microsoft-Windows-StorageSpaces-Driver/Operational">*[System[Provider[@Name='Microsoft-Windows-StorageSpaces-Driver'] and Level=4 and EventID=207]] and *[EventData[Data[@Name='DriveSerial']='52E14C23']]</Select>
</Query>
</QueryList>

In DriveSerial we put the serial number of the disk that appears in the bat of each disk. Compare the file.bat examples with the xml.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Hard disk sleep timer is different than APM mode, just FYI. You guys are discussing something entirely different from this threads topic.

While true, the setting I indicated above will over-ride, as a general rule, internal hard drive controller sleep settings. There are some drives that will continue to do their own thing, but that can be changed with the manufacturers own drive configuration utility and all of them have one.

 

[P4-630]

For a while now I'm using only SSD's so I'm fine.

 

[basco]

my sandisk ssd has it and the toshiba drive:

 

[wyxchari]

The APM of the hdd can be configured in many ways from the moment the computer is turned on.
1.- The hdd takes the default APM value stored in disk memory and begins to use it as the current value.
2.- The BIOS may or may not change the current value, but what it almost always does is freeze the accesses to be able to change the default value, although it is possible to continue changing its current value. That is why some programs such as HDAT2 to change the default APM values, need to remove the current to the disk, it is re-plugged in HOT and thus bypass the BIOS.
3.- The Windows ACHI driver may or may not change the current value.
4.- Windows power settings do not normally change these current APM values. Windows has its own disk power timers and when the limit is reached it shuts down the disk. The problem is that if the APM of the disk is lower than that of Windows, the APM of the disk will fire earlier and the Windows power settings are of no use.
5.- Programs such as HDDScan, CrystalDiskInfo, ... change the value of the "CURRENT" APM but it is lost at each startup so you have to configure them as starting with Windows so that the values are maintained. To change the value to "DEFAULT" mainly to use USB drives, each manufacturer has its own tools. For example, WD uses wdidle3.exe in DOS, which, although it does not change the default APM, does change the idle timer, which is similar up to a maximum of 300 seconds or 5 minutes. For Hitachi there are some utilities but they do not change the default values, but the current values. For Seagate I have successfully used a HDAT2 call in DOS but it works only on some drives.
6.- To this we add the disks plugged in via USB, which are much more difficult to configure, since they are plugged in after the computer starts up and the APM is not usually configured by BIOS, AHCI, or Windows. You have to configure the APM manually after plugging them in or doing a scheduled task associated with an event as I explained in a previous post.

The majority of users do not experience problems with the discs since normally the APM is configured by default in 80h which is 10 minutes to park the heads and does not turn off the engine turn. But about the year 2010-2014, "green" discs were manufactured that park their heads even every 1 second or after 8 seconds unless BIOS, ACHI, Windows or programs change the current value. In practice they are continually making clicking noises and shortening the life of the disc. The disks are designed for a maximum of around 300,000 head parking spaces and bad sectors start to appear from that value. I confirm that I have 2,5" Seagate disks with bad sectors with 680,000 head parkings because of an APM of only 10 seconds that although they did not turn off the spinning of the disk, they did park the heads, even with a 20 minute shutdown disk in Windows.

 

[Sora]

The disks are designed for a maximum of around 300,000 head parking spaces and bad sectors start to appear from that value. I confirm that I have 2,5" Seagate disks with bad sectors with 680,000 head parkings because of an APM of only 10 seconds that although they did not turn off the spinning of the disk, they did park the heads, even with a 20 minute shutdown disk in Windows.

Parking has no correlation to bad sectors, sectors go bad with age through magnetic weakness, not whether or not the actuator is active or not.

Hard disk sleep timer is different than APM mode, just FYI. You guys are discussing something entirely different from this threads topic.

APM settings beneath 80h(128) perform the same thing as disk sleep timer (idle spin down)