I have a 500Gb Freecom network drive in USB mode plugged into my Dockstar (since the built in network share feature only supports FAT32).
I can't seem to get it to spin down with hd-idle nor does it spin down when unplugged. I suspect its not supported.
Does anyone have a 500GB or more USB hard drive that spins down?

Thanks.

I currently have a goFlex 500gig that spins down but I have it slotted on the top.

thanks =]
one like this? Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 2.5-inch 500GB USB Hard Drive

one that slots in the top is probably best anyway, less clutter and power adapters.

I'll wait a while and see if anyone has a cheaper one that spins down.

this one has a box image so it may be easier to tell if its exactly the same. Seagate Go Flex Portable 500GB Hard Drive USB 2.0

There seem to be many different ones, most confusing, especially as you seem to need some login to get onto the seagate website.

Did you try sdparm or sg_start (package sg3-utils) ?

I use hd-idle. Spins down the disk after 10 minutes of idle (configurable), Simply install and let it do its job.

Found here.

1. tar -xvf [directory]
2. make
3. make install-debian <--- make sure to run this instead of 'make install' so it creates the startup scripts.
4. edit /etc/default/hd-idle and set START_HD_IDLE=true

@ Chin. I've installed sg3-utils, tried

sg_start --stop /dev/sdc1

nothing happens. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

@E4ST2W3ST. I already have hd-idle installed, see first post, its enabled but doesn't seem to do anything. From its log

date: 2011-08-20, time: 11:52:49, disk: sdc, running: 1313837489, stopped: 60

No idea what it means?

Thanks for the suggestions :)

How about spinning down the disk instead of a partition ?

sg_start --stop /dev/sdc

For unknown reasons i have to call it 2 times in some rare cases. The same applies to sdparm, so i expect they work quite similar, but this remains a guess.

nope still doesn't work. =(
I suppose it just doesn't support it, after all you'd expect it to spin down when its unplugged from usb, but it doesn't.
ho-hum

any other suggestions on buying a new one that spins down?

thanks for your help Chin.

I've got three Western Digital MyBooks attached to mine, they all spin down with no problem.

They are three different styles/vintages, if it matters.

I also have one attached to my (Factory) PinkPogo. It spins down just fine, too.

@tegsirat Thanks for the suggestion, the mybooks seem quite expensive, and I think bus powered would be better. Less cables and whatnot.

I think its come down to a GoFlex 2.5-inch 500GB or a Seagate Expansion 500GB

I know for sure the goflex spins down as rfanch3r has one. + it slots in the top which is nice.
The Seagate Expansion is a fiver cheaper and probably spins down but doesn't slot into the top.

gah I hate making decisions.

I just purchased a 2 TB GoFlex drive from Staples for $90, minus a 20% off coupon I had, the total came to about $77 with tax. It's a good deal if the drive proves to be reliable. So far, it has been working well hanging off my SheevaPlug. By default, it automatically spins down after 15 minutes of inactivity, which is about where I'd set it if I were tuning it, so I've left that default alone. A minor downside is that it takes the longest of any drive I've ever owned -- sometimes up to 12 seconds -- to spin up in response to an access. That's pretty slow, but tolerable. YMMV.

ah you lucky Americans a 2TB GoFlex is £84 here that's about $138.
I think I've decided to get a 500gb GoFlex, maybe a 500gb one will spin up quicker, not that it matters all that much as long as it sleeps.

Thanks for your help everyone =D