Final Update: the iMac even crashed some while after the disk was dismounted. The other one isn't even connected. I've uploaded partial diagnostics to Apple but the site chokes when I try to upload the whole thing. As it sits, it doesn't appear the sleeping could possibly be the problem so it falls back to being an irritating nuisance (i.e. to be fixed when I get around to it).
The original: How to disable drive sleep in Western Digital disk drives
Western Digital disk drives are plagued by energy saver software they employ to spin down the drive and sleep it when it has not been used for a while. The way to rectify the problem is to install the WD Smartware software and use the Settings to disable sleeping the drive.
Perhaps that would work but the WD Smartware installer fails under Yosemite 10.10.3. The WD Smartware Uninstaller was run after that to clean up anything which may have been partially-installed. It failed with an 'unknown error.'
Ladies and gentlemen, we may be looking at what has been crashing me. The timing of the drive sleep would be unpredictable and thus the crashes without any apparent trigger. This does not explain why it crashed every time trying to read "The End of the World in Fort Worth" but it's still a hot enough question that it needs to be resolved.
Never, ever spin down a live disk.
The problem is that the drive spins down but the computer doesn't know about it because WD Smartware took it upon itself to perform the action. This is not at all intelligent in this environment as the action is not smart and I didn't want their software in the first place. Any smart person would be backing it up already and I loathe being patronized.
If it is not possible to disable the drive sleep 'feature' then the next move will be to buy another disk drive from another vendor, copy the contents of the existing drive to the other one, and then set this bitch afire just like I did with the Burning of the Hat of Eternal Accursedness. Some demons can be chucked to the rubbish tip but others must be destroyed. Anything associated with the cause of all the crashes is definitely going to burn.
The above is a dramatic move ... but ... it is guaranteed to be 100% effective in stopping the disk drive from spinning down. I will do further testing to determine if there was any problem in procedure in installing the WD Smartware but it's seriously not likely. Installing software on Macs is so easy a monkey could do it.
Don't worry about a kneejerk based on the discovery. I can't afford kneejerks so we move with all due caution as it costs me about $150 for no good reason if I make the wrong move. Nevertheless, there's something stinky here which definitely requires resolution.
There is no axe to grind relative to Western Digital as I have employed their drives exclusively for years and I've installed quite a few of them. There was never a problem previously in disabling this ridiculous feature and the drives have always been highly-reliable with very good performance. This is the first time in probably fifteen years at least that I've had a problem and, luckily for me, it's done a handy job of screwing me to the wall. Nevertheless, I have no axe and would prefer to solve the problem rather than grinding one.
Note: this has nothing to do with the Energy Saver control panel from Apple. That is set to prevent disk drives from ever spinning down as the only thing I sleep is the monitor to prevent screen damage. Inasmuch as Western Digital is in open violation of the specification to prevent spinning down the drives, it is thus guilty of mutiny and it will walk the plank ... after I've burned it for a while.
The original: How to disable drive sleep in Western Digital disk drives
Western Digital disk drives are plagued by energy saver software they employ to spin down the drive and sleep it when it has not been used for a while. The way to rectify the problem is to install the WD Smartware software and use the Settings to disable sleeping the drive.
Perhaps that would work but the WD Smartware installer fails under Yosemite 10.10.3. The WD Smartware Uninstaller was run after that to clean up anything which may have been partially-installed. It failed with an 'unknown error.'
Ladies and gentlemen, we may be looking at what has been crashing me. The timing of the drive sleep would be unpredictable and thus the crashes without any apparent trigger. This does not explain why it crashed every time trying to read "The End of the World in Fort Worth" but it's still a hot enough question that it needs to be resolved.
Never, ever spin down a live disk.
The problem is that the drive spins down but the computer doesn't know about it because WD Smartware took it upon itself to perform the action. This is not at all intelligent in this environment as the action is not smart and I didn't want their software in the first place. Any smart person would be backing it up already and I loathe being patronized.
If it is not possible to disable the drive sleep 'feature' then the next move will be to buy another disk drive from another vendor, copy the contents of the existing drive to the other one, and then set this bitch afire just like I did with the Burning of the Hat of Eternal Accursedness. Some demons can be chucked to the rubbish tip but others must be destroyed. Anything associated with the cause of all the crashes is definitely going to burn.
The above is a dramatic move ... but ... it is guaranteed to be 100% effective in stopping the disk drive from spinning down. I will do further testing to determine if there was any problem in procedure in installing the WD Smartware but it's seriously not likely. Installing software on Macs is so easy a monkey could do it.
Don't worry about a kneejerk based on the discovery. I can't afford kneejerks so we move with all due caution as it costs me about $150 for no good reason if I make the wrong move. Nevertheless, there's something stinky here which definitely requires resolution.
There is no axe to grind relative to Western Digital as I have employed their drives exclusively for years and I've installed quite a few of them. There was never a problem previously in disabling this ridiculous feature and the drives have always been highly-reliable with very good performance. This is the first time in probably fifteen years at least that I've had a problem and, luckily for me, it's done a handy job of screwing me to the wall. Nevertheless, I have no axe and would prefer to solve the problem rather than grinding one.
Note: this has nothing to do with the Energy Saver control panel from Apple. That is set to prevent disk drives from ever spinning down as the only thing I sleep is the monitor to prevent screen damage. Inasmuch as Western Digital is in open violation of the specification to prevent spinning down the drives, it is thus guilty of mutiny and it will walk the plank ... after I've burned it for a while.
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