Seagate ST9500530NS manual Power-management modes PowerChoiceTM power management, Mode Description

3.8.4Power-management modes

PowerChoiceTM power management

Drives using the load/unload architecture provide programmable power management to tailor systems for per- formance and greater energy efficiency.

The table below lists the supported PowerChoice modes. The further you go down in the table, the more power savings you get. For example, Idle_B mode results in greater power savings than Idle_A mode. Standby mode results in the greatest power savings.

Mode	Description
Idle_A	Reduced electronics
Idle_B	Heads unloaded. Disks spinning at full RPM
Idle_C	Heads unloaded. Disks spinning at reduced RPM
Standby	Heads unloaded. Motor stopped (disks not spinning)

PowerChoice can be invoked using one of these two methods:

•Extended Power Conditions (EPC) Set Features Command method-Enable and initialize the idle condition timers.

•Standby Immediate and Idle Immediate command method-Use the EPC Set Features Command. This allows the host to directly transition the drive to any supported PowerChoice mode. The drive preserves the existing idle power settings.

PowerChoice reporting methods

PowerChoiceTM provides these reporting methods for tracking purposes:

Check Power Mode Reports

• Current power condition

Power Condition Log Reports

•Idle condition enabled/disabled

•If timer is changeable

•Typical recovery time from extended power conditions

•Current timer setting and Manufacturer default timer settings

SMART Read Data Attribute - Load/ Unload Cycle Counter

14 Constellation Serial ATA Product Manual, Rev. D