[mythtv-users] autofs or hdparm to save power, hd life and heat?

[kanetse@gmail.com]

I've got a dedicated backend running mythtv-0.19 on FC5.  I recently
read a post on this list about someone who was using autofs to mount
his mythtv directory, and then allowing it to unmount after a period
of inactivity and spindown the drive.

This sounds like an interesting idea.  I am currently using
"/sbin/hdparm -S120 /dev/hdd" in my rc.local to spindown my drives,
but I'm not using autofs.

Would using autofs to unmount the drives in addition to hdparm be any
better/worse than just using hdparm alone?

I'm interested in:

1) Prolonging my hdd life by not having it spin 24/7.  I know there
are different views of this (i.e. repeated spin-down spin-up is worse
for an hdd that running 24/7).

2) Minimizing the heat generated by my system.

3) Consuming less power.

Thanks!