Method of controlling the idle mode of hard disc drives and apparatus therefor

摘要

A method of setting an idle operation mode of an hard disc drive (HDD) according to a power type used by a host system, and an apparatus suitable for the idle operation mode setting method, a method of setting a waiting time until a head is unloaded from an idle state of the HDD, and an apparatus suitable for the waiting time setting method, the method including, if a power source used by a host system linked with the HDD is a general-use power source, prohibiting the use of a power saving operation mode even though the HDD is in an idle state; and if the power source used by the host system is a battery, allowing the use of the power saving operation mode when the HDD is in the idle state. The method of controlling an idle operation mode of an HDD allows performance of the HDD to be maintained by not unloading a head when a power source that a host system is using is a general-use power source.