Things to try: Advanced power management mode off (works with newer Seagate drives): hdparm -B 255 /dev/sdX Standby timer disable (may work with Toshiba external drives): hdparm -S 0 /dev/sdX Clear SCSI 'STANDBY' setting in power condition mode page (works with older Seagate "Backup Plus" enclosures): sdparm --clear STANDBY -6 /dev/sdX Disable wdidle setting (for Western Digital Green internal drives only; be sure this is appropriate for your drive before you use it, as it can be dangerous): hdparm -J 0 /dev/sdX Failing all else, write a script that touches a file or creates a directory every n seconds. Helpful hint: mkdir is a synchronous operation on NTFS / Windows; i.e. if you mkdir, Windows will do the equivalent of sync on it right away, keeping the drive awake.