quietHDD 1.5

quietHDD is a small utility developed by Joern Koerner and released on March 2009. The program enables users to remove the annoying click that laptop and netbook users hear starting up their system from shutdown or from hibernation mode. The program does this by disabling the APM feature of the system. APM stands for Advanced Power Management. This feature stops the hard drive motor from spinning when the system is idle or not in use. The moment the computer comes back from idle or hibernate mode, the hard drive motor starts up again. This is the function of the APM; it stops the motor to conserve energy. However, this motor also produces that click and whirring sound. What the program does is it modifies the function of the APM, preventing it from stopping the drive motor even when in idle mode.

quietHDD modifies the AAM feature of the system to reduce the sound produced when booting up or shutting down. AAM stands for Advanced Acoustic Management. The program features both SATA and IDE device compatibility. The program also supports both non-GUI and GUI usage. Users may access the program through the command line interface instead of the GUI. When not in use, the program rests in the system tray. It is automatically launched during system boot and when waking from hibernation.