The hdparm utility can be used by root to set and tune the settings for IDE hard drives. You would do this to tune the drives for optimal performance. After previously requiring a kernel patch and installation of associated support programs, the hdparm program is now included with Ubuntu. You should only experiment with the file systems mounted read-only because some settings can damage some file systems when used improperly. The hdparm command also works with CD-ROM drives and some SCSI drives.
Syntax:
# hdparm command device
hdparm Command Examples
1. To get the device parameters:
# hdparm /dev/sde
2. To get the sector count of the file system:
# hdparm /dev/sde
3. To get the IDE read ahead look ahead feature
# hdparm -A /dev/sde # hdparm -a /dev/sde
4. To get the bus state (****):
# hdparm -b /dev/sde
5. To get the bus state:
# hdparm -b /dev/sda
6. To query/set the adavanced power management status:
# hdparm -B /dev/sda
7. To query/set the 32 Bit I/O status:
# hdparm -c /dev/sda
8. To see the current IDE power mode status:
# hdparm -C /dev/sda
9. To enable/disable “using_dma” flag:
# hdparm -d /dev/sda
10. To freeze/lock the current drive configuration:
# hdparm --dco-freeze /dev/sda
11. To query and dump information regarding drive configuration settings:
# hdparm --dco-identify /dev/sda
12. To Reset all drive settings:
# hdparm --dco-restore /dev/sda
13. To bypass the page cache for direct reads:
# hdparm --direct /dev/sda
14. To Enable/disable the on-drive defect management feature:
# hdparm -D /dev/sda
15. To set CD / DVD drive speed:
# hdparm -E /dev/sda
16. To sync and flush the buffer cache:
# hdparm -f /dev/sda
17. To Flush the on-drive write cache buffer:
# hdparm -F /dev/sda
18. To Display the drive geometry:
# hdparm -g /dev/sda
19. To display terse usage information:
# hdparm -h /dev/sda
20. To display identification info which kernel drivers have stored:
# hdparm -i /dev/sda
21. To Request identification info directly from the drive:
# hdparm -I /dev/sda
22. To Issue ATA IDLE_IMMEDIATE command, to put the drive into a lower power state:
# hdparm --idle-immediate /dev/sda
23. To Issue an ATA IDLE_IMMEDIATE_WITH_UNLOAD command, to unload or park the heads and put the drive into lower power state:
# hdparm --idle-unload /dev/sda
24. To dumps the driveâs identify data in hex to stdout:
# hdparm --Istdout /dev/sda
25. To Get/set the keep_settings_over_reset flag for the drive:
# hdparm -k /dev/sda
26. To Set the drive’s keep_features_over_reset flag:
# hdparm -K /dev/sda
27. To Set the drive´s doorlock flag:
# hdparm -L /dev/sda
28. To Get/set sector count for multiple sector I/O on the drive:
# hdparm -m /dev/sda
29. To deliberately create a bad sector:
# hdparm --make-bad-sector /dev/sda
30. To Get/set Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) setting:
# hdparm -M /dev/sda
31. To Get/set max visible number of sectors:
# hdparm -N /dev/sda
32. To get/set “ignore write errors” flag in the driver:
# hdparm -n /dev/sda
33. To Attempt to reprogram the IDE interface chipset for the specified PIO mode:
# hdparm -p /dev/sda
34. To set maximum sector count for the drive´s internal prefetch mechanism:
# hdparm -P /dev/sda
35. To Handle the next flag quietly:
# hdparm -q /dev/sda
36. To Put the drive into idle (low-power) mode:
# hdparm -S /dev/sda
37. To perform timings of cache reads for benchmark and comparison purposes:
# hdparm -T /dev/sda
38. To perform timings of device reads for benchmark and comparison purposes:
# hdparm -t /dev/sda
39. To Get/set interrupt-unmask flag for the drive:
# hdparm -u /dev/sda
40. To Display some basic settings:
# hdparm -v
41. To display extra diagnostics from some commands:
# hdparm --verbose
42. To get/set IDE/SATA drive´s write-caching feature:
# hdparm -W /dev/sda
43. To set the IDE transfer mode for (E)IDE/ATA drives:
# hdparm -X /dev/sda
44. To Force an IDE drive to immediately enter the low power consumption standby mode:
# hdparm -y /dev/sda
45. To Force an IDE drive to immediately enter the lowest power consumption sleep mode:
# hdparm -Y /dev/sda
46. To Force a kernel re-read of the partition table of the specified device:
# hdparm -z /dev/sda
47. To Disable the automatic power-saving function of certain Seagate drives:
# hdparm -Z /dev/sda
48. To Read the temperature from some (mostly Hitachi) drives:
# hdparm -H /dev/sda
The hdparm command is a user interface into the kernel libraries and modules. It includes support for modifying parameters as well as reporting them. Use extreme caution when changing these parameters!