1. Hdparm -- I don't know where this program disappeared to, it seems to me it is probably part of the Linux install, but it didn't seem to be in my install anywhere.  I retrieved the program from the web.
   
   This is a useful utility for setting various harddisk parameters.  It may be that changing some of the default parameters will speed up harddisk access, though I couldn't find anything that would make a big difference on my computer.  
   
   However, my main interest in this program was to make sure the harddisk would "spool down" when it was inactive.  This can be accomplished by running "hdparm -S24 /dev/hda" (assuming the harddisk is hda).  This sets the spool down to 2 minutes inactive.  Unless you put the command into the setup scripts, you will have to run this again every time, since it is not a permanent change.  Also, it must be run from "root."
   
   Unfortunately, there are a number of programs that make frequent calls to the harddisk, so there are some other changes you must make to truly get the harddisk to suspend.  At this moment, I don't recall what other changes to make.
   
   
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