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Drive Keepalive Tool for Windows

Drive Keepalive

Avoid Selected Hard Drives Entering Sleep Mode for Windows 11

Yes, it's free!

No Trial, No Credit Cards. Enjoy!

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What is Drive Keepalive?

Drive Keepalive is a simple Windows 11 tool that prevents your hard drive from going into automatic standby mode. It works by writing a small text file to your external drive at regular intervals, such as every 180 seconds or any custom interval you choose. You can add multiple drives and configure the tool to start automatically, so you do not need to set it up again every time.

Drive Keepalive is useful for external drives, especially 3.5″ hard drives, that often go to sleep after a period of inactivity. When Windows accesses the drive again, it has to wake up first, which can cause delays, freezes, or unnecessary lag. This tool helps keep the drive active and avoids those interruptions.

Drive Keepalive for Windows

Features

  • Prevent selected hard drives from going into standby or sleep mode
  • Works by writing a small keepalive ping file to the selected drive
  • Supports multiple drives at the same time
  • Allows a different keepalive interval for each drive
  • Lets you select a specific folder on each drive
  • Start and stop each drive individually
  • Automatically detects mounted Windows drives
  • Shows current status for each drive
  • Includes a log window with timestamped activity messages
  • Saves all settings automatically
  • Restores configured drives, intervals, window size, and theme on restart
  • Optional automatic start for enabled drive entries
  • Light mode and dark mode

Version History

Current Version: V1.0
Author: William Sen
Last Updated: June 6, 2026
Compatibility tested with: Windows 11

Windows Volume Mixter FAQ

Drive Keepalive prevents selected hard drives from going into standby or sleep mode by writing a small keepalive file to the drive at regular intervals.

The tool creates or updates a small file called .drive_keepalive_ping on the selected drive. This light activity helps keep the drive active.
Yes. Drive Keepalive is completely free to use. There is no charge, no subscription, and no payment required. I always appreciate a donation, though.
Yes. You can add multiple drive entries and configure each one separately.
Yes. Each drive can have its own keepalive interval in seconds.
Yes. You can select a drive and optionally enter a folder path on that drive. The keepalive file will be written there.
A common setting is 180 seconds. If your drive still goes to sleep, try a shorter interval. If you want less activity, try a longer interval.
No. It only creates or updates a small keepalive file. It does not modify your personal files.
Yes. You can enable Automatic Start so your configured drives start automatically when the tool opens.
Yes. Drive Keepalive saves your configured drives, folders, intervals, window size, automatic start setting, and theme.
No. It is designed as a lightweight Windows desktop tool.

Yes. It is especially useful for external drives, including 3.5″ hard drives, that often go to sleep after a period of inactivity and cause delays when Windows accesses them again.