@KnightZ87

Have a look at this article about hdparm! There are many settings you can tweak!

Tune Your Hard Disk with hdparm:
http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Features/Tune-Your-Hard-Disk-with-hdparm

You could also set the sleep/standby timer to a longer time!

Change hard drive's sleep/standby mode timer to reduce power consumption:
https://linuxconfig.org/change-hard-drive-s-sleep-standby-mode-timer-to-reduce-power-consumption

Spin Down and Manage Hard Drive Power on Raspberry Pi
https://www.htpcguides.com/spin-down-and-manage-hard-drive-power-on-raspberry-pi/

If you are still using the EasyHax setup try the following.

Make sure you are using the updated version that runs from the RetroPie menu

Format the drive to NTFS and create a “roms” folder at the root of the drive. (do not transfer ROMs yet)

Run the Expand to External Drive (Disable) to remove any previous setups.

Plug External Hard drive to Raspbery Pie

Run the Expand to External Drive (Enable) - Pi will shutdown.

Plug External Hard Drive into your PC. There should now be a full selection of folders in your “roms” directory. Place your roms into the desired system and it should be good to go.

@RoswellWitness if you are experiencing overheating, then I'd probably put a heatsink and/or fan combo (this way you don't cause your pi to underclock). If you have a good heatsink, you more than likely won't need a fan. If you decide on just a heatsink, I'd stay away from the really small ones. Most people report that they do little to help.

When looking for a good heatsink, the more surface area to air that it has, the better it will work (this is why heatsinks typically have fins). I've heard people mention the flirc case here as a solid option. The reason for this is that the upper half of the case is the heatsink, so there is a good amount of surface area exposed to air (at least as far as I can tell that's the reason.

Another thing to consider is ventilation of the case. is the heat getting trapped inside, or is it allowed to leave the case?