hard drive wont stop running!!

lord lucan · Sep 26, 2009

my hard drive wont stop kicking in every 30 seconds or so, wuurring away like a motorbike revving. ive been watching on the task manager and nothing is showing when it does it. ive got about 15% empty space on my hard drive and it doesnt affect the speed of the pc.
ive closed down all the virus/ monitoring applications to see if that helps and it doesnt. i give up now, its doing my head in all the time, sounds like its going to take off every minute or so.:cry

dlb · Sep 26, 2009

You didn't mention which version of Windows you're running, but I think the reason your drive is spinning up constantly is directly related to the lack of space on the drive. I think that as the PC is being used, and with such a small amount of free space, Windows is constantly adjusting the paging file and virtual memory, and possibly trying free up some space, which is something you should SERIOUSLY consider doing yourself. Uninstall any programs that you haven't used in couple months, use a cleaner (ATF-Cleaner and CCleaner and Clean Up! are my favorites for WinXP) to get rid of junk/temp files, purge the System Restore folder and adjust the size of it downward to gain some space, and uninstall any old Java updates from Add/Remove Programs (I've seen PCs with over 10 of these updates at about 100mb-135mb each).... then run a deep optimize/defrag (I like MyDefrag and QuickSys Defrag for really deep defragging). Good luck! I hope this helps!!!

(BTW- with new hard drives being so cheap these days -you can find 500gb SATA desktop drives at Newegg for under $60 US http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...gb_internal_hard_drive-_-22-136-073-_-Product - you might consider just upgrading to a larger unit)

lord lucan · Sep 27, 2009

thanks for the help im running xp pro.

lord lucan · Sep 27, 2009

will my machine take sata by the way? im not that good on this kind of stuff.

lord lucan · Sep 27, 2009

sorry there's no edit. ive just deleted over half of my hd its an 80gb hd and its still wurring away like no tomorrow. Doing my head in.

Dreamer · Sep 27, 2009

You say the drive is "wuurring" like a motorbike? Now does this also sound like a churning, grindy like sound?

lord lucan · Sep 27, 2009

the sound is perfectly normal for the drive its just constantly kicking in over and over. i was told to turn the indexing off on the c drive. that hasn't worked either.

lord lucan · Sep 30, 2009

anyone? its driving me mad.

plodr · Oct 1, 2009

Windows is constantly adjusting the paging file and virtual memory, and possibly trying free up some space
Click to expand...

dlb pointed this out. You failed to mention how much RAM and also the size of the swap file.
Do you have indexing turned on or off?
What security apps are you running?

the mekanic · Oct 1, 2009

Let's get down to the nitty gritty.

What is your make, model, and possibly year of the PC?

Under Start > Control Panel > System you can find out what your CPU, memory, and Windows Service Pack is.

That way, we have a better idea what, if any, hardware limitations you may have.

In addition, what type of anti-virus, and anti-spyware are you running?

sach2 · Oct 2, 2009

Please post answers to plodr's and mekanic's questions.

Also get something like Belarc advisor and check the S.M.A.R.T. status of the drive. From my experience when HD(s) audibly start being accessed it is a hint that they are beginning to fail. Doesn't always have to be a grinding sound but just a click on and off every couple of minutes says somethings wrong.

lord lucan · Oct 2, 2009

OK here goes i have

xp pro 2002 sp2

Intel pentium (R) 3.00Ghz , 1 GB ram.

i run all the security as recommended on here, which i went through individually and disabled them all to see if it was any of them. i also disabled any other program i had running and also all the progs on the start up bar i could see. I have turned off indexing on the c drive.
Im afraid you'll have to explain what a swap file is exactly sorry, im not sure?

apps

spyblaster
Spybot S&D
AVG free
superspywareblaster

plodr · Oct 2, 2009

hmmm, I've heard and run superantispyware and spywareblaster but I've never heard of superspywareblaster.
In Spybot S&D, check to be sure Teatimer is off. I don't know if that would cause the hard drive churning you hear but I do know having it on can cause problems.

Swap file or page file or virtual memory (the three terms are used interchangeably) is a space on your hard drive that windows uses when it needs more RAM.
You will read and hear all kinds of guidelines as to how large or small this should be (if you want to start an argument in a forum, all you have to do is make a statement about the size of the swap file).
I do not let windows handle mine; others will argue about this too.
I set the maximum and minimum the same simply because I feel that with windows not constantly having to increase or decrease the size, there is less hard drive activity. Again, this can stir up an argument. :-D

I would say, if you have a lot of hard drive space left, set it high and see if the hd activity stops. If not, you can always change it back to what it was.

Here's how to change it (write down the current settings before you alter them)
http://computermemoryupgrade.mysuperpc.com/virtual_memory_swap_file_size.shtml
follow the pictures at the top for XP.

lord lucan · Oct 6, 2009

ok ive done all this and its still doing it!?!??!
it is superantispyware what i have i dont know where i got the other name from and also teatimer is off.

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