This is actually a software question not hardware even though it may seem to be hardware. What do you have the options set to in power management for all items including the hard drive?
I looked at the Power Options section of Control Panel and my screen is set to turn off after 15 minutes, the hard drive is set to turn off after 5 minutes...standby is never and hibernation is never.....I played with all of these and it still has activity once the computer goes into screen saver and continues after the screen cuts off....once I move the mouse, the activity stops....no change with any configuration......but I am not sure this is the section of power you are referring to.....please illaborate for the illiterate....thanks
It seems that you're referring to drive activity when you're not using the computer rather than high CPU usage.
If your drive is set to allow indexing, the indexing service would cause drive activity when you're not using the computer. Also, system restore could be writing to the disk. Any program that is set to run in the background could be writing to the hard disk when you're not using the PC.
It seems that you're referring to drive activity when you're not using the computer rather than high CPU usage.
If your drive is set to allow indexing, the indexing service would cause drive activity when you're not using the computer. Also, system restore could be writing to the disk. Any program that is set to run in the background could be writing to the hard disk when you're not using the PC.
That is exactly what is happening.....drive activity.....thanks for clear description....mine was rather poor.
So what can I do to fix this....how do I find out if it is allowing indexing?
How do I check or change programs so that they do not run in the background?
And how do I check to see if system restore is writing to the disk?
Your computer might be running a bunch of programs that you don't know about...click on START then RUN and then type in MSCONFIG and click OK...then click on the STARTUP tab and uncheck the programs that you don't need but be shure you know what programs your removing...ie don't remove LOADPOWERPROFILE or anything your not shure about but remove things like KAZAA, AIM, MSN, IMESH, REAL PLAYER, QUICK TIME, etc...after that click OK and reboot your computer...it should stop your computer from processing unwanted things while idoling
Intel Pentium 4 - 3.40GHz Prescott Beta 800FSB ASUS P4P800E Motherboard 2 GB RAM (2- 2 512 MB duel pairs) 80 GB HD 52-32-52 CD-RW Geforce 4 Ti 4600 Creative Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound Windows XP Pro
Indexing is enabled by default. Right click on your C: Drive in 'my computer' then select properties. At the bottom of the window you will see a check box followed by 'Allow Indexing service to index this disk for fast file searching'. Some people elect do disable indexing. You might want to learn more before disabling it so that you can make an informed decision.
System restore is also enabled by default. Right click 'my computer' then 'properties' to see if it's on or off. Or go to control panel/system.
Regarding other services and programs running in the background: Some of these are unnecessary and others are needed. Some can be eliminated from the startup menu through 'msconfig' and others can be configured through 'services' (control panel/administrative tools).
Please don't go disabling and removing stuff until you've done some research or you can create a mess for yourself. Overall computer performance can be improved by eliminating uneeded background applications and programs, but nothing that is running on your machine right now is hurting anything. Do your homework before you start changing things around. You can find lots of help and information on this forum and through other sources.
Rob
P.S. Tripdaddy01 wrote: "So what can I do to fix this....how do I find out if it is allowing indexing? How do I check or change programs so that they do not run in the background? And how do I check to see if system restore is writing to the disk?"
I actually have cleaned up my startup through an MSCONFIG a few weeks ago...was having trouble running some video editing software....There are very few things running now in that. I did not eliminate everything, but I was told by a Dell support rep that I could eliminate just about everything accept the virus scan. (McAfee) The computer runs fine otherwise....just has the drive activity when it is idle....in fact. I noticed that it starts all the activity if the mouse sits untouched for a few minutes.....I thought it was just when it went to screensaver, but it is actually happening before that....if I move the mouse...it stops.
This is really mind boggling and I am worried it is overworking the drive.....
What is so 'mind boggling'? It's either indexing, system restore or some other service or application, and it's not 'overworking' or hurting your drive. If you don't want the indexing service you can turn it off or modify its performance in 'computer management'. If you don't want system restore you can turn it off. If there are other services you don't want running you can modify them in 'services'. I really think you're overreacting.
It is not an indexing issue. I turned that off last night and it made no difference. I will try system restore and see if that makes a difference. If I knew what other services were causing the problem, I would fix them so that they don't cause this....but I don't know what they are and I don't know how to find out....that is why I am using this forum......You may think that I am overreacting, but a drive that runs constant (absolutely no break in action) for over 12 hours does not seem right....and I would like to fix it....but as I mentioned, this is where I need help.
What is so 'mind boggling'? It's either indexing, system restore or some other service or application, and it's not 'overworking' or hurting your drive. If you don't want the indexing service you can turn it off or modify its performance in 'computer management'. If you don't want system restore you can turn it off. If there are other services you don't want running you can modify them in 'services'. I really think you're overreacting.
Sorry, but I don't think you mentioned before that the drive "runs constant (absolutely no break in action) for over 12 hours." If this is the case, and indexing is turned off, then I would investigate to find out what it is. I would call Dell and try to get some help with this. For instance, I have indexing ON (set to occasionally in computer management) and I have system restore ON, and my drive does not run constantly. Even as I type this, it's not doing a thing.
See this thread for others who seem to have the same issue:
Well, I see it is an issue others are having.....but no solutions yet....I have a message into support and am waiting for a response......nothing yet and that was this morning....
Well I seem to have solved the problem.....when I disabled the indexing the way you described (as I mentioned I did last night by right clicking My Computer etc.....it did nothing) But when I go throught mscofig and click the services tab then uncheck indexing...it now has stopped...not sure why one way would do it and the other would not.....I also unchecked "McAfee.com online realtime engine" thinking maybe it was something to do with my cable modem and the virus scan software.....seem to have read something about that somewhere as a potential problem.....needless to say, the drive is not showing any activity when idle for now.....lets see if the problem is truly solved.....
Glad to hear that you're getting it figured out! As I mentioned before, indexing can be disabled in the services menu: control panel/administrative tools/services. Also, the behavior of indexing can be modified by going to control panel/administrative tools/ computer management. In the left window pane, expand 'services and applications', select Indexing Services. At the top of the window select action/all tasks/tune performance. Under 'Indexing Service Usage' if you select 'used occasionally' indexing will continue to run, but will stop automatically when you are using the computer, which is the way I have it set.
LittleAdvice
1.1K Posts
0
December 2nd, 2003 19:00
tripdaddy01,
This is actually a software question not hardware even though it may seem to be hardware. What do you have the options set to in power management for all items including the hard drive?
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 01:00
I looked at the Power Options section of Control Panel and my screen is set to turn off after 15 minutes, the hard drive is set to turn off after 5 minutes...standby is never and hibernation is never.....I played with all of these and it still has activity once the computer goes into screen saver and continues after the screen cuts off....once I move the mouse, the activity stops....no change with any configuration......but I am not sure this is the section of power you are referring to.....please illaborate for the illiterate....thanks
robnalex
2 Intern
•
720 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 01:00
It seems that you're referring to drive activity when you're not using the computer rather than high CPU usage.
If your drive is set to allow indexing, the indexing service would cause drive activity when you're not using the computer. Also, system restore could be writing to the disk. Any program that is set to run in the background could be writing to the hard disk when you're not using the PC.
Rob
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 02:00
It seems that you're referring to drive activity when you're not using the computer rather than high CPU usage.
If your drive is set to allow indexing, the indexing service would cause drive activity when you're not using the computer. Also, system restore could be writing to the disk. Any program that is set to run in the background could be writing to the hard disk when you're not using the PC.
That is exactly what is happening.....drive activity.....thanks for clear description....mine was rather poor.
So what can I do to fix this....how do I find out if it is allowing indexing?
How do I check or change programs so that they do not run in the background?
And how do I check to see if system restore is writing to the disk?
TamerLee
3 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 04:00
Your computer might be running a bunch of programs that you don't know about...click on START then RUN and then type in MSCONFIG and click OK...then click on the STARTUP tab and uncheck the programs that you don't need but be shure you know what programs your removing...ie don't remove LOADPOWERPROFILE or anything your not shure about but remove things like KAZAA, AIM, MSN, IMESH, REAL PLAYER, QUICK TIME, etc...after that click OK and reboot your computer...it should stop your computer from processing unwanted things while idoling
Intel Pentium 4 - 3.40GHz Prescott Beta 800FSB
ASUS P4P800E Motherboard
2 GB RAM (2- 2 512 MB duel pairs)
80 GB HD
52-32-52 CD-RW
Geforce 4 Ti 4600
Creative Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound
Windows XP Pro
robnalex
2 Intern
•
720 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 05:00
Tripdaddy01-
Indexing is enabled by default. Right click on your C: Drive in 'my computer' then select properties. At the bottom of the window you will see a check box followed by 'Allow Indexing service to index this disk for fast file searching'. Some people elect do disable indexing. You might want to learn more before disabling it so that you can make an informed decision.
System restore is also enabled by default. Right click 'my computer' then 'properties' to see if it's on or off. Or go to control panel/system.
Regarding other services and programs running in the background: Some of these are unnecessary and others are needed. Some can be eliminated from the startup menu through 'msconfig' and others can be configured through 'services' (control panel/administrative tools).
Please don't go disabling and removing stuff until you've done some research or you can create a mess for yourself. Overall computer performance can be improved by eliminating uneeded background applications and programs, but nothing that is running on your machine right now is hurting anything. Do your homework before you start changing things around. You can find lots of help and information on this forum and through other sources.
Rob
P.S. Tripdaddy01 wrote: "So what can I do to fix this....how do I find out if it is allowing indexing? How do I check or change programs so that they do not run in the background? And how do I check to see if system restore is writing to the disk?"
IF IT AIN'T BROKE (AND IT ISN'T) DON'T FIX IT!
Message Edited by robnalex on 12-03-2003 01:45 AM
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 12:00
I actually have cleaned up my startup through an MSCONFIG a few weeks ago...was having trouble running some video editing software....There are very few things running now in that. I did not eliminate everything, but I was told by a Dell support rep that I could eliminate just about everything accept the virus scan. (McAfee) The computer runs fine otherwise....just has the drive activity when it is idle....in fact. I noticed that it starts all the activity if the mouse sits untouched for a few minutes.....I thought it was just when it went to screensaver, but it is actually happening before that....if I move the mouse...it stops.
This is really mind boggling and I am worried it is overworking the drive.....
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 18:00
What is so 'mind boggling'? It's either indexing, system restore or some other service or application, and it's not 'overworking' or hurting your drive. If you don't want the indexing service you can turn it off or modify its performance in 'computer management'. If you don't want system restore you can turn it off. If there are other services you don't want running you can modify them in 'services'. I really think you're overreacting.
It is not an indexing issue. I turned that off last night and it made no difference. I will try system restore and see if that makes a difference. If I knew what other services were causing the problem, I would fix them so that they don't cause this....but I don't know what they are and I don't know how to find out....that is why I am using this forum......You may think that I am overreacting, but a drive that runs constant (absolutely no break in action) for over 12 hours does not seem right....and I would like to fix it....but as I mentioned, this is where I need help.
robnalex
2 Intern
•
720 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 18:00
What is so 'mind boggling'? It's either indexing, system restore or some other service or application, and it's not 'overworking' or hurting your drive. If you don't want the indexing service you can turn it off or modify its performance in 'computer management'. If you don't want system restore you can turn it off. If there are other services you don't want running you can modify them in 'services'. I really think you're overreacting.
Rob
robnalex
2 Intern
•
720 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 19:00
Sorry, but I don't think you mentioned before that the drive "runs constant (absolutely no break in action) for over 12 hours." If this is the case, and indexing is turned off, then I would investigate to find out what it is. I would call Dell and try to get some help with this. For instance, I have indexing ON (set to occasionally in computer management) and I have system restore ON, and my drive does not run constantly. Even as I type this, it's not doing a thing.
See this thread for others who seem to have the same issue:
http://delltalk.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_harddrive&message.id=57227
Rob
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
0
December 4th, 2003 01:00
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
0
December 4th, 2003 03:00
robnalex
2 Intern
•
720 Posts
0
December 4th, 2003 04:00
Glad to hear that you're getting it figured out! As I mentioned before, indexing can be disabled in the services menu: control panel/administrative tools/services. Also, the behavior of indexing can be modified by going to control panel/administrative tools/ computer management. In the left window pane, expand 'services and applications', select Indexing Services. At the top of the window select action/all tasks/tune performance. Under 'Indexing Service Usage' if you select 'used occasionally' indexing will continue to run, but will stop automatically when you are using the computer, which is the way I have it set.
Rob
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
0
December 4th, 2003 12:00