@thebigv wrote:
I just got my new 4600 up and running. I am seeing constant 1 second interval disk activity even when no "programs" running. I have shut off system restore and disk indexing to see if they had anything to do with it. Can anyone help me?? Driving me nuts.
I have the same issue. The green drive indicator light on my new Dimension XPS continually blinks all the time. The rate is about twice per second. All other functions are completely normal. My configuration is two identical SATA drives, no RAID, no background processes that I am aware of, system restore is not set to be active, nor is indexing active. So, why is this happening?
I know it's not normal for a retail copy of WXP Pro to do this. There is NO HD activity from my WXP Pro system when the PC is idling. The only time that I would see regular HD activity is when I download data from the internet.
It could be the Dell diagnostic partition. Perhaps another forum member who has formatted the HD and reloaded the WXP disc could share his/her experience.
I called tech support. They told me to forget about the constant blinking because it had nothing to do with o/s or software, rather, it was to be expected in the high end hardware systems. I could understand that if I had RAID on, but I don't. Apparently the light is wired to not only blink on hard drive activity but also when the integrated Ethernet circuit polls the network. It dosen't matter if you pull the network cable, the motherboard will still generate the polling signals. Let me ask you a question ... on your system, when you do have actual hard drive activity, does the front panel green LED respond as you would normally expect (and then go back to the constant blinking) ? I think that is the situation with my Dimension XPS. It amazes me why Dell has not documented this behavior anywhere that the customers can see.
People who purchase high-end systems are the ones that have the most technical knowledge, and therefore we want to know what's happening inside our equipment. Seems to me that this phenonmenon would be simple enough to slip into the user manual.
Thanks Joel - I will listen carefully to see if there is disk activity or just "blinking". I tried before to disconnect the network cable - didn't change anything. Polling does seem to make some sense, whether USB or network etc. It would be nice if someone would tell us. I would think that a light with a disk icon would in fact be a disk activity light :).
Anyone else find out anything more specific, please post.
I wouldn't consider the 8300s as high-end machines. That said, none of the more expensive machines I've built this year exhibits this behavior. But they don't not come with DELL MBs. An easy test is to visit you local PC store and check out the HD activity light of similarly equipped PCs.
If Indexing Service is enabled for the drive you will see the light blinking while indexing is being performed. If your PC is new or you have just loaded new files and folders, Indexing will run for quite a while until all files are indexed. To turn off indexing, right click the drive, select properties, clear the box for 'Allow Indexing Service'. If you want to allow indexing, but want it to stop running when you're using the computer, leave the box checked, go to administrative tools/computer management. Expand 'Services and Applications', select 'Indexing'. Click Action/All Tasks/Tune Performance, and select 'Used Occasionally'.
Also, the HD light will blink if System Restore is writing to the disk.
Rob
Oops.....I didn't read the original post carefully....sorry. If system restore and indexing are turned off then it can only be due to roaches or aliens from outer space....no need to worry....perfectly normal.
Went to the store to check out a Sony VAIO desktop, model 430. No blinking HD activity light when the PC is IDLING. This system is loaded with WXP using XP's default configurations...Indexing Service, System Restore, etc.... This makes sense, because there is no need to access the HD if the PC is IDLING.
Sounds like this is a unique issue with some DELL PCs.
Yes the light does act "normal" when using the disk (light is coorilated to amount of disk activity). But when the system should be having no disk activity - the constant blink,,,blink,,,blink,,,blink,,, - driving me crazy.
Do you still have an open "issue" with tech support??? I would love to have more detail on this "polling".
I would like hear more Dimension PC owners that Blinking Disk light problem. Some people may not feel this is problem or not. My opinion the light bilinking when my Dimension 8250 is just idling is not normal operation. Still I did not get good response from Dell Support yet.
I received a Dimension 8300 several weeks ago. I did not notice the disk drive light activity or hard drive access at the time. I am noticing it now and have tried several things to troubleshoot the problem.
1. Hard drive light stops flickering when I insert DVD or CD in the 8X DVD+R/RW device.
2. There is hard drive activity by another service or application since I hear the activity every two seconds. When reviewing the I/O write bytes in task manager the svchost.exe and lsass.exe seem to be the culprits.
3. Turning off Hard drive indexing, hard drive caching and system restore does not stop the access.
4. Booting to safe mode does not stop the access
5. Booting into Setup (F2) stops the hard drive access.
@thebigv wrote:
I just got my new 4600 up and running. I am seeing constant 1 second interval disk activity even when no "programs" running. I have shut off system restore and disk indexing to see if they had anything to do with it. Can anyone help me?? Driving me nuts.
My Dimension does the same thing.....when I let it sit for a few minutes...I start hearing activity on the HD and it does not stop until I move the mouse or type something.....this will last FOREVER unless I do something with the mouse or keyboard.....the green light stays on as well......I have sent a support help message to Dell today and have not heard back yet......
rickmktg
2 Intern
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11.9K Posts
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November 28th, 2003 00:00
Black electrical tape...
thebigv
1 Rookie
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November 28th, 2003 02:00
Seriously, is this normal? I have never seen this on NT, 2000, 2000 Server is this something new with XP?? With Dell??
JoelSheridan
8 Posts
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November 29th, 2003 10:00
I have the same issue. The green drive indicator light on my new Dimension XPS continually blinks all the time. The rate is about twice per second. All other functions are completely normal. My configuration is two identical SATA drives, no RAID, no background processes that I am aware of, system restore is not set to be active, nor is indexing active. So, why is this happening?
Francis Nguyen
953 Posts
0
November 29th, 2003 13:00
I know it's not normal for a retail copy of WXP Pro to do this. There is NO HD activity from my WXP Pro system when the PC is idling. The only time that I would see regular HD activity is when I download data from the internet.
It could be the Dell diagnostic partition. Perhaps another forum member who has formatted the HD and reloaded the WXP disc could share his/her experience.
F.
kangs
12 Posts
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November 29th, 2003 23:00
My Dimention 8250 has same blinking problem showed since I owened about 5 Month and over all functions seems OK..
Yesterday and today I contacted Dell Tech. Support to solve the problem that did not helped at all. and wasted my time. (I was talled that is normal.)
I would like to know that How many other Dell PC owner has this kind problem? or It possble the Dell's PC Design like that.
Please post as many as you can for Blinking Disk Activity Light.
Thanks for reading this post.
Happy Holidays
JoelSheridan
8 Posts
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November 30th, 2003 08:00
thebigv
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13 Posts
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November 30th, 2003 12:00
Thanks Joel - I will listen carefully to see if there is disk activity or just "blinking". I tried before to disconnect the network cable - didn't change anything. Polling does seem to make some sense, whether USB or network etc. It would be nice if someone would tell us. I would think that a light with a disk icon would in fact be a disk activity light :).
Anyone else find out anything more specific, please post.
Thanks to all.
Francis Nguyen
953 Posts
0
November 30th, 2003 14:00
I wouldn't consider the 8300s as high-end machines. That said, none of the more expensive machines I've built this year exhibits this behavior. But they don't not come with DELL MBs. An easy test is to visit you local PC store and check out the HD activity light of similarly equipped PCs.
F.
robnalex
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720 Posts
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November 30th, 2003 16:00
If Indexing Service is enabled for the drive you will see the light blinking while indexing is being performed. If your PC is new or you have just loaded new files and folders, Indexing will run for quite a while until all files are indexed. To turn off indexing, right click the drive, select properties, clear the box for 'Allow Indexing Service'. If you want to allow indexing, but want it to stop running when you're using the computer, leave the box checked, go to administrative tools/computer management. Expand 'Services and Applications', select 'Indexing'. Click Action/All Tasks/Tune Performance, and select 'Used Occasionally'.
Also, the HD light will blink if System Restore is writing to the disk.
Rob
Oops.....I didn't read the original post carefully....sorry. If system restore and indexing are turned off then it can only be due to roaches or aliens from outer space....no need to worry....perfectly normal.
Message Edited by robnalex on 11-30-2003 03:31 PM
Message Edited by robnalex on 11-30-2003 03:32 PM
Francis Nguyen
953 Posts
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November 30th, 2003 23:00
Went to the store to check out a Sony VAIO desktop, model 430. No blinking HD activity light when the PC is IDLING. This system is loaded with WXP using XP's default configurations...Indexing Service, System Restore, etc.... This makes sense, because there is no need to access the HD if the PC is IDLING.
Sounds like this is a unique issue with some DELL PCs.
F.
thebigv
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13 Posts
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December 1st, 2003 01:00
Never answered your question - Joel.
Yes the light does act "normal" when using the disk (light is coorilated to amount of disk activity). But when the system should be having no disk activity - the constant blink,,,blink,,,blink,,,blink,,, - driving me crazy.
Do you still have an open "issue" with tech support??? I would love to have more detail on this "polling".
Thanks Again,
Vaughn
Message Edited by thebigv on 11-30-2003 09:54 PM
kangs
12 Posts
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December 3rd, 2003 13:00
Dell Dimension PC owners:
I would like hear more Dimension PC owners that Blinking Disk light problem. Some people may not feel this is problem or not. My opinion the light bilinking when my Dimension 8250 is just idling is not normal operation. Still I did not get good response from Dell Support yet.
Happy Holydays!
jimlr
18 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 15:00
I received a Dimension 8300 several weeks ago. I did not notice the disk drive light activity or hard drive access at the time. I am noticing it now and have tried several things to troubleshoot the problem.
1. Hard drive light stops flickering when I insert DVD or CD in the 8X DVD+R/RW device.
2. There is hard drive activity by another service or application since I hear the activity every two seconds. When reviewing the I/O write bytes in task manager the svchost.exe and lsass.exe seem to be the culprits.
3. Turning off Hard drive indexing, hard drive caching and system restore does not stop the access.
4. Booting to safe mode does not stop the access
5. Booting into Setup (F2) stops the hard drive access.
rickmktg
2 Intern
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11.9K Posts
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December 4th, 2003 01:00
Message Edited by rickmktg on 12-03-2003 10:06 PM
tripdaddy01
10 Posts
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December 4th, 2003 01:00