"Richard Urban" <richardurbanREMOVETHIS@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:utXpRXG9JHA.288@xxxxxx
Quote:
> It sounded like a small metal can with a few nuts and bolts in it being
> shaken.
>
> I removed Avast and it has been quiet for hours. Some kind of interaction
> with the particular hardware in my system I suspect. I am waiting to see
> if it starts up again.
>
> I still have the RMA. I was not going to do a cross ship.
>
> --
>
> Richard Urban
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Desktop Experience
>
>
> "FromTheRafters" <erratic @nomail.afraid.org> wrote in message
> news:%23DqssOG9JHA.4176@xxxxxx Quote:
>> "Richard Urban" <richardurbanREMOVETHIS@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:uWHAucE9JHA.288@xxxxxx Quote:
>>> FOOD FOR THOUGHT
>>>
>>> I was talking to Western Digital today and they gave me an RMA to return
>>> a "defective" 1 gig hard drive that sounded like a garbage truck for the
>>> past 4-5 days. I could hear the drive in the next room while watching
>>> television. I'm glad to say I don't have to return the drive.
>>>
>>> Today I downloaded the beta of Microsoft Security Essentials for testing
>>> purposes. I uninstalled Avast and installed MSE. After a reboot (I
>>> always do this after an install) the hard drive was quiet! The drive had
>>> previously sounded like the heads were slamming into the stops. What a
>>> noise. I also checked my processes in Task Manager and found that one
>>> Avast process had over 22 **BILLION** read accesses within 1/2 hour
>>> after booting up.
>>>
>>> Anyway, all now seems well. I guess it was an Avast update that started
>>> my main hard drive going spastic.
>>
>> I don't see how that is possible. I would still be very suspicious of the
>> harddrive. Thrashing can be software related, but doesn't quite reach
>> "garbage truck" level - not like defective bearings would.
>> > Avast will scan every file (of monitored types) that is being read or
written so something else could be accessing the drive and Avast would just
be responding normally to that activity. When I notice apparently
inexplicable AV activity I activate Avast's detailed info option for the
relevant on-access scanning module, on the Advanced tab under Customize. It
can at least identify the files being scanned and their location. OTOH
whatever was causing it may have completed what it wanted to do while your
AV was uninstalled, so the symptom might never happen again. ;-)