Vista - Constant HDD activity ?

Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for
this and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that
time, until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little
activity when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts
and emails, etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything
about the system finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity
LED became *incessantly* active. For the past several hours, it has
continually blinked at a rate of at least once per second, nonstop, even
while I'm doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the
situation, I've watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows
"Reliability and Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing
activity; but I have *also* found that, when all read/write activities
periodically cease completely, the HDD activity LED *continues* to
blink. Can anyone help me guess what's going on here?

Background defrag perhaps?

--
Jane, not plain 64 bit enabled :-)
Batteries not included. Braincell on vacation ;-)
"Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
> system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for this
> and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that time,
> until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little activity
> when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts and emails,
> etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything about the
> system finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity LED became
> *incessantly* active. For the past several hours, it has continually
> blinked at a rate of at least once per second, nonstop, even while I'm
> doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the situation, I've
> watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows "Reliability and
> Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing activity; but I
> have *also* found that, when all read/write activities periodically cease
> completely, the HDD activity LED *continues* to blink. Can anyone help me
> guess what's going on here?

Nope. I thought of that and turned it off. No change.

Jane C wrote:
> Background defrag perhaps?
>

its indexing... your files...

annoying isnt it?


"Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
> system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for this
> and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that time,
> until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little activity
> when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts and emails,
> etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything about the
> system finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity LED became
> *incessantly* active. For the past several hours, it has continually
> blinked at a rate of at least once per second, nonstop, even while I'm
> doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the situation, I've
> watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows "Reliability and
> Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing activity; but I
> have *also* found that, when all read/write activities periodically cease
> completely, the HDD activity LED *continues* to blink. Can anyone help me
> guess what's going on here?

Even when Windows Reliability and Performance monitor shows no reading
or writing being done on the HDD? That doesn't make sense to me. The HDD
activity LED is an indicator of reading and/or writing in process.

And more odd thins: I installed SpeedFan a couple of days ago, and was
disappointed to find that it doesn't recognize my mobo or CPU. But,
under its S.M.A.R.T. tab, it *did* recognize me HDD and give me a temp
for it. This afternoon, however, after this other HDD LED problem
started, I also discovered that SpeedFan no longer recognized the
existence of my HDD at all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled SpeedFan
twice since then, and it still no longer sees my HDD. Now, I've also run
SpinRite on the HDD, and although it shows nothing else amiss, it
doesn't show the S.M.A.R.T stuff.

I don't get this at all. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like mere
indexing . . .



michail iakovou yos wrote:
> its indexing... your files...
>
> annoying isnt it?
>
>
> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
> news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
>> system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for this
>> and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that time,
>> until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little activity
>> when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts and emails,
>> etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything about the
>> system finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity LED became
>> *incessantly* active. For the past several hours, it has continually
>> blinked at a rate of at least once per second, nonstop, even while I'm
>> doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the situation, I've
>> watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows "Reliability and
>> Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing activity; but I
>> have *also* found that, when all read/write activities periodically cease
>> completely, the HDD activity LED *continues* to blink. Can anyone help me
>> guess what's going on here?
>
>

is smart enabled in your bios?

Realy strange indeed...


"Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
news:ebnYREVNHHA.3588@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Even when Windows Reliability and Performance monitor shows no reading or
> writing being done on the HDD? That doesn't make sense to me. The HDD
> activity LED is an indicator of reading and/or writing in process.
>
> And more odd thins: I installed SpeedFan a couple of days ago, and was
> disappointed to find that it doesn't recognize my mobo or CPU. But, under
> its S.M.A.R.T. tab, it *did* recognize me HDD and give me a temp for it.
> This afternoon, however, after this other HDD LED problem started, I also
> discovered that SpeedFan no longer recognized the existence of my HDD at
> all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled SpeedFan twice since then, and it
> still no longer sees my HDD. Now, I've also run SpinRite on the HDD, and
> although it shows nothing else amiss, it doesn't show the S.M.A.R.T stuff.
>
> I don't get this at all. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like mere
> indexing . . .
>
>
>
> michail iakovou yos wrote:
>> its indexing... your files...
>>
>> annoying isnt it?
>>
>>
>> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
>> news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
>>> system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for
>>> this and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that
>>> time, until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little
>>> activity when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts
>>> and emails, etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything
>>> about the system finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity
>>> LED became *incessantly* active. For the past several hours, it has
>>> continually blinked at a rate of at least once per second, nonstop, even
>>> while I'm doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the
>>> situation, I've watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows
>>> "Reliability and Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing
>>> activity; but I have *also* found that, when all read/write activities
>>> periodically cease completely, the HDD activity LED *continues* to
>>> blink. Can anyone help me guess what's going on here?
>>

Yep. Just checked.

I've got to get to bed now, but I hope I'll find some new posts with new
ideas awaiting me in the morning. Good night, all.


michail iakovou yos wrote:
> is smart enabled in your bios?
>
> Realy strange indeed...
>
>
> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
> news:ebnYREVNHHA.3588@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> Even when Windows Reliability and Performance monitor shows no reading or
>> writing being done on the HDD? That doesn't make sense to me. The HDD
>> activity LED is an indicator of reading and/or writing in process.
>>
>> And more odd thins: I installed SpeedFan a couple of days ago, and was
>> disappointed to find that it doesn't recognize my mobo or CPU. But, under
>> its S.M.A.R.T. tab, it *did* recognize me HDD and give me a temp for it.
>> This afternoon, however, after this other HDD LED problem started, I also
>> discovered that SpeedFan no longer recognized the existence of my HDD at
>> all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled SpeedFan twice since then, and it
>> still no longer sees my HDD. Now, I've also run SpinRite on the HDD, and
>> although it shows nothing else amiss, it doesn't show the S.M.A.R.T stuff.
>>
>> I don't get this at all. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like mere
>> indexing . . .
>>
>>
>>
>> michail iakovou yos wrote:
>>> its indexing... your files...
>>>
>>> annoying isnt it?
>>>
>>>
>>> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
>>> news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
>>>> system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for
>>>> this and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that
>>>> time, until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little
>>>> activity when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts
>>>> and emails, etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything
>>>> about the system finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity
>>>> LED became *incessantly* active. For the past several hours, it has
>>>> continually blinked at a rate of at least once per second, nonstop, even
>>>> while I'm doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the
>>>> situation, I've watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows
>>>> "Reliability and Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing
>>>> activity; but I have *also* found that, when all read/write activities
>>>> periodically cease completely, the HDD activity LED *continues* to
>>>> blink. Can anyone help me guess what's going on here?
>

I think it is indexing. Since I've been beta testing Vista and
now even with RTM, I find the disk activity settles down after
a couple of days.


-Michael

"Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
news:ODP33UVNHHA.5104@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Yep. Just checked.
>
> I've got to get to bed now, but I hope I'll find some new posts with new ideas awaiting me in
> the morning. Good night, all.
>
>
> michail iakovou yos wrote:
>> is smart enabled in your bios?
>>
>> Realy strange indeed...
>>
>>
>> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
>> news:ebnYREVNHHA.3588@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>> Even when Windows Reliability and Performance monitor shows no reading or writing being
>>> done on the HDD? That doesn't make sense to me. The HDD activity LED is an indicator of
>>> reading and/or writing in process.
>>>
>>> And more odd thins: I installed SpeedFan a couple of days ago, and was disappointed to find
>>> that it doesn't recognize my mobo or CPU. But, under its S.M.A.R.T. tab, it *did* recognize
>>> me HDD and give me a temp for it. This afternoon, however, after this other HDD LED problem
>>> started, I also discovered that SpeedFan no longer recognized the existence of my HDD at
>>> all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled SpeedFan twice since then, and it still no longer
>>> sees my HDD. Now, I've also run SpinRite on the HDD, and although it shows nothing else
>>> amiss, it doesn't show the S.M.A.R.T stuff.
>>>
>>> I don't get this at all. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like mere indexing . . .
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> michail iakovou yos wrote:
>>>> its indexing... your files...
>>>>
>>>> annoying isnt it?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>>> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built system of all-new
>>>>> components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for this and tweaking that and adjusting
>>>>> something else. All during that time, until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended
>>>>> to show little activity when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts
>>>>> and emails, etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything about the system
>>>>> finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity LED became *incessantly* active. For
>>>>> the past several hours, it has continually blinked at a rate of at least once per second,
>>>>> nonstop, even while I'm doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the
>>>>> situation, I've watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows "Reliability and
>>>>> Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing activity; but I have *also* found
>>>>> that, when all read/write activities periodically cease completely, the HDD activity LED
>>>>> *continues* to blink. Can anyone help me guess what's going on here?
>>

"Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
> system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for this
> and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that time,
> until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little activity
> when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing posts and emails,
> etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually everything about the
> system finally all set to my satisfaction, the HDD activity LED became
> *incessantly* active. For the past several hours, it has continually
> blinked at a rate of at least once per second, nonstop, even while I'm
> doing absolutely nothing with the pc. Investigating the situation, I've
> watched the disk read/write activity in the Windows "Reliability and
> Performance" window and have noticed a LOT of indexing activity; but I
> have *also* found that, when all read/write activities periodically cease
> completely, the HDD activity LED *continues* to blink. Can anyone help me
> guess what's going on here?

From what I understand, for the first few days post install, Vista indexes
your files to make for faster searching. It should settle down. I would
say if its still doing the same after the next 48 hours then maybe something
else is going on.

Strange indeed. Be prepared for the worst. There is a possibility that the
drive is failing.

--
Jane, not plain 64 bit enabled :-)
Batteries not included. Braincell on vacation ;-)
"Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
news:ODP33UVNHHA.5104@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Yep. Just checked.
>
> I've got to get to bed now, but I hope I'll find some new posts with new
> ideas awaiting me in the morning. Good night, all.
>
>
> michail iakovou yos wrote:
>> is smart enabled in your bios?
>>
>> Realy strange indeed...
>>
>>
>> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
>> news:ebnYREVNHHA.3588@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>> Even when Windows Reliability and Performance monitor shows no reading
>>> or writing being done on the HDD? That doesn't make sense to me. The HDD
>>> activity LED is an indicator of reading and/or writing in process.
>>>
>>> And more odd thins: I installed SpeedFan a couple of days ago, and was
>>> disappointed to find that it doesn't recognize my mobo or CPU. But,
>>> under its S.M.A.R.T. tab, it *did* recognize me HDD and give me a temp
>>> for it. This afternoon, however, after this other HDD LED problem
>>> started, I also discovered that SpeedFan no longer recognized the
>>> existence of my HDD at all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled SpeedFan
>>> twice since then, and it still no longer sees my HDD. Now, I've also run
>>> SpinRite on the HDD, and although it shows nothing else amiss, it
>>> doesn't show the S.M.A.R.T stuff.
>>>
>>> I don't get this at all. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like mere
>>> indexing . . .
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> michail iakovou yos wrote:
>>>> its indexing... your files...
>>>>
>>>> annoying isnt it?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Daze N. Knights" <Daze@microchip.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:Oc5A2eUNHHA.4172@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>>> Three days ago, I installed Vista 32 Ultimate RTM on a freshly built
>>>>> system of all-new components. Since then, I've been finding a fix for
>>>>> this and tweaking that and adjusting something else. All during that
>>>>> time, until this afternoon, the HDD activity LED tended to show little
>>>>> activity when I wasn't actually using the pc or while just typing
>>>>> posts and emails, etc. But suddenly, this afternoon, with virtually
>>>>> everything about the system finally all set to my satisfaction, the
>>>>> HDD activity LED became *incessantly* active. For the past several
>>>>> hours, it has continually blinked at a rate of at least once per
>>>>> second, nonstop, even while I'm doing absolutely nothing with the pc.
>>>>> Investigating the situation, I've watched the disk read/write activity
>>>>> in the Windows "Reliability and Performance" window and have noticed a
>>>>> LOT of indexing activity; but I have *also* found that, when all
>>>>> read/write activities periodically cease completely, the HDD activity
>>>>> LED *continues* to blink. Can anyone help me guess what's going on
>>>>> here?
>>