Thrashing Hard Disk

[GranSalseron]

That "thrashing" sound is the solenoid for the stylii on
the drive chattering. It can't decide whether it wants to
be in the on position or the off position. That is
usually an indication that the hard drive is getting ready
to fail.

It might be a virus, also. So scan your system for that
first.

Try to find some diagnostics software from your hard drive
manufacturer but be careful because some of the
diagnostics software is destructive, in that some of the
tests will destroy data on the disk.

The diagnostics software usually runs in dos on diskette
but others can run limited tests in windows. That depends
on the mfr.

>-----Original Message-----
>Periodically, my hard disk starts thrashing.
>This event can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to
hours.
>It does not seem to be related to any application that I
manually start such
>as OutLook Express, Internet Explorer, etc because it can
occur with all
>applications closed or some running.
>Also, it * really * slows down all open applications.
>
>I tried checking the task manager after the thrashing
starts and 'system
>idle' seems to be taking up about 98-99% of the cpu.
>
>All suggestions are appreciated.
>
>TIA.
>
>
>--
>
>Regards,
>
>Allan C
>
>
>.
>

[Allan C]

I don't think it is hard drive seeking a track that it can't find or
something similar.
Also, we are running a virus scan full time as well as doing a complete hard
disk check every 1-2 weeks.
I have disabled the indexing service as suggested in this thread and post a
follow-up if the problem is not resolved.

--

Regards,

Allan C
"GranSalseron" > wrote in message
...
> That "thrashing" sound is the solenoid for the stylii on
> the drive chattering. It can't decide whether it wants to
> be in the on position or the off position. That is
> usually an indication that the hard drive is getting ready
> to fail.
>
> It might be a virus, also. So scan your system for that
> first.
>
> Try to find some diagnostics software from your hard drive
> manufacturer but be careful because some of the
> diagnostics software is destructive, in that some of the
> tests will destroy data on the disk.
>
> The diagnostics software usually runs in dos on diskette
> but others can run limited tests in windows. That depends
> on the mfr.
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Periodically, my hard disk starts thrashing.
> >This event can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to
> hours.
> >It does not seem to be related to any application that I
> manually start such
> >as OutLook Express, Internet Explorer, etc because it can
> occur with all
> >applications closed or some running.
> >Also, it * really * slows down all open applications.
> >
> >I tried checking the task manager after the thrashing
> starts and 'system
> >idle' seems to be taking up about 98-99% of the cpu.
> >
> >All suggestions are appreciated.
> >
> >TIA.
> >
> >
> >--
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >Allan C
> >
> >
> >.
> >