unusual hdd activity

The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe settings ,
but it keeps
flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

dick wrote:
The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe settings ,
but it keeps
flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?



Unplug the optical drive, then retest ?

The OS could be polling for media.

If for some reason, a storage device had
a "removable media" rating, it might end
up getting poked as if it was an optical drive.

*******

One thing I learned here the other day, is why
the hard drive light "comes on steady" when the
computer is idle for a while.

Everyone knows WinXP has a defragmenter.

But there is some other monkey business they
put into the OS. There are "prefetch" files
which are intended to speed up the execution
of programs. Your most frequently used programs,
have a ".pf" file for each one.

And Microsoft thought it would be fun to move
those .pf files, to specific places on the disk,
for speed reasons. The defragmenter API is a good
tool for moving files around, and doing it
in a safe manner (i.e. power-safe).

Now, this is all fine and good. I don't have
a problem with occasional lightweight optimization
going on, on the computer.

So I'm hearing a noise coming from the hard drive.
I fire up Process Monitor (sysinternals.com), and
notice a repeating WriteFile operation. It's coming
from dfrg. I'm still not concerned. But then,
I look at the details of the WriteFile. And each
WriteFile operation, is doing a write to the same
sector on the disk (a 4KB write), over and over
and over again. Well, now I'm not happy at all.
If I owned an SSD, such a defect could wear the
damn thing out. It's less likely to damage
a hard drive.

So I've experimented with this Registry setting,
and the behavior has stopped. Notice that this
key is not a normal one (Microsoft uses 0 and 1
for their Boolean variables, and I suspect
the defragmenter company invented this key).

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOpt imizeFunction
Enable Y -- N

So if you want, you can get a copy of Process Monitor
for your own self, and have a look at your problem with
it. You can set the filter to ReadFile and WriteFile,
if that's what you think it is doing. There is a
tick mark under the File menu, that if you remove the tick,
it stops the program from tracing, and you can then
examine the collected info at your leisure. You'll probably
find that Explorer is pulsing the LED on the drive, but
with Process Monitor, if something else is doing it,
you'll see the name in the listing.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...processmonitor

Studying these things doesn't always work out,
but once in a while you get lucky. I have managed
to ignore the above problem for *years*, except
this time, the hard drive was making a noise.
And that got me going...

Paul

On Mon, 15 Feb 2016 17:31:06 -0000, "dick" wrote
in

The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe settings ,
but it keeps
flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?


MS trying to force Win10 onto your machine?
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

CRNG wrote on 2016/02/15:

dick wrote

The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every
second even when idling. I have removed indexing, run in safe mode,
run with bios failsafe settings , but it keeps flashing.

MS trying to force Win10 onto your machine?

For Windows *XP*?

dick wrote:
The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe settings
,
but it keeps flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

As I recall, it's routinely checking the CD/DVD drive as part of "autorun"
(which enables a program to launch after a CD is inserted). And you can
disable it by changing the value of one registry key. I've copied in part
of a PC Magazine article covering this below. The tradeoff is, if you do
this, autorun will not run (launch a CD program automatically) anymore.

"How to Disable Autorun/AutoPlay in Windows XP/Vista", by Eric Griffith
01/30/08

"Dating back to Windows 95 , Autorun allows an inserted CD-ROM to launch a
function automatically, for example by installing a program, when the disc
is inserted. This isn't always good news. It's how some malware, like
rootkits, can be installed without your knowledge. Usually the disc has a
file on it called Autorun.inf that tells it what to do when inserted.

Basic Workaround:
If you hold down the Shift key while inserting a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, you can
bypass Autorun most of the time. It works in Windows 95 to XP, but not in
Windows Vista . Even in older versions of Windows it's not necessarily
foolproof, but it has been successfully used to circumvent some
copy-protection schemes installed on music CDs since around 2004.

Complicated Fix:
To disable Autorun for good in XP/Vista, you need to edit the Registry. As
always, before you edit this database, it's smart to make a backup of it.

Click the Start button, then go to the Run command.

Type regedit and hit Return to open the Registry Editor. (In Vista, you'll
probably have to click OK in the User Account Control warning dialog box.)

Go to the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Cdrom
Double-click on Autorun, and you'll see a default value of 1. Change it to 0
(zero). Then restart the computer.

After you go to all this trouble, don't double-click that autorun.inf file
on the disk it can still run if you do."

On Mon, 15 Feb 2016 12:32:29 -0600, VanguardLH wrote in


CRNG wrote on 2016/02/15:

dick wrote

The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every
second even when idling. I have removed indexing, run in safe mode,
run with bios failsafe settings , but it keeps flashing.

MS trying to force Win10 onto your machine?

For Windows *XP*?

Not likely, but I wouldn't put any degree of probing beyond MS.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On Mon, 15 Feb 2016 12:59:07 -0500, Paul wrote:

Unplug the optical drive, then retest ?

The OS could be polling for media.

If for some reason, a storage device had
a "removable media" rating, it might end
up getting poked as if it was an optical drive.

I concur with this.

The HDD LED indicator on the PC/laptop case is actually connected to all
on-board storage controllers. Be it E/IDE, SCSI, or SATA. Any command
related to any connected storage device's media will trigger the LED. Except
for floppy drive, storage devices that have removable medium such as optical
drives, are one of the storage devices that is periodically checked by the
system. This applies to all PCs, and all modern operating systems (those
that are released after CD-ROM drive technology exists).

Bill,

Go to the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Cdrom
Double-click on Autorun, and you'll see a default value of 1. Change
it to 0 (zero). Then restart the computer.

I'm afraid that that is not sufficient. My 'puter does the same as the OP
describes (blinking the HD led every 10 seconds), and that registry key has
been set to Zero years ago.

Also read this article he
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/.../cc938275.aspx about
NoDriveTypeAutoRun registry setting, which mentions that the autoplay for
CD's is *triggered* by a media change. That would mean polling (and thus
the HD activity led blinking) is not at all needed.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


-- Origional message:
Bill in Co schreef in berichtnieuws
...
dick wrote:
The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every
second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe
settings
,
but it keeps flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

As I recall, it's routinely checking the CD/DVD drive as part of "autorun"
(which enables a program to launch after a CD is inserted). And you can
disable it by changing the value of one registry key. I've copied in part
of a PC Magazine article covering this below. The tradeoff is, if you do
this, autorun will not run (launch a CD program automatically) anymore.

"How to Disable Autorun/AutoPlay in Windows XP/Vista", by Eric Griffith
01/30/08

"Dating back to Windows 95 , Autorun allows an inserted CD-ROM to launch a
function automatically, for example by installing a program, when the disc
is inserted. This isn't always good news. It's how some malware, like
rootkits, can be installed without your knowledge. Usually the disc has a
file on it called Autorun.inf that tells it what to do when inserted.

Basic Workaround:
If you hold down the Shift key while inserting a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, you can
bypass Autorun most of the time. It works in Windows 95 to XP, but not in
Windows Vista . Even in older versions of Windows it's not necessarily
foolproof, but it has been successfully used to circumvent some
copy-protection schemes installed on music CDs since around 2004.

Complicated Fix:
To disable Autorun for good in XP/Vista, you need to edit the Registry. As
always, before you edit this database, it's smart to make a backup of it.

Click the Start button, then go to the Run command.

Type regedit and hit Return to open the Registry Editor. (In Vista, you'll
probably have to click OK in the User Account Control warning dialog box.)

Go to the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Cdrom
Double-click on Autorun, and you'll see a default value of 1. Change it to
0
(zero). Then restart the computer.

After you go to all this trouble, don't double-click that autorun.inf file
on the disk it can still run if you do."

[Default] On Mon, 15 Feb 2016 12:32:29 -0600, in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general VanguardLH wrote:

CRNG wrote on 2016/02/15:

dick wrote

The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every
second even when idling. I have removed indexing, run in safe mode,
run with bios failsafe settings , but it keeps flashing.

MS trying to force Win10 onto your machine?

For Windows *XP*?

They're very pushy.

[Default] On Mon, 15 Feb 2016 17:31:06 -0000, in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general "dick" wrote:

The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe settings ,
but it keeps
flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

Mine is too, but I'm listening to web radio. Sometimes I forget if
it's webradio or real radio. You?

"Bill in Co" wrote in message
...
dick wrote:
The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every
second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe
settings ,
but it keeps flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

As I recall, it's routinely checking the CD/DVD drive as part of "autorun"
(which enables a program to launch after a CD is inserted). And you can
disable it by changing the value of one registry key. I've copied in part
of a PC Magazine article covering this below. The tradeoff is, if you do
this, autorun will not run (launch a CD program automatically) anymore.

"How to Disable Autorun/AutoPlay in Windows XP/Vista", by Eric Griffith
01/30/08

"Dating back to Windows 95 , Autorun allows an inserted CD-ROM to launch a
function automatically, for example by installing a program, when the disc
is inserted. This isn't always good news. It's how some malware, like
rootkits, can be installed without your knowledge. Usually the disc has a
file on it called Autorun.inf that tells it what to do when inserted.

Basic Workaround:
If you hold down the Shift key while inserting a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, you can
bypass Autorun most of the time. It works in Windows 95 to XP, but not in
Windows Vista . Even in older versions of Windows it's not necessarily
foolproof, but it has been successfully used to circumvent some
copy-protection schemes installed on music CDs since around 2004.

Complicated Fix:
To disable Autorun for good in XP/Vista, you need to edit the Registry. As
always, before you edit this database, it's smart to make a backup of it.

Click the Start button, then go to the Run command.

Type regedit and hit Return to open the Registry Editor. (In Vista, you'll
probably have to click OK in the User Account Control warning dialog box.)

Go to the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Cdrom
Double-click on Autorun, and you'll see a default value of 1. Change it to
0 (zero). Then restart the computer.

After you go to all this trouble, don't double-click that autorun.inf file
on the disk it can still run if you do."

Changing that value from 1 to 0 seems to have fixed it.
There is still some hdd activity even when idle but not the continuous
activity
i saw before.

Thanks Bill

"Micky" wrote in message
...
[Default] On Mon, 15 Feb 2016 17:31:06 -0000, in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general "dick" wrote:

The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe settings
,
but it keeps
flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

Mine is too, but I'm listening to web radio. Sometimes I forget if
it's webradio or real radio. You?

No, it happened even when idle.

Most fascinating, Rudy.
I just tried it again, and it works for me (WinXP). If I set Autorun to 0,
it stops polling on its own (with no media change needed). When I set it
back to 1, it starts polling again (blinking the HD LED light, once a
second).

I leave the "Autorun" value at 1, because I think it's handy to have the
Autorun feature enabled. Autoplay may be something a bit different than
Autorun.
That article seems to imply a media change (like insert a CD) is required
for the polling to take place, but it ain't so, over here. :-)

R.Wieser wrote:
Bill,

Go to the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Cdrom
Double-click on Autorun, and you'll see a default value of 1. Change
it to 0 (zero). Then restart the computer.

I'm afraid that that is not sufficient. My 'puter does the same as the OP
describes (blinking the HD led every 10 seconds), and that registry key
has
been set to Zero years ago.

Also read this article he
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/.../cc938275.aspx about
NoDriveTypeAutoRun registry setting, which mentions that the autoplay for
CD's is *triggered* by a media change. That would mean polling (and thus
the HD activity led blinking) is not at all needed.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


-- Origional message:
Bill in Co schreef in berichtnieuws
...
dick wrote:
The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every
second even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe
settings
but it keeps flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

As I recall, it's routinely checking the CD/DVD drive as part of
"autorun"
(which enables a program to launch after a CD is inserted). And you can
disable it by changing the value of one registry key. I've copied in
part
of a PC Magazine article covering this below. The tradeoff is, if you do
this, autorun will not run (launch a CD program automatically) anymore.

"How to Disable Autorun/AutoPlay in Windows XP/Vista", by Eric Griffith
01/30/08

"Dating back to Windows 95 , Autorun allows an inserted CD-ROM to launch
a
function automatically, for example by installing a program, when the
disc
is inserted. This isn't always good news. It's how some malware, like
rootkits, can be installed without your knowledge. Usually the disc has a
file on it called Autorun.inf that tells it what to do when inserted.

Basic Workaround:
If you hold down the Shift key while inserting a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, you can
bypass Autorun most of the time. It works in Windows 95 to XP, but not in
Windows Vista . Even in older versions of Windows it's not necessarily
foolproof, but it has been successfully used to circumvent some
copy-protection schemes installed on music CDs since around 2004.

Complicated Fix:
To disable Autorun for good in XP/Vista, you need to edit the Registry.
As
always, before you edit this database, it's smart to make a backup of it.

Click the Start button, then go to the Run command.

Type regedit and hit Return to open the Registry Editor. (In Vista,
you'll
probably have to click OK in the User Account Control warning dialog
box.)

Go to the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Cdrom
Double-click on Autorun, and you'll see a default value of 1. Change it
to 0
(zero). Then restart the computer.

After you go to all this trouble, don't double-click that autorun.inf
file
on the disk it can still run if you do."

dick wrote:
The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every second
even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe settings ,
but it keeps
flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

When you run in safe mode(s) are your antiviruses and software firewalls OFF?

"Paul" wrote in message
...
dick wrote:
The hdd light on this computer flashes continually about once every
second even when idling.
I have removed indexing, run in safe mode, run with bios failsafe
settings , but it keeps
flashing.

Anyone any ideas why this is happening?

Unplug the optical drive, then retest ?

The OS could be polling for media.

If for some reason, a storage device had
a "removable media" rating, it might end
up getting poked as if it was an optical drive.

The dvd drive is listed in 'my computer' as DVD-RAM drive
although it is identified correctly in 'properties'.

*******
---/ /---
Everyone knows WinXP has a defragmenter.

I don't have any scheduled tasks.

---/ /---

So I'm hearing a noise coming from the hard drive.

Same here.
I replaced a HDD a few months ago because it
developed bad sectors and now the replacement
has just started to make a noise.

---/ /---

I tried process explorer and didn't understand most of what i saw.
I did notice i had several 'buffer overruns' and lots of 'name not
found'.
Are these anything to get worried about?

Thanks for your help

Paul