Vista x64 Constant HDD Action

Hello

I am having problem with Vista Ultimate x64 constantly read/writing to my HDD's (temporarily using 2*200GB Raid0). I have disabled Vista Search indexing as described here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532.

Also noticing lots of activity on one of my cores (primary core at 80-90%, other 3 cores idle) - even with the system sitting idle. Looked at Task Manager but can't find anything that is using that much power. RAM usage is at 47% (4GB DDR800) when running just a browser.

Is there any application I can run to check what is being written to disk and what service/application is doing it? I have the feeling its a Vista service of some sort that is acting up. I've done a full scan with NOD Smart Security as well as with windows defender with no threats found (all definitions are up to date).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks
/Saad

 

Have you tried shutting Superfetch off? I did and am very happy I did, even though there are others who swear by it.

 

Thanks for the reply.

Just went in and stopped the service in the services window, didn't help all that much - CPU usage fell by 3% on core 1 at most, HDD is still active all the time.


/Saad

 

Maybe take a look at this thread?

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=91679

 

Are you sure you don't have Virus scan running?

 

Thanks for the replies. I have Super Fetch, Volume Indexing, Ready Boost and Windows Search diabled, still trashing the HDD. Also diabled NOD A/V (would have shut down any searching that may have been on going) and that didn't help either.


/Saad

 

In Vista, Defrag runs automatically once a week by default, and Defender runs a scan daily by default.

System Restore and Windows Update may also cause disk access for a minute or two each day.

That's too bad because it's a nice feature... and the performance hit is mainly when you first turn it on while it builds the index.

In Task Mgr., Programs tab, click the "Show for all users" button, and click the CPU column (maybe twice) to sort by CPU.

Yes, in the Task Mgr, Performance tab, click Resource Monitor... then open up the "Disk" section... it should be by default sorted by what's been accessing the disk the most recently.

If it shows a lot of activity from svchost.exe, then you can check the PID and go to taskmgr's Services tab and sort by PID to see what services are running in that process.

 

Thanks for all the help guys!

As it turns out the SATA HDD cable was not properly installed and was clamped only halfway over the connectors. Re-seating the HDDs and installing the cables again seems to have corrected the problem.

What Vista services should I re-enable?


Thanks,
/Saad

 

superfetch is a core function for vista.

if you stop and observe your machine's activity, does this carry on for the entire time the machine is on ? or just shortly after startup. Windows Vista is a learning OS and it observes what you do, over the course of a week or so after install, it begins pre-caching programs it anticipates you will use. but so far after 2-3 weeks of running it....my machine's activity goes to almost zero about 2 mins after startup.

the only other thing i can think of is was not a clean install of the OS and/or you have a ton of bloat that's running in the background (either in the taskbar or as a startup item when you type msconfig).

overall Vista is the best windows i've seen to date, when it's properly administered and used it will almost never hickup or barf on you.

I strongly suggest you go here http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html and download that guide. it's helped me a lot.

 

All of the ones you disabled. Unless you understand what a service does, what it's there for, and why it's enabled by default... and determined that you don't need or want that functionality.

It's core in the sense that it comes with Vista. It's not core in the sense of being necessary. Vista works fine with it either enabled or disabled.

Superfetch makes frequently-used programs load faster (and yes it does work), but the cost is that it does access the disk a lot when you're not trying to load programs (and especially right after you close a program). So it's just a tradeoff. You can try it both ways and see which you prefer.

I agree, but I'd add that lousy drivers can really spoil the fun too. (I know.)

Looks like a good guide... it's a lot to read though!

 

that guide i pointed out is just one of many on that site. dude must have alot of time on his hands or something....

i haven't seen much activity on my machine for more than 2 weeks now. i think superfetch mostly does it's thing at startup. now if we can only get windows to start loading our programs as soon as i move my fingers towards the keyboard and mouse, that would be neat...

 

You make an interesting point. I had superfetch on before I did my clean install and I hated it. I understand the concept behind it, but it would just slam my harddrive relentlessly for many weeks and for long after boot. I have done a clean install and upgraded my harddrive now. Maybe I will try turning it on again and see if it is any better.

 

not really. i have a fresh install now for about 3 weeks. my HDD activity is zero when i am not doing anything on my machine.

it only takes about a week or so for vista to adapt (he he....like the borg ?)

i guess if you're active and always installing/uninstalling stuff and you use an array of software throughout the year, then i can see having more HDD activity than normal.

like i said before, vista is the best windows OS i have seen to date. i've been using pc's since back in the day of Commodore 128. dos...check, windows 3.1....check, windows 95.....check, etc....

i also used macs and unix.

dunno why Vista is getting slammed by so many. perhaps there are more ppl than i thought that don't know how to administer a pc properly, so all the crap-ware, etc. programs that cause more bad than good but you can be assured it's not your install of Vista (unless you commited the horrific act of "Upgrading" from a previous version).

 

What do you mean not really? This is what happened to me.

And No, I did a clean install now, not an upgrade. Like I said I am willing to try it again, but when I tried it on the install that came from the factory, I did not like it AT ALL. My harddrive light was on constantly even though my usage of hardware and software was pretty basic(and no it did not reduce after a week or so for me). I am not a noob to computers, I have used all the OSs you mentioned and more. My comments were not directly toward Vista, they were directed at Superfetch, which I am not a fan of, since it did not help me, but everybody has their own options/experiences. I suggested to the OP to turn Superfetch off, since he/she experienced abnormally high harddrive activity, which was exactly my experience with my machine. Personally, I did not notice any speed/performance increase from Superfetch, just a lot of harddrive activity.

 

I just reverted all the default Vista settings, processor usage is at 1-2% whilst HDD activity is close to 0 when the system is sitting idle. Strange how an improperly seated SATA cable can drive a processor core to 80% usage and constantly thrash the HDD.

I do agree that Vista is an okay OS, but I like the command line feel of a Unix based OS - its a personal preference.

Thanks for all the help and insight.


/Saad

 

is there anything else you'd like to confess ?

 

I suggest you give PowerShell a try.

 

Nice, a little bit of lag but nice to see MS has neglected the shell user


Thanks
/Saad