R
R. McCarty
Guest
Re: Hard drive light flickers continuously.
Even without any foreground applications open and running an XP
system is going to have disk activity. My system is configured with
a minimum of background services ( 39 ). This includes AV ( Nod32 )
and Zone Alarm "Free" Firewall with Windows Defender.
Using SysInternals FileMon and DiskMon I log at least 73 read &
write operations per minute. During this watched interval I can see
the faceplate LED illuminate maybe 8 to 9 flashes.
Most file activity ( not necessarily a disk read or write ) deals with
Vsmon ( Zone Alarm ) Svchost calls and NOD32's resident monitor.
I don't doubt that you're having consistent disk access, it just may
not be excessive. One piece of information missing in this issue is the
applications you have loaded on the PC.
"John Corliss" <jcorliss@fake.invalid> wrote in message
news:13q47k8133n18d2@corp.supernews.com...
> Thanks for replying. I set all the power settings at "Never" the day
> before yesterday, didn't stop the flickering.
>
> A little while ago, I opened "Services" in Administrative Tools and, one
> by one, started turning all of them off that I could. I finally got down
> to the ones I can't turn off and even THAT didn't stop the hard drive
> light from flickering.
>
> Damn... I just snatched the last hair out of my scalp. I'm bald as a
> billiard now. 80)>
>
> Unknown wrote:
>> In control panel---power options do you have "turn off hard disks"? If
>> so, set it to never.
>> "John Corliss" <jcorliss@fake.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:13q3tv5t2it8e41@corp.supernews.com...
>>> I did as you suggested, but I'm afraid it made no difference. I did
>>> Google Usenet and found all this though:
>>>
>>> http://tinyurl.com/29p57r
>>>
>>> Seems a LOT of other people have run into this kind of problem.
>>> Solutions have been spotty though.
>>>
>>> R. McCarty wrote:
>>>> One last suggestion, on the traditional PATA controller you might
>>>> check the Device Manager entry and make sure that any taps on
>>>> it that are unused is set to None. This option is usually found on the
>>>> Advanced (TAB) of the Primary or Secondary controller.
>>>>
>>>> "kim" <faked@ntlhell.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:OSYvBzAZIHA.5900@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>>>> Yep latest drivers chipset drivers ect installed.
>>>>> I just checked the bios updates history and there`s no mention of
>>>>> anything aluding to this "problem"
>>>>> Thanks
>>>>> Kim
>>>>>
>>>>> "R. McCarty" <PcEngWork-NoSpam_@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:uqydWiAZIHA.4160@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>>>> Since both of you are using an AMD processor I'm assuming that you
>>>>>> both have the latest "Cool-&-Quiet" driver installed (?). Also I'd
>>>>>> make
>>>>>> sure you have the latest nVidia Chipset driver installed. Finally, I
>>>>>> would
>>>>>> check the BIOS firmware history chart and see if any mention is made
>>>>>> of a fix for the SATA controller or drive access LED.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "kim" <faked@ntlhell.com> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:uXs2PeAZIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>>>>> Not much help i`m afraid but i`ve had the exact same issue with my
>>>>>>> machine.
>>>>>>> New build last year, Asus m2n8-vmx mobo, Athlon 64x2 duel core
>>>>>>> processor,
>>>>>>> Maxtor HDD 80gb, Nec DVD-RW ND-3550a, ATAPI DVD D DH16D2P dvd rom,
>>>>>>> Nvidai
>>>>>>> Geforce 6200, 2gb RAM, XP home sp2. Clean install and the HDD light
>>>>>>> flicks on and off about every 2 or 3 seconds but as in your setup
>>>>>>> not in the bios but still does it in safe mode, Turned off indexing
>>>>>>> disabled startup items ect, disconnected optical drives,tried
>>>>>>> different cables, Asked in various forums you name it. I gave up in
>>>>>>> the end :-( It`s still doing it now but the machine seems to run ok.
>>>>>>> Please post back if you do find an answer.
>>>>>>> Kim
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "John Corliss" <jcorliss@fake.invalid> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:13q25lqgkpqjd1b@corp.supernews.com...
>>>>>>>> First of all, if this is the wrong group, please point me in the
>>>>>>>> right
>>>>>>>> direction.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Now on to the problem:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I just put a new ASRock K7VT4A PRO motherboard in a friend's
>>>>>>>> computer (512
>>>>>>>> MB, AMD Athlon XP 1600+ CPU, Western Digital WD400BB-00DEA0 model
>>>>>>>> 40 GB
>>>>>>>> HD) and installed XP Home on it. Then I updated the OS to SP2 and
>>>>>>>> installed all critical updates possible.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> At some point, I noticed that the hard drive light flickers about
>>>>>>>> every
>>>>>>>> second. Not only that, but the activity happens if I boot to Safe
>>>>>>>> Mode. It
>>>>>>>> doesn't do it while I'm in the BIOS though.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> AAARRRGHHH!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Other than the continual flickering of the light, the computer runs
>>>>>>>> okay,
>>>>>>>> but *MY* computer is running the same OS and the hard drive light
>>>>>>>> doesn't
>>>>>>>> flicker unless it's doing something.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Here's what I've done to try to stop the hard drive light activity
>>>>>>>> in my
>>>>>>>> friend's computer:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've turned off all tasks and file indexing, made no difference.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I don't have MS Office installed on it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> After configuring the Task Manager's "Processes" tab to show all
>>>>>>>> I/O reads
>>>>>>>> and writes, I looked to see what's causing it but it didn't show
>>>>>>>> anything.
>>>>>>>> Sysinternal's Process Monitor doesn't show anything going on
>>>>>>>> either.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I turned of Auto-Insert Notification, but it didn't stop light from
>>>>>>>> flashing.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I checked for rootkits, but found none (not that the computer
>>>>>>>> should be
>>>>>>>> infected, what with a fresh install and all.)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've probably done a few other things which I'm forgetting too.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've killed all unneeded services but it didn't do any good.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Does anybody have any other ideas as to what's causing this? I'm
>>>>>>>> snatching
>>>>>>>> myself bald with this problem!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> NOTE: Please don't tell me that it's normal or acceptable, and to
>>>>>>>> put up
>>>>>>>> with it or suggest putting electrical tape over the light. I'm
>>>>>>>> sorry, but
>>>>>>>> I will ignore any such replies because IMO the hard drive light
>>>>>>>> flickering
>>>>>>>> can also be a sign of malware activity (although not in this case).
>>>>>>>> Because of this, it's a good idea to have nothing non-malware
>>>>>>>> related
>>>>>>>> causing it to flicker all the time when the computer is idle.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> TIA.
>
> --
> John Corliss
Even without any foreground applications open and running an XP
system is going to have disk activity. My system is configured with
a minimum of background services ( 39 ). This includes AV ( Nod32 )
and Zone Alarm "Free" Firewall with Windows Defender.
Using SysInternals FileMon and DiskMon I log at least 73 read &
write operations per minute. During this watched interval I can see
the faceplate LED illuminate maybe 8 to 9 flashes.
Most file activity ( not necessarily a disk read or write ) deals with
Vsmon ( Zone Alarm ) Svchost calls and NOD32's resident monitor.
I don't doubt that you're having consistent disk access, it just may
not be excessive. One piece of information missing in this issue is the
applications you have loaded on the PC.
"John Corliss" <jcorliss@fake.invalid> wrote in message
news:13q47k8133n18d2@corp.supernews.com...
> Thanks for replying. I set all the power settings at "Never" the day
> before yesterday, didn't stop the flickering.
>
> A little while ago, I opened "Services" in Administrative Tools and, one
> by one, started turning all of them off that I could. I finally got down
> to the ones I can't turn off and even THAT didn't stop the hard drive
> light from flickering.
>
> Damn... I just snatched the last hair out of my scalp. I'm bald as a
> billiard now. 80)>
>
> Unknown wrote:
>> In control panel---power options do you have "turn off hard disks"? If
>> so, set it to never.
>> "John Corliss" <jcorliss@fake.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:13q3tv5t2it8e41@corp.supernews.com...
>>> I did as you suggested, but I'm afraid it made no difference. I did
>>> Google Usenet and found all this though:
>>>
>>> http://tinyurl.com/29p57r
>>>
>>> Seems a LOT of other people have run into this kind of problem.
>>> Solutions have been spotty though.
>>>
>>> R. McCarty wrote:
>>>> One last suggestion, on the traditional PATA controller you might
>>>> check the Device Manager entry and make sure that any taps on
>>>> it that are unused is set to None. This option is usually found on the
>>>> Advanced (TAB) of the Primary or Secondary controller.
>>>>
>>>> "kim" <faked@ntlhell.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:OSYvBzAZIHA.5900@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>>>> Yep latest drivers chipset drivers ect installed.
>>>>> I just checked the bios updates history and there`s no mention of
>>>>> anything aluding to this "problem"
>>>>> Thanks
>>>>> Kim
>>>>>
>>>>> "R. McCarty" <PcEngWork-NoSpam_@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:uqydWiAZIHA.4160@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>>>> Since both of you are using an AMD processor I'm assuming that you
>>>>>> both have the latest "Cool-&-Quiet" driver installed (?). Also I'd
>>>>>> make
>>>>>> sure you have the latest nVidia Chipset driver installed. Finally, I
>>>>>> would
>>>>>> check the BIOS firmware history chart and see if any mention is made
>>>>>> of a fix for the SATA controller or drive access LED.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "kim" <faked@ntlhell.com> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:uXs2PeAZIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>>>>>> Not much help i`m afraid but i`ve had the exact same issue with my
>>>>>>> machine.
>>>>>>> New build last year, Asus m2n8-vmx mobo, Athlon 64x2 duel core
>>>>>>> processor,
>>>>>>> Maxtor HDD 80gb, Nec DVD-RW ND-3550a, ATAPI DVD D DH16D2P dvd rom,
>>>>>>> Nvidai
>>>>>>> Geforce 6200, 2gb RAM, XP home sp2. Clean install and the HDD light
>>>>>>> flicks on and off about every 2 or 3 seconds but as in your setup
>>>>>>> not in the bios but still does it in safe mode, Turned off indexing
>>>>>>> disabled startup items ect, disconnected optical drives,tried
>>>>>>> different cables, Asked in various forums you name it. I gave up in
>>>>>>> the end :-( It`s still doing it now but the machine seems to run ok.
>>>>>>> Please post back if you do find an answer.
>>>>>>> Kim
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "John Corliss" <jcorliss@fake.invalid> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:13q25lqgkpqjd1b@corp.supernews.com...
>>>>>>>> First of all, if this is the wrong group, please point me in the
>>>>>>>> right
>>>>>>>> direction.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Now on to the problem:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I just put a new ASRock K7VT4A PRO motherboard in a friend's
>>>>>>>> computer (512
>>>>>>>> MB, AMD Athlon XP 1600+ CPU, Western Digital WD400BB-00DEA0 model
>>>>>>>> 40 GB
>>>>>>>> HD) and installed XP Home on it. Then I updated the OS to SP2 and
>>>>>>>> installed all critical updates possible.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> At some point, I noticed that the hard drive light flickers about
>>>>>>>> every
>>>>>>>> second. Not only that, but the activity happens if I boot to Safe
>>>>>>>> Mode. It
>>>>>>>> doesn't do it while I'm in the BIOS though.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> AAARRRGHHH!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Other than the continual flickering of the light, the computer runs
>>>>>>>> okay,
>>>>>>>> but *MY* computer is running the same OS and the hard drive light
>>>>>>>> doesn't
>>>>>>>> flicker unless it's doing something.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Here's what I've done to try to stop the hard drive light activity
>>>>>>>> in my
>>>>>>>> friend's computer:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've turned off all tasks and file indexing, made no difference.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I don't have MS Office installed on it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> After configuring the Task Manager's "Processes" tab to show all
>>>>>>>> I/O reads
>>>>>>>> and writes, I looked to see what's causing it but it didn't show
>>>>>>>> anything.
>>>>>>>> Sysinternal's Process Monitor doesn't show anything going on
>>>>>>>> either.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I turned of Auto-Insert Notification, but it didn't stop light from
>>>>>>>> flashing.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I checked for rootkits, but found none (not that the computer
>>>>>>>> should be
>>>>>>>> infected, what with a fresh install and all.)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've probably done a few other things which I'm forgetting too.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've killed all unneeded services but it didn't do any good.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Does anybody have any other ideas as to what's causing this? I'm
>>>>>>>> snatching
>>>>>>>> myself bald with this problem!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> NOTE: Please don't tell me that it's normal or acceptable, and to
>>>>>>>> put up
>>>>>>>> with it or suggest putting electrical tape over the light. I'm
>>>>>>>> sorry, but
>>>>>>>> I will ignore any such replies because IMO the hard drive light
>>>>>>>> flickering
>>>>>>>> can also be a sign of malware activity (although not in this case).
>>>>>>>> Because of this, it's a good idea to have nothing non-malware
>>>>>>>> related
>>>>>>>> causing it to flicker all the time when the computer is idle.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> TIA.
>
> --
> John Corliss
