More hard drive strangeness


RAMWolff

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So after all the help I got here I ended up in the endless loop of testing and finally realized it was a bit too much as all the tests were coming back with good results. No issues, no viruses, no nothing wrong with any of my drives. I think during all this (past thread here in this forum) I must have either enabled or installed something that's backing up or doing something.

What happens is when my system is idle then one of the drives begins to do something like allot of files are being copied or something. I can't really pinpoint what's going on as when I even touch my mouse it ceases so even running a resource monitor I can't see what's going on as it's not on the C drive and this monitor I got my hands on only seems to be set up to look at the C drive so that's no help.

So what I really need is not more tests or advice like that but a link to a resource monitor that I can have running on the desktop that might be able to pinpoint what drive it's coming from and what exactly is enabled when the system is idle.

Thanks so much
Richard
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPower PC
    CPU
    RYZEN 7 5700G 3.8GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE B550 UD AC
    Memory
    ADATA 8GB DDR4-3200 XPG Z1 4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GEFORCE RTX 3060 GAMING OC 12GB GDDR6 REV 2.1
    Sound Card
    HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    M1-Samsung Smart TV, M2- ViewSonic
    Screen Resolution
    M1-1920X1080 - M2-1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    1 Tb SSd (main Windows) 1 SSd external drives and two internal SATA HD's
    PSU
    APEVIA 800WATT GOLD 80 PLUS POWER SUPPLY
    Case
    In-Win G7 w/ USB 3.0, EZ Swap HDD Dock
    Cooling
    Liquid
    Keyboard
    Perixx PERIBOARD-331 Wired Backlit USB Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Ergo Wireless Trackball Mouse
    Internet Speed
    WAVE, highest tier so FAST enough
    Browser
    Opera
    Antivirus
    MS

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
So after all the help I got here I ended up in the endless loop of testing and finally realized it was a bit too much as all the tests were coming back with good results. No issues, no viruses, no nothing wrong with any of my drives. I think during all this (past thread here in this forum) I must have either enabled or installed something that's backing up or doing something.

What happens is when my system is idle then one of the drives begins to do something like allot of files are being copied or something. I can't really pinpoint what's going on as when I even touch my mouse it ceases so even running a resource monitor I can't see what's going on as it's not on the C drive and this monitor I got my hands on only seems to be set up to look at the C drive so that's no help.

So what I really need is not more tests or advice like that but a link to a resource monitor that I can have running on the desktop that might be able to pinpoint what drive it's coming from and what exactly is enabled when the system is idle.

Thanks so much
Richard
Do you have a media server running? Like Plex or similar?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy dv7
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
    1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I've been thinking on this. If you suspect some program doing something in the background is the cause, then try a clean boot. That's what it is designed for. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial

If everything is good in clean boot, it's a process of elimination by enabling background programs a few at a time until you narrow it down to the culprit.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
3 very real possibilities:

1) Windows native indexing feature, which is, by default, set to index files on your system when it is not in use. Most of the time Windows is good about stopping as soon as you start using the drive, but it may take a minute before the activity completes - basically, it needs to get t o a 'stopping point' before it can actually stop;

2) Windows Defender / some other AV suite, which is set to scan every single file on every single drive, again while the system is not in use. Most AV programs, including Defender, are also good at curbing their activities once the machine is in use again, but , as before, sometimes it may take a little while before all activity stops - again, for the same reason too, it needs to finish what it is doing, and get to a stopping point;

3) As you noted, it may be some sort of backup process that you've set up that works in the background - whether said backup is a system backup, a file backup, a volume shadow creation / update, or even something like File History. All of these technically can be done in the background also when the computer is in use, but it tends to be less intrusive if they wait for when the computer is not in use (aka when it is idle).

I would check for any of these first and foremost - a good trick might be to (temporarily):

Set your monitor to not go to standby (sleep)
Set your computer not to go into standby (sleep) / hibernation
Open a task manager screen on your monitor, full screen, click on the Disk usage column, and then don't use your computer at all - and see what pops up that is actually using the disk(s).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth

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