Maintenance :: Windows 8.1 Heavy Hard Disk Activity
Mar 28, 2014
I have installed a fresh copy of Windows 8.1 Professional recently (about a month ago). It's running fine mostly but there is one thing that keeps irritating me, whenever I leave my PC idle for long (like half hour or so), the system start to do something in background with hard drive light constantly lit.
This keeps going on until I come back and start doing something or it randomly stops doing it. This also happens during work too but rarely. I have heard that file indexing and windows update are possible culprits behind this issue and turned them off but it is still happening. I don't know what's wrong with this OS, it never happened with Windows 7 before.
I mostly use my system for gaming (Steam) and have no antivirus installed beside Windows Defender, in addition to that there is no 3rd party de-fragment program installed. When this happens during games it makes game performance sluggish which is the major cause of annoyance for me.
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Jul 7, 2013
all while missing from my computer , in task manager saw something about some .Net framework doing stuff, some language don't know what optimization, then triggers also the antimalware service, windows update,something called tiworker (windows modules installer) that survived 3 restarts already and also disabling windows update
I do no t want any of that.
What can I do, there are tens , maybe one hundred as far as I know, services. A mire.
Will I be able to still run a windows machine in 2013 with a really bare minimum services?
Does switching to bblean as shell will get rid of many of them? But most surely don't because shell and services two different meals.At least that I will try it to see for myself.
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Mar 29, 2014
I am trying to troubleshoot an issue which has been bugging me for quite a while. Basically, I leave my computer on overnight and don't close it to download stuff and updates and also because I don't like the time to boot up.
Well anyways after coming back to my computer at the morning, my computer becomes almost like a brick. The hard drive activity is pretty much always red, everything lags a lot, mouse event, or any input. CPU is not having much of a usage, but RAM is almost full. I attached a screenshot.
I also noticed one of my hard drives, the one which is slower and I only use it for backup and no programs or games, is almost 100% all the time, while the other one which has windows installation and program files is not that intense in activity. Also notice the read and write speed is not that big, but response time is huge.
It only happens if I come back to my computer for a long time not attending it.
I disable system restore, Windows defender real time protection and sleep.
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Nov 7, 2013
I recently discovered that one of my drives has been at 100% activity with no data being read or written. This particular drive is used for virtual instruments and samples for music. I've never had issues before, but I found it odd that loading projects took an insane amount of time to load, which lead me to check the disk usage of this particular drive.
Current response time spikes into the tens of thousands. Again, nothing is being written or read. If I open the drive, I can see all my files, but the drive never seems to stop "searching". I've attatched a picture below:
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Apr 19, 2013
I noticed an issue with my PC. I always put my desktop into S3 sleep when not in use, normally this happens almost instantly, but now it takes 10+ seconds after the monitor goes black before the system actually powers down.
I had been using Windows 7, but a week ago I did an upgrade to Windows 8. I'm not sure exactly when this behavior started, but I just noticed it earlier today.
I have Hibernate disabled (powercfg -h off) as well as System Restore; so I don't know what could be causing this. The hard drive LED stays lit during the entire delay.
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Jun 24, 2014
I know you can open up resource monitor, and look at the disk tab for the information, but, I am looking for a way to log all of that to a file, so I can see over time, how many bytes are written for each process that is running. Anytool that I can do this with?
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Jan 3, 2014
I was wondering what you'd recommend for the following:
I want a program that synchronizes my files with my external hard drive.
The client I use right now, Memeo Instant Backup, is decent, but has the following issues:
1. Takes a lot of resources to run
2. Is extremely slow
3. Doesn't mirror deleting files on my hard drive, keeps them on my external and causes it to get full
Is there a program I can use that just literally copies my user folder onto an external drive, and as I delete/move files on my hard drive, its mirrored on the external hard drive?
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Apr 8, 2013
The hard drive light on my laptop is showing continuous activity and is not going out,even if the computer is left idle.
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Feb 24, 2014
I have some questions regarding the new Chkdsk in Windows 8 (I'm using Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit).
note that Windows 8's Chkdsk has changed considerably since the previous Windows versions; so if you know about the Chkdsk in Windows 7 or previous Windows versions, this could not apply to the Chkdsk in Windows 8.
I also point out that I'm talking about the GUI version, accessible from the drive's properties Window.
My main questions are: when Chkdsk has finished scanning, and the results window appears, can I at once proceed with the following, or should I wait some time:
1) In case of an external USB drive, disconnect the hard drive (with "safely remove hardware", even if the cache is turned off), and turn it off.
2) In case of an internal drive (HDD or SSD), reboot Windows, or turn off the computer.
My worry is that if I would disconnect a USB drive, or reboot or turn off the PC in case of an internal drive, before the Chkdsk-related activity is finished, then the file-system of the disk in question could get damaged.
My doubts come from the following facts:
- I have been told that when the Chkdsk results window appears, this means that Chkdsk has finished working with that drive; but I have noticed that some short drive activity is happening some seconds (about 6) after the results window appears (should be a write activity, not sure if also read activity). I noticed this by observing the LED on my USB drives, and also by monitoring the drives in question with Windows 8's new Taskmanager.
- In case of disconnecting USB drives, I have been told that I can be sure that if some drive activity is happening, then the "safely remove hardware" feature won't have effect, and would warn me that there is disk access going on; but I have tried to select "safely remove hardware" while Chkdsk was in the middle of a scan, and the result was that Chkdsk got interrupted (with an error messsage appearing probably from Chkdsk), and the USB hard drive got removed. Though this seems not to have caused any file-system errors (I did another Chkdsk scan later).
You may think that I just need to look at the drive's LED, or monitor the drive's activity with the new Taskmanager, and take note of after how much time the drive activity ceases. Then I would just need to wait so long before disconnecting the USB drive, or rebooting or turning off the PC.
My problem here is that I'm not sure if the new Taskmanager, or the drive's LED, are sensible enough to detect even the smallest disk access, which could get unnoticed. I'm not sure how much I should wait... seconds? Minutes? What do you think? Perhaps there's no need to wait at all?
I did some tests by disconnecting (with "safely remove hardware") a USB drive shortly after doing a Chkdsk on it. Then I did another Chkdsk after turning it on again. I didn't get any error message from Chkdsk. But I'm still worried that there could be an unfortunate moment, during which a disconnection (still with "safely remove hardware") could cause problems, perhaps because in that moment a write operation could be in process.
I think I have read that the new Chkdsk in Windows 8 uses VSS ("Shadow Copy") to check the drives while keeping them online. With this new Chkdsk, I think it is possible to continue using the drive while the scan is happening, even on the system drive.
I was thinking about this: is it possible that the short activity which I have noticed after Chkdsk's results window appears, comes from this Shadow Copy Service, which is "unmounting" (?) the shadow copy used by Chkdsk?
If this is true, is it important to let the "unmounting" task happen, or can I disconnect, reboot, or turn off before it starts? And what happens if I interrupt this "unmounting" task in the middle, while it is in process?
Does it make some sense to wait some time after doing a Chkdsk, or can I at once proceed to disconnect the USB drive, or reboot or turn off the PC (in case of internal drives)?
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Feb 10, 2014
My hard disk crashed. I have a recovery cd created on the time of purchase. I bought a new hard disk for this purpose. Now when I am trying to recover from the same cd it is getting stuck at 40 % showing error. I searched for this error and got something as such recovery disk can work on OEM hd. As my old hd has crashed how can I recover over there. Is there any system that dell provide me with necessary operating system so that atleast I can use my system.
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Nov 30, 2012
I can't find where the defrag App. is on Win8.
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Jul 28, 2014
I have put a 120Gb Intel SSD in my laptop, done a fresh install of Windows 8 from the supplied recovery DVD's. Then upgraded to Windows 8.1 through the Windows store, installed Photoshop 7 and Kingsoft Office and a couple of very small other programs. Everything is working fine. Great. I have hardly any docs music etc on this machine (they are all on my server).
I checked my hard drive usage and discover that I have used 75.3Gb and only have 31.2Gb left. C: partition is 106Gb. I know that the recovery DVD's created restore partitions and they can be seen in disk management. No worries there, they are only a few Gb and make up the total usable disk space (120Gb or so)
So I have been looking for where the bloat is. I have enabled viewing hidden files, and added up all the folders sizes on the root of C: It comes to 44Gb. It doesn't add up to anywhere near the total that I am being told is used 75Gb. So what is using the additional 31Gb or so? and how do I find it?
I have attached a screenshot showing properties of "all in c:/" and properties of "Local Disk C"
As you can see, they are very different.
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Mar 9, 2013
My hard disk was always full (itunes/picasa filling it with multiple backups etc); so decided to upgrade to a whopping 1tb. I bought the HDD and a cradle; and have created a clone of all my files and settings onto the new monster using an application. I want to copy all my settings across - Virtual DJ takes best part of a day to configure for example.
Downside is, the new disk is not bootable; and I cannot make it bootable however I try.
I have made the partition active using "diskmanger"
I have gone to the drive and typed in admin mode in command prompt:
g:
cd/boot
bootsect g:
I have also tried:
Bcdedit /import C:BootBCD.
This hasn't worked, so tried this:
Bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device partition=G:
TBH - don't really understand the commends, just trying everything I can!
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Jan 27, 2012
i have the same problem, it gives me the same error, "Windows cannot be installed to this hard disk space. The partition contains one or more dynamic volumes that are not supported for installation."
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May 5, 2013
I tried to make partitions on my hard disk and then tried to reboot the system, but it fails to reboot, error 0xc0000225 (winloader) on blue screen. BIOS sees the harddisk. I can also load the recovery program (hp), but it provides me only 1 option - to make system recovery to factory settings and losing all I have on my hard disk. Can it be somehow possible to recover win 8 and start it without factory settings recovery and losing files?
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Nov 6, 2012
i installed windows 8 on my 500 gb sata and now i cannot access xp and my hard disk size has now lessened and i cannot find my data anywhere!
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May 8, 2014
the hard disk of a Samsung Ultra 5 crashed. I have got a new hard disk. How do i restore windows 8 and Samsung drivers to the new hard disk? My friend has an exact notebook. How do i copy the recovery partition from his pc and use it on mine?
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Dec 30, 2013
I was having them every hour or so at one stage, however i debugged some issues, such as outdated drivers etc, and it isn't quite as frequent now.
It now occurs 1-3 times a day on average during heavy usage i guess.
I have attached the log file as requested in the guidelines.
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Jun 3, 2013
How can I get Windows 8 to recognize my secondary HD? It is a WD Green 500GB SATA drive. My bios reads it, but Windows 8 does not.
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Jun 10, 2014
My ssd broke so I went got a new one today I do a fresh install of win 8 but its showing up as removable disk .
My PC specs-sabertooth fx990 r2.0 mb. Windows 8 ...
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Dec 6, 2013
I have attached the Windows 8 hard disk from my broken laptop to my external usb hard disk device and windows 8 say format the disk as it does not recognise the file system how do I get around this.
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Jul 20, 2013
I tried to install 32 bit Windows 8 in my friends laptop through bootable usb. It has win7 preloaded. I tried for the dual boot. But when I select the partition drive it said that windows cannot be install in that drive because the selected drive is GPT partition style. How to install Windows 8 os in that GPT partition style hard drive.
Laptop has Hard disk-500 gb,64 bit win7.
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Jun 15, 2014
Anyway, I'm curious about making file shortcuts between hard disk. Example, real folder is in D: drive. I want to make a shortcut for that particular folder in E: drive. Is this possible?
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Aug 25, 2014
I got a new Toshiba Satellite L50-B notebook with Windows 8.1 64-bit installed. As I need to go a special place, I passed the notebook to a IT guy and have the whole disk encrypted using DiskCryptor. The guy told me that he cannot boot the OS, even he entered the correct password. And one more nice thing. The guy did NOT make recovery discs first!
Since the hard disk is encrypted I cannot boot it. Also I cannot do a system recovery. I booted the notebook into Linux and copied all the content in the recovery partition to a USB drive.
Now, I would like to know if I can get my machine up and running again. I don't mind all my content will be lost as it is a new machine.
How to make a set of custom recovery disc out of the content in the recovery partition? Do I need to format my hard disk in UEFI mode? if so, how?
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Feb 18, 2014
I ahad updatedmy wife's laptop acer spire 5740 G from windows 7 to 8 and then updated to 8.1. She did not like os and asked me to revert back to 7. After running setup I formated the drivve C containing windows 8. But now computer doesnt boot and I tried to reinstall teh system but I cant see my hard disk- Setup runs till where do you want to install your OS and then I cant find my hard disk
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Jan 16, 2014
I have a external had disk i want to share it on wifi. and want to access it from my laptop and my tv with usb port.
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Sep 10, 2013
My computer came with Windows 8 (non-pro) preinstalled and I would like to do a clean reinstall of 8.1 on a new hard disk.
Since there is no OEM key anymore, what should I do to activate once the OS is installed?
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Jul 16, 2014
My mSATA partition has been deleted when I was recovering the windows. how can I install it again. My computer was quite faster than now.
Also, my "Disk 0" seems strange but i dont know why?
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Nov 16, 2013
I use a gmail POP account to get my emails from my ip.
I want to be able to save an email to my local hard drive as txt or htm
When I tell EI 11 to Save as.. .txt, the file is unreadable.
When I save it as an htm and open it I'm sent to the gmail login but gmail seem to hang for a long time at login. I don't get to the inbox at all and need to close IE. How to save web mail to my hard drive?
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Aug 22, 2014
It always fails to Clone/copy my current hard that has bad sectors, to a new hard disk. My present HDD is a 320GB and its health is really bad. I bought a new 500 hard disk and tried to clone and copy the whole HDD. I tried Paragon HDD Manager, O&O disk image and other two Software. All of them failed to clone or copy my old hard disk to new one.
What is the best solution. Paragon, copied data partially and gave an error at 80%. I tried few times and the same thing happened
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Apr 30, 2014
First of all.. let me say that this HDD does not have any kind physical damage. It has not been dropped.. nor it has a clicking or beeping sound.
The HDD is SeaGate FreeAgent Go 250 GB. I always watch movies in bulk. So I copy it to my HDD and plug it in the TV and use it. Today when I plugged it in to my PC for watching another set of movies, the copying was not going in a stable manner.. instead the graph showed mountain-like copying.. i.e. first it goes at much speed and then it loses and fall back to 1 or 2 mb/s.. So I thought that a defrag could set things right.
I defragged it and went for a coffee.. After coming back, the defrag was complete but i was unable to open the HDD.. I safely removed it but it said it was in use.. I shut down my PC and unplugged it.. turned on my PC but when I insert my HDD its unreadable.. it shows no percentage of free space.. only just Local Disk F.. ( earlier it used to show FreeAgent GO) I ran chkdsk F: /f /r.. but it showed some error.. I closed it. The log file is attached..
Now whenever I open my HDD, its stops responding.. I know it can be solved..
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