Hard Drive won't stop spinning

[tcarp]

The HD on my laptop sometimes starts spinning but won't stop unless I reboot.
I'm looking for some advice on how to identify the cause. I've run
services.msc to get a list of started items (I've listed them at the end of
this post) and want to know what else I can do to see what might be going on.

Thanks for any advice

Tom

Started services; note for space reasons I've coded "S"tarted, "A"utomatic,
and whether a local service, system, or network service.

Acronis Scheduler2 Service (S,A,LoSy)
Acronis Try And Decide Service (S,A,LoSy)
Automatic LiveUpdate Scheduler (S,A,LoSy)
Automatic Updates (S,A,LoSy)
Computer Browser (S,A,LoSy)
Cryptographic Services (S,A,LoSy)
DCOM Server Process Launcher (S,A,LoSy)
DHCP Client (S,A,LoSy)
Distributed Link Tracking Client (S,A,LoSy)
DNS Client (S,A,NeSv)
Error Reporting Service (S,A,LoSy)
Event Log (S,A,LoSy)
Help and Support (S,A,LoSy)
HID Input Service (S,A,LoSy)
HP CUE DeviceDiscovery Service (S,A,LoSy)
IPSEC Services (S,A,LoSy)
Java Quick Starter (S,A,LoSy)
LiveUpdate Notice (S,A,LoSy)
Logical Disk Manager (S,A,LoSy)
Plug and Play (S,A,LoSy)
Print Spooler (S,A,LoSy)
Protected Storage (S,A,LoSy)
QBCFMonitorService (S,A,LoSy)
RegSrvc (S,A,LoSy)
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) (S,A,NeSv)
Remote Registry (S,A,LoSv)
Retrospect Client (S,A,LoSy)
Secondary Logon (S,A,LoSy)
Security Accounts Manager (S,A,LoSy)
Server (S,A,LoSy)
Shell Hardware Detection (S,A,LoSy)
Spectrum24 Event Monitor (S,A,LoSy)
SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS) (S,A,NeSv)
SQL Server Browser (S,A,NeSv)
SQL Server VSS Writer (S,A,LoSy)
Symantec Event Manager (S,A,LoSy)
Symantec Lic NetConnect service (S,A,LoSy)
Symantec Settings Manager (S,A,LoSy)
System Event Notification (S,A,LoSy)
System Restore Service (S,A,LoSy)
Task Scheduler (S,A,LoSy)
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper (S,A,LoSv)
Themes (S,A,LoSy)
WebClient (S,A,LoSv)
Windows Audio (S,A,LoSy)
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) (S,A,LoSy)
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) (S,A,LoSy)
Windows Management Instrumentation (S,A,LoSy)
Windows Time (S,A,LoSy)
Wireless Zero Configuration (S,A,LoSy)
Workstation (S,A,LoSy)
Application Layer Gateway Service (S,M,LoSv)
COM+ Event System (S,M,LoSy)
HP Network Devices Support (S,M,LoSy)
hpqcxs08 (S,M,LoSy)
HTTP SSL (S,M,LoSy)
Network Connections (S,M,LoSy)
Network Location Awareness (NLA) (S,M,LoSy)
Remote Access Connection Manager (S,M,LoSy)
SSDP Discovery Service (S,M,LoSv)
Symantec Core LC (S,M,LoSy)
Telephony (S,M,LoSy)
Terminal Services (S,M,LoSy)
Universal Plug and Play Device Host (S,M,LoSv)

 

[Leonard Grey]

Hard drives spin up and spin down all the time, for many legitimate reasons.

BTW: Are you sure it's the hard drive you're hearing? Might be one of
the fans.

 

[tcarp]

HDD's spin all the time from start up to shut down unless you have it set up

in your power options to turn off the HDD after X minutes of idle time, or
the notebook goes into hibernation/standby.
Or do you mean that something is ACCESSING it all the time? If so, start
Task Manager and see what process is hogging the most CPU time. That is most
likely the culprit.

SC Tom

Thanks.

I've had the power options set to have the HD shut down after 15/5 minutes
(plug/battery) and hibernate some minutes later. In spite of that, when the
HD spins all the time, these setting don't have an effect.

I have checked the task manager when the hd was spinning but (and I have to
confirm this since I may not remember correctly) it was the system. Again,
if I remember, there were no applications running.

To give some more background, I'm familiar with the HD spinning when there
are things going on that are pushing on it (system updates, Outlook pst
compresses, HD cleanup, etc.) but, except for the system updates, there's
always an obvious application running and, when the app stops, so does the HD
spin. System updates, although some can spin the HD quite a bit, usually
have more of a response time impact.

I did do some web searches the last time this started happening and did
disable an HP service that was identified as possibly not functioning
properly. I've even deleted all my cookies and run a full virus scan (no
problems).

Tom

 

[tcarp]

"Leonard Grey" wrote:
Thanks. It's the HD. Over the years I've gotten used to the sound when
applications or actions legimately spin it for quite a while (e.g. Outlook
pst compress). Whatever is going on, it even prevents the power options from
taking effect.

Rather than duplicate a post, take a look at my reply to the other person
who responded to the post. I give some additional background.

Tom

 

[SC Tom]

Thanks.

I've had the power options set to have the HD shut down after 15/5 minutes
(plug/battery) and hibernate some minutes later. In spite of that, when
the
HD spins all the time, these setting don't have an effect.

I have checked the task manager when the hd was spinning but (and I have
to
confirm this since I may not remember correctly) it was the system.
Again,
if I remember, there were no applications running.

To give some more background, I'm familiar with the HD spinning when there
are things going on that are pushing on it (system updates, Outlook pst
compresses, HD cleanup, etc.) but, except for the system updates, there's
always an obvious application running and, when the app stops, so does the
HD
spin. System updates, although some can spin the HD quite a bit, usually
have more of a response time impact.

I did do some web searches the last time this started happening and did
disable an HP service that was identified as possibly not functioning
properly. I've even deleted all my cookies and run a full virus scan (no
problems).

Tom

If the HDD is spinning all the time and you have no processes (not
applications) accessing it, and you can hear it clearly over any ambient
noise and notebook fans, there may be a physical problem with the HDD. Have
you tried running any HDD diagnostics? Most drive manufacturers provide such
a program. Do you have SMART enabled in BIOS?

SC Tom

 

[tcarp]

That's interesting. I've been of the opinion that the issue is a task of
some kind that spins the HD up but fails to release it. I hadn't considered
hardware prolems.

I haven't run hardware diagnostics yet. I'll check into it but want to make
sure you understand I'm still suspect of tasks.

Can you expand a little on Smart and BIOS for me?

Tom

 

[SC Tom]

SMART is Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. If it is
enabled in your BIOS settings, it will alert you of potential HDD physical
problems before they become catastrophic, allowing you to save important
data before having to replace the HDD. It's not fool-proof, but does work at
times. You can check your BIOS by pressing a key on boot-up, usually Delete
or one of the Function keys (F2, F10, etc.). Watch the bottom right of your
screen after turning the PC on- there should be a line there about entering
set-up. The SMART setting will be on the main page or on the HDD
configuration page. Even if it is enabled, it doesn't mean you don't have a
physical problem, but it just might warn you soon enough if it gets really
bad.

SC Tom

 

[tcarp]

Thanks. I'm familiar with how to get ahold of the BIOS at boot. I'll make
sure SMART is active.

I think where this thread has left me is open to both software and hardware
possibilities.

It's probably time for me to gather some more data. As I mentioned in the
original thread, there was some indication from a web search that some active
processes could be causing the problem. However, you're right, the hardware
can't be eliminated.

Thanks

Tom