HD rpm 'load' fluctuation

[KenM]

Hi, My PC (DELL 3G dual core w/4G ram) seems to spend alot more time revving
hard than it used to. When I chk. using Task Mgr. I find Helpsvc.exe and
Mspeng.exe as big 'users', but I understand that's common. Typically I have
the same 37 processes running that I always have had.
I have set 'priority' to be given performance, over background services,
(for online gaming). I'm only using 20G of 160 HD, would partitioning away
100G or so make a difference? Windows OneCare runs on schedule, and I've
never experienced any more than 3% fragmentation. How can I reduce the 'load'
to HD ? Thnx for any tips / tweaks that may help. KenM

 

[JS]

It could be a sub-process or application that's running in the background
and causing
the hard drive activity.

To find and display what could be the problem try Process Explorer:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/SystemInformation/ProcessExplorer.mspx

Once you have Process Explorer installed and running:
In the taskbar select View and check 'Show Process Tree' and the
'Show Lower Pane' options.
Then expand the process named 'Explorer' (click on the + sign)
In the column on the left named 'CPU', look for process that has
high CPU usage when the disk activity occurs.
Click on the CPU column to sort the processes by %CPU usage
(Highest to Lowest).

Move the mouse cursor over any process, you should see a popup with some
detailed info.
Then mouse over the process that's using most or all the CPU %.
Then click on that process to highlight it,
Now that it's highlighted, right click and from the options listed select:
Search Online
This should display what out there on the web about that process.
You can also double click on any process to open up a more detailed
'Properties' window.
Note: some entries like Explorer, System/Services, and
Svchost entries may need to be expanded to show the detail (sub processes),
in this case click on the + located to the left of the entry.

An alternate method when using Process Explorer is to double click on the
Graph just below the Menu bar.
This will open the 'System Information' window, which has a larger display
of all three graphs.
Move your mouse over any spike in the CPU Usage graph to see what
process/application or service was the cause of the spike in disk activity.

Another tool available is: What's Running
http://www.whatsrunning.net/whatsrunning/main.aspx

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 

[Colon Terminus]

Hi, My PC (DELL 3G dual core w/4G ram) seems to spend alot more time
revving
hard than it used to. When I chk. using Task Mgr. I find Helpsvc.exe and
Mspeng.exe as big 'users', but I understand that's common. Typically I
have
the same 37 processes running that I always have had.
I have set 'priority' to be given performance, over background services,
(for online gaming). I'm only using 20G of 160 HD, would partitioning
away
100G or so make a difference? Windows OneCare runs on schedule, and I've
never experienced any more than 3% fragmentation. How can I reduce the
'load'
to HD ? Thnx for any tips / tweaks that may help. KenM

Can't quite figure out what the problem is that you're trying to describe.

Hard disks run at a constant 7200 RPM, they don't "rev hard".
Can it be that you're hearing the CPU cooler "revving hard"?

To answer the partitioning part of your question, No. Portioning your HD
would have a negligible effect on the "load".

From the limited information given, my guess would be that your system is
running quite warm from an accumulation of dust and crud. Get yourself a can
of compressed air made specifically for that purpose and blow out the dust
from all areas inside the case, paying particular attention to the CPU
cooler.