Why Does a Hard Drive Run Constantly?
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Insufficient RAM Memory
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Oftentimes, computer resellers provide stripped-down systems, built to the barest minimum, to keep the price down. This paring down of the system's capabilities will cause excessive hard disk activity, as the amount of RAM memory installed forces the system to constantly use what is known as "virtual memory" as opposed to RAM.
In the interest of simplicity, the computer can be looked at as having two kinds of memory, working and storage. Please note-- this is technically not that simple, as there are other forms of memory in the computer.
What happens when your computer boots up is that the operating system, it loads the necessary files from the hard drive, or storage memory, into the system's RAM, or working memory. When the operating system is finished taking up what RAM it needs, the next group of programs that require RAM will load. These programs are ones that will run during the machine's use such as an anti-virus program.
Why is this important?
As your system uses up its RAM memory, it pretends that it has more working memory by writing whatever data it needs to the hard disk. This has two serious effects on the computer. It slows the system's performance down significantly and it causes the hard disk drive to be constantly accessed as it reads and writes to and from the hard disk.
The easiest method of correcting this problem is to add more RAM, unless you have reached the maximum amount of RAM that a system can accept or your operating system can recognize. Please refer to your manufacturer's documentation for specifics as to how much RAM your system can accept.
As a guideline, Microsoft XP and below cannot use more than four gigabytes of RAM with Vista and Windows 7 being able to recognize more RAM than most of today's motherboards can hold. Linux can easily handle eight gigabytes of RAM and Apple computers vary by the specific model.
Virus Infection (Windows Systems Only)
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The possibility of virus or more correctly malware infection needs to be examined. To eliminate this as a possibility--or eliminate the problem--take the following steps:
1) Run an online anti-virus scan like Trend Micro's HouseCall.
2) Download, install and run a spyware removal program.
A link to Trend Micro's HouseCall and Javacools' SpyWareBlaster is provided in the Resource section.
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Other Causes
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The less common causes of excessive hard disk activity requires operating system-specific research. For example, Microsoft has issued a tech bulletin discussing excessive disk activity caused when Office XP is installed on a Windows 98 system. Windows Vista has several functions that can contribute to increased hard drive activity, including SuperFetch and Search Indexer. Both of these program's parameters can be tweaked to decrease hard drive activity.
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