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    m1530 excessive disk usage?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by zeusaslmighty, Oct 6, 2008.

  1. zeusaslmighty

    zeusaslmighty Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi, I just got a new Dell XPS m1530:

    2.5 Ghz
    4 Gb RAM
    300 Gb HDD
    Geforce 8600
    Vista Premium

    I noticed that I can hear the hard drive spinning (like that little clicking sound it makes) almost like 70% of the time. Is that normal? I tried killing off some applications but it doesn't stop! Is there any way to find which application is doing this, is this even normal?

    Thanks in advance!
     
    zeusaslmighty, Oct 6, 2008
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  2. Bowlerguy92

    Bowlerguy92 Notebook Deity

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    Yes......it's a hard drive, it's supposed to always be on and moving data of some sort.
     
    Bowlerguy92, Oct 6, 2008
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  3. tianxia

    tianxia kitty!!!

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    well it is supposed to spin even in idle, but it doesn't have to transfer data.
    vista is known to thrash disks excessively, check our the nbr vista tweak guide. just search it.
     
    tianxia, Oct 6, 2008
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  4. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    You can also go into Vista's advanced power options to set the time before an idle disk spins down.

    But really, what is meant by "excessive disk usage"? Isn't that what its there for?
     
    Bog, Oct 6, 2008
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  5. fonduekid

    fonduekid JSUTAONHTERBIRCKINTEHWLAL

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    fonduekid, Oct 6, 2008
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  6. zeusaslmighty

    zeusaslmighty Notebook Enthusiast

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    Well, by excessive, I mean even when I'm not doing anything (no downloads, no updates, no scanning, nothing at all), and after I've killed off half the exrta apps, the disk keeps clicking (being used). It's rather strange hearing that noise even though I'm clearly not using the pc. I'll try to follow the guide. I'm also building a vLite ISO, any recommendations/tips/ ini configs???
     
    zeusaslmighty, Oct 6, 2008
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  7. cgidude

    cgidude Notebook Enthusiast

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    do a search on disabling file indexing - major problem with vista. also defrag is set to run on a schedule by default in vista (which is retarded), you'll need to disable that, AND even if you disable it vista will still have to complete a successful defrag at least once otherwise it will keep defragging every time you restart ;) yay vista! :)
     
    cgidude, Oct 6, 2008
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  8. zeusaslmighty

    zeusaslmighty Notebook Enthusiast

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    Lol, I disabled indexing; so far so good! I'm really thinking of going back to xp. Jesus this OS is slow! I'm just not sure if I can get drivers for XP. Is there anyone that can verify that drivers do exist?
     
    zeusaslmighty, Oct 7, 2008
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  9. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    If the click you describe is periodic while the platter continues spinning, that is normal. In fact, it is common in the Western Digital 320GB Blue HDs (I own two) Is it continuously reading/writing?
     
    Bog, Oct 7, 2008
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