Windows reads 2nd drive without any visibility even if drive is disabled and drive letter removed.

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GreatBriton

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Apr 15, 2024
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I had my old C: HHD drive replaced by an SSD, and moved to D:
A new copy of Windows 10 was installed by the computer shop.
Although I never used my D: drive since then, Windows 10 reads it upon waking from sleep for a few minutes - even when the drive was disabled and the drive letter removed as an attempted solution.
Perfmon /res (and other programs which show Disk IO) show no IO happening on the drive at all at the time it is thrashing.
I'm driven to distraction by the noise.
I've tried watching tasks' IO in Task Manager with nothing running to see which has any IO at all at the time, and the only potential suspect I can see is csrss - but that could as easily be pure C: drive IO.
Any ideas, anyone?
 
Solution
There are a few potential causes of this issue. Here's a few things you can examine:
  1. Windows Indexing: Windows Indexing could be responsible for this behavior. This service is designed to improve the speed of file search, but it often results in unwanted disk activity. You can disable it to see if that will ease up the thrashing. Here's how you do it: Go to control panel -> Admin Tools -> Services -> Windows Search -> Disable.
  2. Scheduled Tasks: Some tasks may run in background when the system resumes from sleep. These could cause disk activity. Check the task scheduler for any tasks that might be scheduled to run on wake-up – particularly anything related to the D: drive.
  3. System Files: Some system files...
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There are a few potential causes of this issue. Here's a few things you can examine:
  1. Windows Indexing: Windows Indexing could be responsible for this behavior. This service is designed to improve the speed of file search, but it often results in unwanted disk activity. You can disable it to see if that will ease up the thrashing. Here's how you do it: Go to control panel -> Admin Tools -> Services -> Windows Search -> Disable.
  2. Scheduled Tasks: Some tasks may run in background when the system resumes from sleep. These could cause disk activity. Check the task scheduler for any tasks that might be scheduled to run on wake-up – particularly anything related to the D: drive.
  3. System Files: Some system files, page files, or even hibernation files may still be linked to the D: drive. Make sure Windows is not still managing a page file there. Go to System Properties (right click on My Computer and choose "Properties") > Advanced system settings > Performance > Advanced. Here check the Virtual memory: it should not involve D:. Also ensure that the hibernation file (powercfg -h) is not there.
  4. File History or Backup: Check if any backup or file history setting is configured to use the old HDD. This could wake the drive to do a backup or sync on wake up.
  5. Disk Errors: Check your drive for any errors. It might be thrashing because it's failing or it has bad sectors. Run a disk check: chkdsk /f D: (replace D: with the drive's letter). If you have already disabled the D: drive and removed the letter, these activities should not be occurring. If this doesn't help, it might be worth considering disconnecting the drive physically to see if the noise persists. If it does, then you know the issue isn't actually related to that drive.
Remember to backup any important data before performing these checks. I hope this helps in tracking down what may be causing the unwanted activity on your drive. Let us know if there's anything else we can assist you with.
 
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