Windows 7 Constant Hard Drive Activity - Computer Slow to Respond

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  1. Posts : 35
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #1

    Windows 7 Constant Hard Drive Activity - Computer Slow to Respond


    Note: Originally posted in the General section - reposted here by suggestion

    Every time I restart Windows 7 and after logging in, the hard drive light comes on indicating continuing constant disk activity. The hard drive light is on solidly (no blinking). This condition persists for 10 - 15 minutes during which time all applications are extremely slow to respond.

    I have tried pausing the search indexer and have also tried pausing my anti-virus software (Kaspersky Internet Security 2013). Neither of these appear to have any effect.

    Once the constant hard drive activity has completed, the system operates normally, however I would much prefer to begin using the system soon after startup without having to wait for whatever is causing the hard drive activity to complete..

    I have looked at Windows Task Manager and find no applications running other than THX True Studio PC by Creative Systems. Under task Manager processes, "System Idle Process" is shown with 95% - 98% CPU usage.

    Many thanks in advance for any suggestions about how to track down what is happening and potentiall fix!

    If nothing there can seem to help then you could post in the Performance&Maintenance thread

    Also use this tool and post your results SF Diag Tool
    Diagnostic file clw2613.zip attached
    Thx,
    C.
    Windows 7 Constant Hard Drive Activity - Computer Slow to Respond Attached Files
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 49
    Windows 7 SP1 x64
       #2

    Task Manager > Performance tab > Resource Monitor > Disk tab

    You should be able to press the READ and WRITE columns to see which process / app is using the disk the most at the time of slowdown

    Also running a disk check would be advised, right click HDD icon > properties > tools > error checking > check now > agree to schedule a disk check at next boot

    Also things like this disk check software can show any faults with the drive
    CrystalDiskInfo - Software - Crystal Dew World

    Check Event Log too to see if there is a problem with windows
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #3

    In addition to the above suggestions, try the following please:

    1. Click Start
    2. In the search box, type cmd
    3. In the list that appears, right-click on cmd.exe and choose Run as administrator
    4. In the command window that opens, type sfc /scannow and hit enter.

    Report the output from the cmd window once it finishes.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 233
    W7 Home Premium 32bit
       #4

    If this is occurring always at cold startup, or reboot, it's probably your AV scanning.
    Many of them are, default, set to scan at bootup.

    Trim, indexing, and OS defragging usually happen upon low disk activity.

    Temporarily uninstall your AV, reboot and see if that settles it. You can reinstall after the test.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 35
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Ran SFC as per one of the above suggestions -- No Problems reported.

    Ran CHKDSK as per one of the suggestions - No problems reported

    Checked the event logs as suggested. One entry gets my attention! Since I am not really familiar with the event log, attaching screenshots for possible comment.

    Attached file Event Log.jpg shows an extraordinary amount of time elapsed between the 17th & 18th line entries.

    File Event Log_EventSystem.jpg shows the detailed explanation of the 17th line event.

    I have no idea why it should take nearly 7 minutes between the two events - perhaps someone with expertise can explain and/or recommend action.

    As previously mentioned, I have tried pausing the AV protection and that appears to have no effect. Further, the problem is a recent one and the AV program has been installed/active for much longer. Since the AV program was an on-line purchase (no installation disk) I'm not real anxious to go through the hassle of uninstalling, then reinstalling unless that proves to be the only viable alternative. I've also noticed via Windows Task Manager that the AVP program (avp.exe) is using a small percentage of the CPU and disk resources at the same time the constant hard drive activity (and application slow-down) exists.

    All of the suggestions are appreciated.

    Thx,
    C.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #6

    You forgot to upload the screen capture images ^
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 35
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Trying again to attach the screen-shots. No idea what I did wrong before.

    Event log.jpg
    Event Log_EventSystem.jpg

    C.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Windows 7 Constant Hard Drive Activity - Computer Slow to Respond-event-log.jpg   Windows 7 Constant Hard Drive Activity - Computer Slow to Respond-event-log_eventsystem.jpg  
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #8

    Download and install Soluto

    https://www.soluto.com/

    When you boot the PC, Soluto times all the applications from startup to Windows desktop to show how long each service/program contributes to the total boot time. It usually presents a table/graph showing this information.

    It will also make recommendations about how to shave off some time from the boot - don't follow the recommendations yet, lets first have a look at what it finds.

    What anti-virus application are you running? Kaspersky?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 35
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Thx - I will do that and report back.

    Yes I am running Kaspersky AV. I have tried pausing the AV protection shortly after the desktop appears and it seems to have no effect on the problem. (The AV protection indeed pauses because the AV program puts up a message saying the computer is no longer protected).

    Need to mention though that the constant HD activity begins at power-up and continues well past the desktop actually appearing. If I try to launch an application after the desktop has appeared, response is painfully slow until the constant HD activity ceases some minutes later.

    Will report back later after I have a chance to install Soluto

    C.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 35
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Problems Installing Soluto!

    Attempted to download/install Soluto as suggested and ran into problems. When I click the Soluto download link I get a pop-up message asking if I want to save installer?token=Jp32YjPt95u23265290. No run option is given! Windows will not accept this as a valid file name. I tried renaming the file and get a message saying the file "couldn't be downloaded".

    I will go back to the Soluto website and see if any help is available.

    Meanwhile I am going to remove Kaspersky AV from the start-up list, reboot and see if that has any effect on the problem.

    C.
      My Computer


 
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