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FrozenGate by Avery

Asking for a good HDD monitor / survey program

HIMNL9

HIMNL9

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Ok, a question from me, this time :)

I've noticed on my PC, that in the last days, the HDD light is almost all the time working (and i mean, not just fixed on, as sometimes win hang up, but constantly blinking at high speed and with different "patterns", as when the disk is normally working ..... only, this go for hours and hours, slowing down all the rest).

I've already made some tests, before ask this ..... i've tried with task manager, apparently no processes uses it, tried with secure task manager, same result ..... tried checking Panda AV, it's not making any background scan, at least it don't signal it (and no others AV) ..... already performed some different scans for search trojans and rootkits, both online and offline scan types, no results ..... windows don't show me any program nor process nor application using the HDD, in all the ways i know for search them, at least ..... emule is ofcourse using it, but this is not the normal emule disk usage, that i know very good, this is an hdd usage that go for hours, also 5 or 6 hours uninterrupt, at maximum speed, like there's something working with hdd as crazy, but not signaled from any part, and apparently invisible (and i also tried restarting the PC without start emule, and after a bit, it happens also without emule running) ..... no other ddl, torrents, mircs, nothing, cause i never use them ..... i also killed messenger (and i mean, eradicated from the PC, as i usually do at any reformatting :p).

I also tried to search on some sites and google for this ..... found a lot of SMART monitors, disk quota monitor, system monitor, space monitor, and so on, but til now, no one that can say me what the hell is using the disk and what the hell is doing with it :p

So, i'm asking: there's someone of you that know any GOOD program, NOT depending from win (no M$ products), that can check / survey the HDD work, and report me what is the program / process / application that is using it, also if this application is invisible in Win ? (for this reason i don't want any M$ product, cause if the program is one of the 3200 hidden process of Win and win consociates, it for sure don't say me that :P)

Maybe, some application developed from third part, or from independent programmers, that don't obey to the flags of M$ routines, and can show me really what's happening ?

At the worse case, i can always reformat and reinstall anything, but before, i'm curious to know what's happening with my HDD, and what's using it, or at least, want to try to discover that, if possible :)
 





if your running windows vista or windows 7 press ctrl + alt + delete to access the option screen, then click on start task maganer. next click on the preformance tab. next click (down the bottom) the button recourse manager. click continue. then you will see a new screen. in that screen click on disk. then this will tell you all the services running and accessing ur hard drive. you should have many system services running and a few programs/ apps that are using your hdd at the time. it also give you a % of how much disk cache is being used, typically a new hdd will have around 16mb cache.

if you are running windows xp or earlier tell me and i'll post the steps for that operating system.

hope this helps -Adrian
 
No, not vista, i'm using XP, SP3, ..... i already tried to see in task manager, secure task manager, and with some other tricks, but when the disk is working, it don't show me any application nor process using it, so if you know an alternative way for constrain XP to show me that what it's doing in my pc, you're welcome ..... also if this include torture the OS with the digital equivalent of incandescent pliers (LOL)

Anyway, also process explorer don't show me anything, nor process monitor (tried the version 2.0) ..... not tried any of the "application monitor" versions around, anyway, cause their descriptions don't mention any HDD survey procedure (at least, not the ones i found, like kiwi, jamon, and so on)
 
Rivatuner, HWINFO32 or just get some of these Yahoo Gadgets or Google Widgets or something like that, they offer a lot of addons where you can customize whatever you want to see right on your desktop.
 
About riva tuner, the site say it is used for tune nvidia graphic cards ..... i already have HWINFO32, but i use it only for detect hardware in pc that i don't know, do it also show me what application is using the disks ? ..... i never found this feature (being sincere, never searched it on this program :D)

Basically, i'm not searching for a tool that show me disk activity, like these gadgets, i'm trying to discover what is the process or application that is using the disks, and that win don't show me .....

Thanks anyway :)
 
Did you install Windows Search?

If so, uninstall it. It's a dumbed down version of the disk indexing service from Vista... It sits there and grinds away indexing your files all the time, in order to make searches faster.

Edit: Oh, and I think Process Explorer can show you disk activity.
 
Last edited:
ok since your running xp there is a simple application you could run:

try using either

Filemon (reccomended)

http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/Filemon.zip

OR

AnVir Task Manager

http://www.anvir.com/taskfree.exe

These will monitor and display

1. services/apps using your hdd
2. the speed and amount of data being send to and from it
3. the path to the file using ur hdd eg C:\windows\internet explorer (for example!)

Hope this helps. if you need further help, dont hesitate to ask! I'm here to help out!

-Adrian
 
pseudolobster said:
Did you install Windows Search?
Click to expand...

No, i hate any type of "search" or "toolbar" gadgets, and never install any of them, nor from M$, nor from any other part ..... thanks for the info, anyway :)



ElektroFreak said:
Also, some AV programs will automatically scan..
Click to expand...

Yes, i also thought the same, at the start ..... i have Panda AV + FW, and checked for its processes ..... but i have planned scans between 23:00 and 02:00 night, and this happens in any hour, and when it happens, panda processes are just working in normal way, same as when the disk is not working ..... only one time i noticed one more process, pavobj, running, but the disk works both with and without this process active, so it's not it ..... also tried to disconnect from internet and completely close all AV processes, and also in this case,after some time, HDD restarted to work as crazy, so i doubt that AV is the guilty ;) ..... thought about some rootkit, too, but if is this, at least rootkitrevealer and sophos antirootkit don't show me it .....



ndrew2505 said:
Hard Disk Sentinel - HDD health, performance and temperature monitoring
Click to expand...

No, it just monitor for health of the disk, cannot show you processes and applications that uses it ..... thanks, anyway :)



bobhaha said:
ok since your running xp there is a simple application you could run:

try using either

Filemon (reccomended)

http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/Filemon.zip

OR

AnVir Task Manager

http://www.anvir.com/taskfree.exe

These will monitor and display

1. services/apps using your hdd
2. the speed and amount of data being send to and from it
3. the path to the file using ur hdd eg C:\windows\internet explorer (for example!)

Hope this helps. if you need further help, dont hesitate to ask! I'm here to help out!

-Adrian
Click to expand...

Thanks, i already tried with process monitor (that, according to M$ page, it's the evolution / integration of filemon and regmon, and it shows me nothing (for this reason i was searching if exist something not produced from M$ ..... cause, i think, if there's a process from themselves, or from some of their consociates, that they don't want that you see, also their monitors can be set for not show you them ..... call me paranoid, if you want, but how much times you've heard M$ admitting that their XP start shell is based on the old Digital Research DRDOS 7 ? ..... or, already happened to me, just after some clean, first installations of XP SP3, shutting down the pc, appear the usual window that say you that there's still a program that cannot be turned off cause it's not responding, and the name of the program is "should not see me" :p ..... just as example :D)

Uhm, maybe if i find an old version of filemon, from before MS buy it from Sysinternals .....

downloading anvir right now, i let you know if it find something ..... thanks
 
Last edited:
hey just installed AnVir Task Manager.. its pretty good..

in order to find out the services using ur hdd, what you do is start it.. alow it to verify all running process.. once it has finished click the process tab, then allow it to verify again. in the middle of the page there is a column for cpu % and disk load.. you will be able to find all your info there!
 
Thanks nikokapo, i'll check it too :)

AnVir shows me something more, but it's still strange .....

There's the usual emule usage, there's some occasional peak from pavjobs (that check when partial files or data becomes loaded on the disk, that was expected), but there's some "high peaks" of activities from jqs.exe (java quickstarter from sun), that randomly reach 14.000 k/s or more, and i don't have any java applications, and firewall is set to permanently block any trial from those applications to access the net (to be precise, my firewall is set for always block any application / service, included the ones that usually are allowed by default, to access the net, excluding only the specific protocols that are needed for net surfing).

Also, sometimes, alg.exe (application layer gateway service) shows up some peaks of activity on hdd, but not enough for explain all the blinking of the disk led ..... basically, the only unexpected use is that from jqs.exe, all the rest is in the expected range ..... but the disk is accessed also when no activities are shown from these programs, and this drive me to think that there's something that access it, that also anvir is unable to intercept .....

Now is becomed a personal fact between me and anything is using the disk :D ..... must find what the hell is, first or after, damn .....
 
Hey forgot to mention at the top of the page (under processes tab) theres an option to run as administrator.. see if that turns up any more results.

Btw does this happen from the time you start up (before windows)? or does it only happen when in windows? have you already done a disc clean up, defrag?? because if your files are very segmented in the hdd this could cause this problem... but i have never seen it be this intense. have you run the pc in safe mode? does it do the same thing??

have you checked for virus/malware and checked for spyware? have you cleared temp internet files?

If you have done this then its time to bring out the big guns!! there are two more things i know of that can fix this problem!
 
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