Hard Disk Activity When Computer Is Idle

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows 98

SYMPTOMS

When your computer seems to be idle, intense hard disk activity may occur, sometimes for up to a minute or more.

CAUSE

When your computer is idle, Windows performs various housekeeping activities. One such activity is compacting the virtual memory swap file after one minute of inactivity. This is done to conserve disk space.

You can confirm that this is what is happening by running the System Monitor tool and monitoring the Swapfile Size item in the Memory Manager category. When the hard disk activity is finished, you should see the Swapfile Size file decrease.

RESOLUTION

No action is necessary. Windows stops all housecleaning tasks the moment you begin using the computer and resumes them when the computer is not busy.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

Keywords          : kbtool win95 
Version           : 95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb 

Last Reviewed: January 27, 1999