Persistent Disk Activity on Windows 10

Something weird happened today. I have a bunch of internal and external (eSAT and USB 3.0) drives on my Windows 10 (64bit) system. They all started flashing intermittently this afternoon. I did a screen grab of the Task Manager/Performance tab to show you what it looks like. This all seems to have started after I uninstalled AVAST and replaced it with Bitdefeder IS. I'm hoping you good people could give me some ideas on what to check and how to resolve this issue. Thank you.

Bree said:

One place to check for clues is Task Manager's Processes tab. If you click on the title of the Disk column it will sort the processes by descending order of disk use. Resouce Monitor can give a more detailed view, with a separate breakdown by read and write activity. Again, you can sort the list by clicking on the columns.

Thank you, Bree. But even if I shut down the processes generating the most disk activities, such as the browsers and what not, those periodic spikes on the various drives don't disappear. If you look at that screengrab you'll see what I mean.

Bree said:

Do you not see the process that generates those spikes jump to the top of the list of processes when it does so?

I do not know what process(es) are generating those spikes, and when I look at my running processes it's hard for me discern a pattern. Nothing really stands out as the potential culprit. Here's a screengrab of the processes running:

Can you please boot Windows into Safe Mode and let us know issue persist or not.

FreeBooter said:

Can you please boot Windows into Safe Mode and let us know issue persist or not.

Definitely not there in Safe Mode. So you think maybe the antivirus is the culprit? That was the the change that preceded this strange behavior.

Could be your antivirus causing the issue lets try clean boot state.

I would like to have you run a Clean Boot.

How to perform a Clean Boot.

Warning: Disabling items in Services or Startup may leave your antivirus disabled until the process is ended. For this reason I would suggest that you perform this process off line.

Press the keys to open Run, then type msconfig in the search box. This will open System Configuration.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, you should enter the password or provide confirmation.

(1) Click/tap on the General tab.

(2) Click/tap on the Selective startup option.

(3) Remove the check mark in the Load startup items check box.



4. Click on the Services tab.

5. Place a check mark in the Hide all Microsoft services check box, this will remove the Microsoft Services from the list but will still be running.

6. Click Disable all, this will remove all of the check marks in the Services list.



7. Click on Apply then OK



Click on Restart in the window that opens.

When the computer is restarted it will boot normally.

If the problem does not continue after the restart please do the following.

8. Divide the number of these startup services and programs by two and you place checks in the first half of these, then restart the computer.

9. If the problem doesn't return in those services and programs remove the checks and place checks in the remaining services and programs and restart the computer.

10. When you find which half the service or program is in go on to the next step.

11. The half which has the service causing this problem remove half of the checks as you did previously to see which half has this service. Do the same for the programs. Restart the computer.

12. If it isn't in the first half of these services and programs, do the same with the last half of the services and programs.

13. Once you have narrowed it down to the last three or four services and programs remove the checks one at a time till you find the service or program at fault.

Once you have found the service or program post it in your topic. Do not take any action until I suggest the next step.

FreeBooter said:

Could be your antivirus causing the issue lets try clean boot state.

I would like to have you run a Clean Boot.
...

Thank you, FreeBooter. I was about to head off to bed. I'll give Clean Boot a try in the AM and report back to you. G'night.

Good night!