Second disk spinning for no apparent reason

I have a second disk drive that I use for backup purposes only. I don't even use an automated backup tool; I just occasionally run FolderMatch to synchronize a couple of folders. So most of the time the second drive is spun down and not being used.

During normal daily activity, though, my system occasionally "freezes" while the second drive spins up. I have yet to discover what particular action causes XP to want to access this second drive.

Any suggestions as to what might be the cause, or how I can determine what event is invoking the (undesired) access?

... Doug

 

Do you use Diskeeper for defragging ?

 

Every time "My Computer" is accessed all drives spin up.

That includes when you use features like 'save as', or browse in Windows Explorer, search, etc.

If you've ever left a CD in for a period of time the delay is extremely apparent as you wait for it to spin up.

 

Sorry for taking to long to respond to your helpful replies; I've been "on the road" most of this past week.

Interesting suggestions all. Yes, "System Restore" was enabled for that drive; I've just turned it off (don't need it for a purely backup drive), so we'll see how that changes things.

I don't use Diskeeper, so that's unlikely to be a contributing factor.

As for "My Computer" accesses causing all drives to spin up, I'll be more attentive to that possibility the next time this happens (assuming the "System Restore" issue doesn't clear the problem).

Thanks, all; your comments are much appreciated!

... Doug

 

Hard drives don't ordinarily "spin up" or "down" during operation of the computer, but remain spinning at all times. Have you enabled some power-saving feature that causes the hd to shut down after a certain period of time?

 

Yes, hard drives are set to automatically power down after an hour of non-use (the standard "home office" setting).

... Doug

 

It could be background defragmentation (which can be turned off), the Indexing Service, if you have it enabled, explorer refreshing, or many other things. It would be easier just to keep the drive powered during use.