HDD being accessed while SSD is primary

Question

I bought a new SSD and installed Windows on it, but I kept my old HDD attached just in case I need something. However, even if I don't use anything on the HDD, I can still hear it making noises.

This happens especially when I change the program I'm using, even when all the programs and files I am using are on the SSD. The noise is not a problem; the problem is that whenever the HDD is making noises everything is slow.

After I use the same program for a minute or two, the HDD stops making sounds and everything is smooth again.

What could be causing this?

Answer 1

By default Windows 7 uses all available drives for virtual memory.

Go to Control Panel, System and Security, System. Click on "Advanced system settings" in the left-hand pane. Go to the Advanced tab. Click "Settings" under Performance. Go to the Advanced tab. Click "Change" under Virtual Memory. Turn off "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives".

Select the old drive and select the "No paging file" option. Click "Set", then OK. You'll then need to reboot the machine. Hopefully, the problem will go away.

Answer 2

Since you are running Windows 7 you can use the Resource Monitor to monitor all disk activity.

You can click Start and then type in Resource Monitor or launch it from the Task Manager in the Performance tab. Open the Disk tab to monitor all disk activity. You can see what programs are using the disk and what files.

Most likely what you'll see is the system indexer running indexing files, or other basic system services that are normal.