Re: something is working behind screensaver

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

That looks like the road I need to walk down. Thanks a heap! And thanks to
all who took an interest and shared your thoughts.

Have a great New Year!

"Nepatsfan" wrote:

"r. wales" <rwales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9696259F-1EA2-4099-9D20-46CD5490DD34@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have noticed recently that on occassion while my
screensaver is up my drive activity light will be on almost
constantly (not every time). When I move the mouse and the
screensaver shuts off, activity stops. How can I find out
what is causing the activity? I have changed screensavers
and it still happens. In watching my firewall, router and
gateway I know that data is not being sent out. Is there a
way to track what is going on when the screensaver is up?

Thanks.

You might want to do a little research on what's called the
"Windows XP System Idle Task Scheduler". When you're computer
is idle Windows will perform a number of housekeeping tasks.
One of those is the creation of automatic restore points.

Also, if you have the Indexing Service enabled in Search it
will run when Windows is idle. Right click your C drive in My
Computer and select Properties from the menu. On the General
page, is "Allow Indexing Service to index this drive for faster
searching" checked?

All of these activities will cause the hard drive light to
blink while the screensaver is displayed.

Here are a few articles that while not exactly applying to your
situation they do provide information you may find helpful in
understanding what's going on in the background.

Windows XP does not enter standby after the exact period that
is configured in the Power Options profile
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899975

Computer does not enter standby mode if Power Options profile
is set to standby after 45 or more minutes
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310601

Hard Disks Do Not Turn Off After Your Computer Has Been Idle
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313300

Here's a utility you can leave running to see what may be going
on in the background.

FileMon for Windows v7.04
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/filemon.mspx

Good luck

Nepatsfan



.

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