Hard drive light flashing

My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
reading/writing.

I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
different. Here are the facts.

I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive the
master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen with
my old drive.

This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else at all.

Thanks.

The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an IDE
device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media change
signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it needs to
report that the disk has been changed.

You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from your
description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices, where
one is set to detect media changes and one is not.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
> My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
> reading/writing.
>
> I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
> different. Here are the facts.
>
> I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
> reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive the
> master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
> with
> my old drive.
>
> This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else at
> all.
>
> Thanks.

Thank you, Jeff.

My technical skill level is low. Could you please tell me how I check the
configuration of CD devices?

Please note that the way I created this new drive is by copying the files
from the old drive. Everything should be identical on the two drives. The
only thing that is different is that I installed Windows 98 again using the
original windows 98 CD-ROM. If configuration of CD devices is a part of
Windows install, then the two drives may have different configuration.

Regards,
Satish

"Jeff Richards" wrote:

> The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an IDE
> device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media change
> signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it needs to
> report that the disk has been changed.
>
> You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from your
> description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
> See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices, where
> one is set to detect media changes and one is not.
> --
> Jeff Richards
> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
> > My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
> > reading/writing.
> >
> > I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
> > different. Here are the facts.
> >
> > I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
> > reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive the
> > master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
> > with
> > my old drive.
> >
> > This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else at
> > all.
> >
> > Thanks.
>
>
>

Open Control Panel then System then Device Manager.

Expand the CDROM item and double click the CD device. Select Settings. If
Auto-insert notification is checked then the system will regularly check to
see if a new disk has been inserted into the drive. Each time it checks,
the hard drive activity light will flash.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3C134CDE-79C0-4D4B-A957-CECB2FBC0CEB@microsoft.com...
> Thank you, Jeff.
>
> My technical skill level is low. Could you please tell me how I check the
> configuration of CD devices?
>
> Please note that the way I created this new drive is by copying the files
> from the old drive. Everything should be identical on the two drives.
> The
> only thing that is different is that I installed Windows 98 again using
> the
> original windows 98 CD-ROM. If configuration of CD devices is a part of
> Windows install, then the two drives may have different configuration.
>
> Regards,
> Satish
>
> "Jeff Richards" wrote:
>
>> The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an IDE
>> device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media
>> change
>> signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it needs
>> to
>> report that the disk has been changed.
>>
>> You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from
>> your
>> description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
>> See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices,
>> where
>> one is set to detect media changes and one is not.
>> --
>> Jeff Richards
>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
>> > My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
>> > reading/writing.
>> >
>> > I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
>> > different. Here are the facts.
>> >
>> > I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
>> > reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive
>> > the
>> > master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
>> > with
>> > my old drive.
>> >
>> > This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else
>> > at
>> > all.
>> >
>> > Thanks.
>>
>>
>>

As Jeff replied, look in Device Manager> CDROM category> double-click the CD drive;
then select the Settings tab.

Uncheck "Auto-insert notification", click OK all the way out, and reboot.

You will not have any CD autorun with this disabled, but you should try it as a test
to see if the hard drive light flashing stops with this unchecked. Try it with each
of the hard drives set as the boot drive, adjusting the setting in each copy of
Windows when active.

Jeff states: "Each time it checks, the hard drive activity light will flash." I
have found this to sometimes but NOT ALWAYS be the case, but more common on older
hardware.

If this does not have any effect on the flashing light, you may as a next step want
to compare the startup axis on each copy of Windows to see if they are in fact
identical in what is loaded at startup.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3C134CDE-79C0-4D4B-A957-CECB2FBC0CEB@microsoft.com...
> Thank you, Jeff.
>
> My technical skill level is low. Could you please tell me how I check the
> configuration of CD devices?
>
> Please note that the way I created this new drive is by copying the files
> from the old drive. Everything should be identical on the two drives. The
> only thing that is different is that I installed Windows 98 again using the
> original windows 98 CD-ROM. If configuration of CD devices is a part of
> Windows install, then the two drives may have different configuration.
>
> Regards,
> Satish
>
> "Jeff Richards" wrote:
>
>> The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an IDE
>> device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media change
>> signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it needs to
>> report that the disk has been changed.
>>
>> You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from your
>> description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
>> See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices, where
>> one is set to detect media changes and one is not.
>> --
>> Jeff Richards
>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
>> > My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
>> > reading/writing.
>> >
>> > I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
>> > different. Here are the facts.
>> >
>> > I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
>> > reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive the
>> > master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
>> > with
>> > my old drive.
>> >
>> > This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else at
>> > all.
>> >
>> > Thanks.
>>
>>
>>

Thank you, Jeff.

Auto Insert Notification was the reason. Once I unchecked the box, the
problem disappeared.

Regards,

Satish

"Jeff Richards" wrote:

> The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an IDE
> device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media change
> signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it needs to
> report that the disk has been changed.
>
> You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from your
> description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
> See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices, where
> one is set to detect media changes and one is not.
> --
> Jeff Richards
> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
> > My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
> > reading/writing.
> >
> > I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
> > different. Here are the facts.
> >
> > I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
> > reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive the
> > master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
> > with
> > my old drive.
> >
> > This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else at
> > all.
> >
> > Thanks.
>
>
>

Auto Insert Notification was the reason. Once I unchecked the box, the
problem disappeared.

Thank you for your help!
Satish

"glee" wrote:

> As Jeff replied, look in Device Manager> CDROM category> double-click the CD drive;
> then select the Settings tab.
>
> Uncheck "Auto-insert notification", click OK all the way out, and reboot.
>
> You will not have any CD autorun with this disabled, but you should try it as a test
> to see if the hard drive light flashing stops with this unchecked. Try it with each
> of the hard drives set as the boot drive, adjusting the setting in each copy of
> Windows when active.
>
> Jeff states: "Each time it checks, the hard drive activity light will flash." I
> have found this to sometimes but NOT ALWAYS be the case, but more common on older
> hardware.
>
> If this does not have any effect on the flashing light, you may as a next step want
> to compare the startup axis on each copy of Windows to see if they are in fact
> identical in what is loaded at startup.
> --
> Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
> http://dts-l.org/
> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
>
>
> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:3C134CDE-79C0-4D4B-A957-CECB2FBC0CEB@microsoft.com...
> > Thank you, Jeff.
> >
> > My technical skill level is low. Could you please tell me how I check the
> > configuration of CD devices?
> >
> > Please note that the way I created this new drive is by copying the files
> > from the old drive. Everything should be identical on the two drives. The
> > only thing that is different is that I installed Windows 98 again using the
> > original windows 98 CD-ROM. If configuration of CD devices is a part of
> > Windows install, then the two drives may have different configuration.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Satish
> >
> > "Jeff Richards" wrote:
> >
> >> The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an IDE
> >> device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media change
> >> signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it needs to
> >> report that the disk has been changed.
> >>
> >> You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from your
> >> description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
> >> See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices, where
> >> one is set to detect media changes and one is not.
> >> --
> >> Jeff Richards
> >> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> >> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
> >> > My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
> >> > reading/writing.
> >> >
> >> > I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
> >> > different. Here are the facts.
> >> >
> >> > I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
> >> > reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive the
> >> > master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
> >> > with
> >> > my old drive.
> >> >
> >> > This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else at
> >> > all.
> >> >
> >> > Thanks.
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>

Well, I did apply the condition that Windows had to think there was a device
connected that didn't support the media change signal. That would typically
be an older device, or perhaps a device installed without its correct
drivers.

Also, now that Satish has found out what it is, I'm not sure that the best
option would, in fact, be to turn it off. It may be a bit worrying when you
don't know about it, but it's actually harmless.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"glee" <glee29@spamindspring.com> wrote in message
news:%235OaxuVwHHA.4592@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> snip <
>
> Jeff states: "Each time it checks, the hard drive activity light will
> flash." I have found this to sometimes but NOT ALWAYS be the case, but
> more common on older hardware.
>
> If this does not have any effect on the flashing light, you may as a next
> step want to compare the startup axis on each copy of Windows to see if
> they are in fact identical in what is loaded at startup.
> --
> Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
> http://dts-l.org/
> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
>
>
> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:3C134CDE-79C0-4D4B-A957-CECB2FBC0CEB@microsoft.com...
>> Thank you, Jeff.
>>
>> My technical skill level is low. Could you please tell me how I check
>> the
>> configuration of CD devices?
>>
>> Please note that the way I created this new drive is by copying the files
>> from the old drive. Everything should be identical on the two drives.
>> The
>> only thing that is different is that I installed Windows 98 again using
>> the
>> original windows 98 CD-ROM. If configuration of CD devices is a part of
>> Windows install, then the two drives may have different configuration.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Satish
>>
>> "Jeff Richards" wrote:
>>
>>> The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an
>>> IDE
>>> device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media
>>> change
>>> signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it
>>> needs to
>>> report that the disk has been changed.
>>>
>>> You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from
>>> your
>>> description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
>>> See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices,
>>> where
>>> one is set to detect media changes and one is not.
>>> --
>>> Jeff Richards
>>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>>> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>> news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
>>> > My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
>>> > reading/writing.
>>> >
>>> > I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
>>> > different. Here are the facts.
>>> >
>>> > I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
>>> > reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive
>>> > the
>>> > master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
>>> > with
>>> > my old drive.
>>> >
>>> > This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else
>>> > at
>>> > all.
>>> >
>>> > Thanks.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>

"Jeff Richards" <JRichards@msn.com.au> wrote in message
news:e3RpGKtwHHA.1164@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Well, I did apply the condition that Windows had to think there was a device
> connected that didn't support the media change signal. That would typically be an
> older device, or perhaps a device installed without its correct drivers.

Yes, I saw your conditional response. :-) Even a cloned copy of Windows can see
the optical drive differently than the original copy in that respect due to some of
the dynamic aspects of hardware enumeration on boot, I suppose.


> Also, now that Satish has found out what it is, I'm not sure that the best option
> would, in fact, be to turn it off. It may be a bit worrying when you don't know
> about it, but it's actually harmless.

I agree, and that's why I stated he should try it as a "test" to see if it was the
cause, rather than as a permanent solution. I would prefer to leave Auto-insert
Notification on, even if I had tweaked any Autorun setting to off. I don't know if
Satish caught the implication of my using the word "test".

Some folks just hate to see that activity LED working. ;-)


> "glee" <glee29@spamindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:%235OaxuVwHHA.4592@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> snip <
>>
>> Jeff states: "Each time it checks, the hard drive activity light will flash." I
>> have found this to sometimes but NOT ALWAYS be the case, but more common on older
>> hardware.
>>
>> If this does not have any effect on the flashing light, you may as a next step
>> want to compare the startup axis on each copy of Windows to see if they are in
>> fact identical in what is loaded at startup.
>>
>>
>> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:3C134CDE-79C0-4D4B-A957-CECB2FBC0CEB@microsoft.com...
>>> Thank you, Jeff.
>>>
>>> My technical skill level is low. Could you please tell me how I check the
>>> configuration of CD devices?
>>>
>>> Please note that the way I created this new drive is by copying the files
>>> from the old drive. Everything should be identical on the two drives. The
>>> only thing that is different is that I installed Windows 98 again using the
>>> original windows 98 CD-ROM. If configuration of CD devices is a part of
>>> Windows install, then the two drives may have different configuration.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Satish
>>>
>>> "Jeff Richards" wrote:
>>>
>>>> The usual reason for this blinking is that Windows thinks there is an IDE
>>>> device (such as some CD-ROM drives) that does not support the media change
>>>> signal, so it checks the IDE devices every few seconds to see if it needs to
>>>> report that the disk has been changed.
>>>>
>>>> You say it doesn't happen with the other hard drive, and it seems from your
>>>> description that you are therefore running a different operating system.
>>>> See if there is a difference in the configuration of the CD devices, where
>>>> one is set to detect media changes and one is not.

>>>> "Satish Gupta" <SatishGupta@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:8A8C7853-6CBD-4898-8572-79F4F5F9F75B@microsoft.com...
>>>> > My hard drive light flashes every few seconds as if the computer is
>>>> > reading/writing.
>>>> >
>>>> > I have read responses to similar questions, but think my problem is
>>>> > different. Here are the facts.
>>>> >
>>>> > I copied contents of one of my drives to a different drive, including
>>>> > reinstall of Win 98 on this second drive. When I make the new drive the
>>>> > master and the old the slave, I have this problem. It does not happen
>>>> > with
>>>> > my old drive.
>>>> >
>>>> > This happens even when I am not on the internet or doing anything else at
>>>> > all.
>>>> >
>>>> > Thanks.
>>>>
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm