It seems like every time the screensaver on Windows 7 comes up, shortly after it makes a noise. I'm not sure how to describe it but you can sometimes hear the noise by going into my computer and highlighting a harddrive, it's not an unusual noise, just one hard to describe, like a grunt almost. Anyway, after it makes this noise, it starts getting HD activity (with its associated noise) like it's doing something. However, when I come back over to the computer and move the mouse - it stops. It only wants to do it while the screensaver is up. Maybe it's trying to do something useful but I've got to say I'm easily annoyed by it whenever it happens, is there a way to tell what it's doing, and if so, is there a way to make it stop?

Indexing files, defragging, and other automatic processes occur during idle moments, by design, and as expected behavior.Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP

Indexing files, defragging, and other automatic processes occur during idle moments, by design, and as expected behavior. Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP I see. Is there any way I would be able to configure Sleep mode to not hinder downloads, without activating these idle processes?

Sleep mode means your computer is asleep - it means that the computer is in a power saving state - the monitor is turned off, the screen saver is no longer active, the hard drives are turned offand only a bare minimum amount of electricity is supplied to the system to keep the memory charged and keeping track of whatever it contains. Downloads do NOT generally happen when the computer is sleeping nor hibernating. And there's no means to keep them going while the machine is sleeping.

So is there any way to turn off the activity that goes on when the computer's idle, or changes how and when it runs?

So is there any way to turn off the activity that goes on when the computer's idle, or changes how and when it runs? No really. The activity is inevitable. Sooner or later the drive will need to perform the functions that need to happen to ensure the continued performance of its duties. Doing that during periods of inactivity are simply the best time to do them.Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP

So is there any way to turn off the activity that goes on when the computer's idle, or changes how and when it runs? No really. The activity is inevitable. Sooner or later the drive will need to perform the functions that need to happen to ensure the continued performance of its duties. Doing that during periods of inactivity are simply the best time to do them. Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP It's not inevitable if I don't want to listen to the noise it'll make at the time. Not being able to adjust this at all seems odd to me.

Here's the thing. The kinds of things that go on while the machine is idle ARE important to performance. Yes, it's probably possible to shut off the automated indexing and defragging. But if you do that then what you're going to get is a machine that takes forever to find anything and performance when it comes to retrieving files from the drive is going to suck. In short, you're probably NOT going to be very happy with Windows. You solution then would be to buy quieter hardware next time around...

Here's the thing. The kinds of things that go on while the machine is idle ARE important to performance. Yes, it's probably possible to shut off the automated indexing and defragging. But if you do that then what you're going to get is a machine that takes forever to find anything and performance when it comes to retrieving files from the drive is going to suck. In short, you're probably NOT going to be very happy with Windows. You solution then would be to buy quieter hardware next time around... Baring that in mind, how do I disable or otherwise configure the automated indexing/defragging?

Here's the thing. The kinds of things that go on while the machine is idle ARE important to performance. Yes, it's probably possible to shut off the automated indexing and defragging. But if you do that then what you're going to get is a machine that takes forever to find anything and performance when it comes to retrieving files from the drive is going to suck. In short, you're probably NOT going to be very happy with Windows. You solution then would be to buy quieter hardware next time around... Baring that in mind, how do I disable or otherwise configure the automated indexing/defragging? Control Panel,All Control Panel Items, Indexing Options, File Types tab, uncheck all.Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools\Advanced Tools, Configure button, uncheck box for schedule.Expect extreamly slow performance, and unpredictable errors.Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP

Here's the thing. The kinds of things that go on while the machine is idle ARE important to performance. Yes, it's probably possible to shut off the automated indexing and defragging. But if you do that then what you're going to get is a machine that takes forever to find anything and performance when it comes to retrieving files from the drive is going to suck. In short, you're probably NOT going to be very happy with Windows. You solution then would be to buy quieter hardware next time around... Baring that in mind, how do I disable or otherwise configure the automated indexing/defragging? Control Panel,All Control Panel Items, Indexing Options, File Types tab, uncheck all. Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools\Advanced Tools, Configure button, uncheck box for schedule. Expect extreamly slow performance, and unpredictable errors. Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP I found the first one okay but I couldn't find any configure button in the Advanced Tools section.

I left out, ...Advanced tools/click "Open Defragmenter" , "Configure..." button ...Rating posts helps other users Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP