W98 - Auto Floppy Drive seek

[Cornish Jack]

No huge problem, just a niggling little query. My main desktop has W98 loaded and left on its own for a while, goes to sleep mode and the screen blanks. After about half an hour, or so, of this, it suddenly starts to try to access the floppy drive, thrashing away at it six or seven times, has no response, so goes back to sleep again. The screen remains blank so, presumably, the main works are still sleeping. Anyone know what is happening? Should I have it exorcised?

[ExSimGuy]

I've noticed something similar on the machine in the office. I suspect it's something like Windows Explorer, left open but minimised, last used to look at A: - maybe?

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Ah, the VC-10, Wasn't she lovely!

[Cornish Jack]

Thanks ESG
Its not an open programme as such but it could be something on the Task List - full of all sorts of self-inserted rubbish. I'm intending to reduce all of that to Explorer and Systray and see if that does the trick. One additional fact last night - the H/D started to chunter to itself just before the floppy woke up. The other desktop has a similar set-up but on W95, not 98, and doesn't do it so maybe that nice Mr Gates's chaps have added a little unasked for functionality!!

[fobotcso]

Suggest:

On the desktop, click on "My Computer" then "Scheduled Tasks" and see what, if anything, is scheduled to take place periodically. It could be the dreaded "Findfast" waster of CPU processing time. You can delete this, if you wish, without detriment. Most people do.

[spannersatcx]

Could be that your Anti Virus s/w is set to kick in after so long at idle or as suggested scan disk through the task scheduler. Or if you have some Norton things that are set to kick in after so long.

[Starlight]

Try: http://www.annoyances.org/win95/win95ann6.html#07

Excellent site, also published as a book 'Windows Annoyances', by David A Karp.
O'Reilly & Associates, Inc ISBN: 1-56592-266-2

[Cornish Jack]

Thanks all.
Super hyperlink, Starlight. Have had a quick peek but that site and its links may well keep me out of mischief for a while!!

[Captain Sensible]

Have you got a Norton Suite loaded? Because that has some sort of program continually working in the background which suddenly bursts into life, slowing things down, and hogging memory.

[Cornish Jack]

Thanks Capt Sensible - No, I don't have Norton loaded; tried it on one of the machines and it caused more problems than it cured.
Very nearly caught the culprit last night. I was tied up on the second machine when the 'sleeping' one started to chatter the H/D and then the usual six or seven attempts to read the floppy. Unfortunately I couldn't leave what I was doing and by the time I could, the thing had stopped. Anyway I shall catch the little swine one of these days Will keep you all posted.