steam constantly accessing HD while open and idle

[Spook Rooster]

pretty much the title. i don't feel like it's safe to keep something open that is constantly, and mysteriously, accessing my hdd. i can tell by the relentless flashing the front panel indicator does when the client is open. i thought at one point it was doing that because of all the games i had on hold because i don't want things auto-updating (another issue), but i updated them all and the problem persisted.

now, this isn't just annoying, but probably shouldn't be allowed to just start accessing a drive for no reason. if i'm idle, i'm idle. there is no reason steam should be doing whatever it is it does to the hdd when nothing is downloading or anything. is this a bug or have i just not noticed this shady activity until now? i'd really like it to not be accessing files so often that the indicator won't stop flashing. that's kind of a lot of activity.

[ncps]

Maybe it's just checking files for errors, or maybe it isnt even steam :)

[Spook Rooster]

it's definitely steam. this only happens when the client is open.

[ncps]

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

it's definitely steam. this only happens when the client is open.

so whenever you don't have steam open the light starts flashing, wierd, contact steam support to see what is happening : https://support.steampowered.com/
Hope this works

[Spook Rooster]

no, it flashes constantly when it IS open.

[ncps]

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

no, it flashes constantly when it IS open.

I meant is open but that is wierd, cause it doesnt happen to me often, just when im playing something

[Spook Rooster]

well, guess it's a bug then. of course.

why do they always come to me.

[ncps]

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

well, guess it's a bug then. of course.

why do they always come to me.

They hate spooky roosters
;3

[Forcen]

If you are on windows 8 or up do this:
Press Ctrl+shift+Esc,
click the performance tab
Click "open performance monitor"
Click the "Disk" tab.

Now you can see what processes actually use your disk and what file it is using. You can sort by process name and lots of stuff.
Report what you find.

Sounds like you are worrying about nothing, programs use the disc in the background for all kinds of stuff.

What are you worried about?

EDIT: put a piece of tape over your hard drive indicator.

[Spook Rooster]

tape isn't going to change the fact that steam is rapidly accessing something. i've checked the performance monitor on 7, and there's no specifics. just that various programs are accessing it. but steam accesses it much more than everything combined.

also, i submitted a ticket. but i've heard nothing good about steam support, so.

[ncps]

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

tape isn't going to change the fact that steam is rapidly accessing something. i've checked the performance monitor on 7, and there's no specifics. just that various programs are accessing it. but steam accesses it much more than everything combined.

also, i submitted a ticket. but i've heard nothing good about steam support, so.

support takes up to 5 days to respond, but usually it's just 1 (24hrs)

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

tape isn't going to change the fact that steam is rapidly accessing something. i've checked the performance monitor on 7, and there's no specifics. just that various programs are accessing it. but steam accesses it much more than everything combined.

also, i submitted a ticket. but i've heard nothing good about steam support, so.

Support is not going to fix an issue on your computer. Steam is surely not causing this, but a conflict on your computer, if that is what is causing it, can possibly be the issue.

Start with this list. Check it all very carefully, please.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

[ncps]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

tape isn't going to change the fact that steam is rapidly accessing something. i've checked the performance monitor on 7, and there's no specifics. just that various programs are accessing it. but steam accesses it much more than everything combined.

also, i submitted a ticket. but i've heard nothing good about steam support, so.

Support is not going to fix an issue on your computer. Steam is surely not causing this, but a conflict on your computer, if that is what is causing it, can possibly be the issue.

Start with this list. Check it all very carefully, please.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

I had suggested to contact support to guide him on what is happening on his computer

[Spook Rooster]

that list is for vague performance issues and crashes related to steam, not it sneaking around in the hdd doing...whatever it's doing. probably the only thing i have from that list is skype, and that doesn't even make sense.

[Forcen]

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

tape isn't going to change the fact that steam is rapidly accessing something. i've checked the performance monitor on 7, and there's no specifics. just that various programs are accessing it. but steam accesses it much more than everything combined.

Can't the monitor see what files it is accessing in windows 7? Sorry I don't remember.

How much more is it using? Can you show a screenshot?

You can use this tool to get a very detailed view on how much every single process is using your harddrive: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/processmonitor.aspx
Just right click a process in that software, hit properties, then check the I/O on the performance and performance graph to see how much reads and writes it does.

You can also see how much your I/O your whole system is doing with Ctrl+I in that tool.

Looks like my steam.exe is doing about 2.1KB to 7.4KB of reads and other when I am not using it. No writes it seems.

Doesn't seem that much, for example battle.net seems to be doing more stuff than steam on my system.

What about yours?

Some other questions:

Are you saying that this constant hdd access thing is a bug? Something that steam and other programs should not do?

Or do you think this is normal but you don't want it?

Is this causing problems for you?

[Spook Rooster]

Originally posted by Forcen:

Originally posted by Spook Rooster:

tape isn't going to change the fact that steam is rapidly accessing something. i've checked the performance monitor on 7, and there's no specifics. just that various programs are accessing it. but steam accesses it much more than everything combined.

Can't the monitor see what files it is accessing in windows 7? Sorry I don't remember.

How much more is it using? Can you show a screenshot?

You can use this tool to get a very detailed view on how much every single process is using your harddrive: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/processmonitor.aspx
Just right click a process in that software, hit properties, then check the I/O on the performance and performance graph to see how much reads and writes it does.

You can also see how much your I/O your whole system is doing with Ctrl+I in that tool.

Looks like my steam.exe is doing about 2.1KB to 7.4KB of reads and other when I am not using it. No writes it seems.

Doesn't seem that much, for example battle.net seems to be doing more stuff than steam on my system.

What about yours?

Some other questions:

Are you saying that this constant hdd access thing is a bug? Something that steam and other programs should not do?

Or do you think this is normal but you don't want it?

Is this causing problems for you?

pre-steam http://puu.sh/r9PcA/cb86b9aef7.png
post-steam (while idle and downloading nothing) http://puu.sh/r9PhJ/e5c4ce83a9.png

it also might help knowing what the hell's going on by saying that when right clicking steam in the task bar to select exit, it doesn't exit. it says it's finishing up steam cloud sync and gives me the option to exit again from there. however, i still have to go into processes and close all the steam instances manually.