I bought a computer just a few months ago and I was wondering if people have a similar problem with Vista.I do not know what is going on with Windows Vista but the damn hard drive activity never stops!It sounds like you are doing a disk defragmentation and it goes on and on and on for over a hour.I have even wiped out the hard drive and started fresh and deleted most of the progams.I am also getting fricken updates every day!What is up with this?When I had XP I used to get updates about once a month or longer.I can't stand Vista.

I bought a Dell computer from Best Buy a few months ago. It came with Vista. I don't hear the noises that you're talking about.

But....Best Buy told me that Vista updates frequently so one needs space for those upgrades.

I haven't noticed receiving them.

Sounds like you may need more ram. Probably having to use your hard drive as virtual memory due to the lack of physical memory.

Vista needs 2gb of ram to run decent. Trust me. Also, get rid of Norton or Mcafee if they bundled that with your computer. Awful programs! Go with AVG or Avast, they're better & free.

yeah you can also stop how many updates are added to your computer by change the 'Change Settings' in windows update.
the only reasons why it downloads so may is cause when vista vista was realesd it had so many security flaws to it xD.


Nooooo no AVG, spyware terminator with integrated Clam-win

Its not actually your machine thats the problem its the darn operating system itself its slows your whole computer down due to taking up so much space. This is whats causing peoples hard drive to go mental in my opinion.

If it's just the noise that bothers you, try to save up money and invest in a laptop. I don't think it's a software issue, but a hardware issue. PCs make noise, laptops don't.

Never had a laptop.Don't think I would like it either.I don't like flat keyboards or the smaller keys.I think I have 8 gigabites of memory and on top of that I used 4 gigabites from a flash card.It's not slow but just sounds like it is always doing something.I think it is a Vista problem.XP went smooth as silk.

I'd go Kapersky, to be honest.

Ok the sound issue, one the past posters said it sounded like a lack of Ram; That is a very good possibility. Could be a hardware incompatibility issue as well, but doubtful.

Laptops don't make noise : Biggest crock of crap I have ever heard =p

Security wise, Use an AVG / Avast combo with Commodo Firewall pro edition.

I have used all of the flavors of Anti Virus and in servicing other computers no one piece of software offers truly comprehensive protection.
Avast Home 4.8 has consistently caught crap all of the others missed. Norton sucks so hard it can pull the chrome off of a door knob. AVG is clunky and not too good. Grissoft is a good set of software but AVG falls short.
On top of Avast you need either Adaware 2008 or Spybot Search and Destroy (both do similar jobs but SB S and D asked to allow any registry changes while Adaware is more for malware prevention and does remove a LOT of crap.). Also install Spyware Blaster. It is passive but it also does help in preventing anything slipping past your Anti Virus.
For maintenance purposes use Lexun Regscrub XP, C Cleaner, and Clear Prog.
Other software that will help enhance your Windows experience is Unlocker Assistant and Tweak UI.
For one of the most *****en desktop applications look for Dremples! You get a really cool desktop and screen saver similar in a lot of ways to G Force without the expense.
Also remember these sights for software downloads:
Magorgeeks.com, C Net.com, File Hippo.com.

Oh, I got off topic slightly (more like a lot!). The hard Drive may be bad. Use a hard drive diagnostic to see. There are a number of disk utilities that can see if you have a bad hard drive. After a diagnostic try upgrading the drivers for your hard drive.
Also, if your computer is less than 2 G of RAM you will have operating issues. Vista was designed to work with 4 or more G of RAM. Another distinct possibility is a maleware infection.
Another thing I have noticed is Auto Update can cause problems as well.
One last issue that can cause a Hard Drive to operate constantly is Automatic Backup! Sometimes shutting that off will end the problem.
One last thing to check for is improper RAM (ie PC 2400 where PC 3200 is required). Granted an out of the BOX computer should not have that issue but they can be sold with bad RAM. If your computer is less than 4 GB of RAM then you should downgrade to XP. If the computer still is making a lot of noise I would get an RMA on it and have it checked by the people you bought it from.

Sorry to say but Vista just sucks. It is improperly designed to begin with. It has a serious problems dealing with just a few thousands of files.

I've killed (happily) many many Vistas for friends and clients and installed either W2Kpro or XP pro.

Your specific problem is Vista and a bad hard drive.

Vista overloads the hard drive because it constantly needs to reindex everything. That is how it was built.

If you had a good drive, you wouldn't notice this. Change the HD. And seriously, get rid of Vista.

On the home computer side (not counting Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000...which were designed for business systems)

We had Windows 95...

...then Windows 98

...then Windows ME... remember that catastrophe? Worst operating system ever....

... then we were given Windows XP... and lot's of holes and viruses were exploited, and they fixed them (mostly, finally) by Service Pack 2...

... now we gotta swallow Vista...


I am predicting Vista to go the way of Windows ME as a total crap operating system......

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OK, so what basically is an update?

Here is my off-the-cuff explanation...

... every operating system Microsoft has ever offered for sale to the public was basically bug-filled crap from the get go. As the public uses and complains about the buggy junk they have to deal with, they e-mail and phone in to Microsoft tech support. Microsoft compiles lists of user complaints and assigns programmers to write additional code to fix the complaints. They issue the fixed software complaints as what they term as "Windows Updates." Also known as "patches" (like when you wear out a new pair of jeans three seconds after wearing them, and need to "patch" them...)

The reason Vista updates so frequently is because it is a total piece of junk.

If automobiles were marketed the way Microsoft markets software, it would be like this.... The customer drives home with their new car, all happy and excited to go on a nice long trip. Half way home, and idiot light comes on on the dash instructing the owner to service the engine. The next day, the new owner takes the car back to the dealer (gets a "Windows update") and a "small glitch" was fixed. It wasn't so bad, it only needed a gas tank... no biggee...

Next day, the new owner is about to start out on his or her big long trip and the two front tires both go flat at the exact same time. Back to the dealer.... Oh, it was a manufacturer flaw, there was a small piece of metal in the fender that was overlooked in the engineering design, and it came down and shredded both low-profile tires. The manufacturer pays to have them both fixed (another Windows update).

A week later, the new owner receives a recall notice in the mail telling them that if they don't bring the car back to the dealer immediately a steering mechanism problem will malfunction and the car will veer off the road killing everyone inside. In computer operating systems this is the equivalent of a 14 year old hacker figuring out an exploitable hole in Windows, and issuing out a real nasty computer worm that annihilates 300,000 machines in the first 45 minutes it hits the Internet. The car dealer is backed up for days with consumer complaints...

...and the owner of the car company... for now let's call him Bill Gates... becomes the richest man on Earth.....

This is how Microsoft has done business from day one.



Sell total crap to the consumers...

...depend on tech support to input consumer complaints by the thousands...

...hire programmers who do nothing all day but fix incomplete code issues



Oh and a "Service Pack"... ???

This is a "best of" compilation of Windows Update patch fixes. When they get enough patch fixes together, they compile them into a happy little downloadable doo-dad called a "Service Pack". I'm thinking we are up to Service Pack 3 for Windows XP... (last I checked)... I know there was a Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000 back in the day...


Ahhhh personal computing...... its not a perfect science by any means, but it is amazing what they can do with what they can sell to the public.