Computer Noise

highlighter

When my comp has been inactive (no progs open/running) for around 10 mins the red light flashes/flickers along with an annoying noise coming from the base unit (Doesn't happen all of the time), like the comp is being put under alot of stess from demanding applications....when i open i.e. firefox or mediaplayer etc it stops.
Why is this? / Is it normal? / If not, how do i stop it?

DVB_3

Probably an indexing application uses a period of inactivity.

shrek101

You should be able to go into control panel, display, screen saver tab, power and enable power saving for hard drives. That way when system is being used for x amount fo time hard drive will shut down.

vultura

Do you have antivirus installed? Might be that back-ground scanning, I know older McAfee antivirus progs can scan in the background with the screensaver on, they call it Screenscan.