Windows at idle
 

Is there a Windows guru in the house? I used to be one back in the 16-bit days, but this "new" stuff befuddles me, and continuing trends displayed by Microsoft are ever more worrisome. Have they already implemented their Windows 10 "snoop" technology fully into Windows 7? Anyway, here's the scenario on my dual-core, little E4400, maxed-out with 2 gig of RAM:

1. nearly constant hard drive activity
2. cpu "idle" activity between 6-12%
3. physical "memory" (hard drive) use of 726mb

this is with Windows update set to "Check for updates, but let me choose whether to download and install them". This indicates nearly constant swap file activity... ?? The processes showing in Performance Meter on the swap file are "System" and "SvcHost.exe", with "MsMpEng.exe" trying to keep up on the cpu side of things. The latter suggests MS Security Essentials, but it no longer is acting like a "background" app...

When I was on the Microsoft Circle for Windows 10 RC stuff, they actually had the OS better than Windows 7 for a time. Then, a bit before the actual release, they changed it, and it was then in a constant state of activity, eating up every bit of resource it could, only relinquishing control to the user when it wanted to. I dumped it and have stayed with Windows 7 and XP. Now, it looks like Windows 7 is like Windows 10, after the last few weeks of updates - besides them practically trashing my two machines with the update process (shades of Vista), and me having to practically bend over backwards to get the machines back with some semblance of "efficiency". I also had to change back a bunch of user preferences in the power saving scheme and the file extensions' associations. Unacceptable.

I'm already in the process of implementing a transition to Linux in my house, and I'm still hitting speed bumps with that, but sometimes, speed bumps are smoother if you hit them faster... Who can explain this increased activity on my computer - a doubling of activity? Are all the bad boys of hacking trying to gain access to my data? Has anyone else noticed this change in the last few weeks? Notice also, all the browser updates... Who of you is keeping up with these "trends" and is able to explain who is doing what here?

1. old issue: do you have search indexing going on? That will churn your hard drives like crazy when you're doing nothing. Takes up CPU resources too. Turn indexing off!

Hey, that is about all for Windows 7. Now on updated Windows 8 and 8.1 as well as Windows 10, Windows gathers up a core sample of information from all over your disk (they have rights to all your info now), compresses it and sends it in very large files to their mother drone in orbit around Jupoopiter twice a day. This is automatic and no options will shut it off. Merry Christmas from the invasion of privacy section at Microsloth. They assure you they will do virtually no harm.

Well... I ~had~ indexing off... It is now "OFF" once again. It, like other settings on the computer, have been ~changed~... I must have done all that in my sleep, while I wasn't looking, 'cause I sure don't remember turning that on, Windows Update on Full MS Control, nor making my avi file and mp3 files play windows media mangler and drm King. They also changed my preferences for image formats, as well as changing my power "Savings" settings back to basically a laptop for a desktop. Wow...

Edit am 12/18: Another thing I just noticed here, is now that I've changed some of my file ext properties to where the programs ~I~ want associated with open them, I no longer have "previews" available in the sidebar in Windows Explorer... what thuh h?... what are these computer "people" trying to prove here? This is like the photobucket site bombing a user with ads anymore. Makes me not want to use them for ~anything~ at all...