# Periodic scratching of the HDD

## nyk

My amd64 works very well with gentoo, but there is one thing: the HDD has very short periodic activity every 5 second for no reason I can imagine. It has 1GB RAM, so it shouldn't need to swap. I don't use much RAM, right now just firefox in gnome and still scratching. Even right after bootup, before the first login. 

Any idea what could cause this, or if it's for some reason necessary? I post my kernel config, I'm using gentoo kernel.

```
# Automatically generated make config: don't edit

# Linux kernel version: 2.6.14-gentoo-r5

# Mon Jan  2 10:56:13 2006

#

CONFIG_X86_64=y

CONFIG_64BIT=y

CONFIG_X86=y

CONFIG_SEMAPHORE_SLEEPERS=y

CONFIG_MMU=y

CONFIG_RWSEM_GENERIC_SPINLOCK=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_CALIBRATE_DELAY=y

CONFIG_X86_CMPXCHG=y

CONFIG_EARLY_PRINTK=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_ISA_DMA=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_IOMAP=y

CONFIG_ARCH_MAY_HAVE_PC_FDC=y

#

# Code maturity level options

#

CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL=y

CONFIG_CLEAN_COMPILE=y

CONFIG_BROKEN_ON_SMP=y

CONFIG_INIT_ENV_ARG_LIMIT=32

#

# General setup

#

CONFIG_LOCALVERSION=""

CONFIG_LOCALVERSION_AUTO=y

CONFIG_SWAP=y

CONFIG_SYSVIPC=y

CONFIG_POSIX_MQUEUE=y

CONFIG_BSD_PROCESS_ACCT=y

# CONFIG_BSD_PROCESS_ACCT_V3 is not set

CONFIG_SYSCTL=y

# CONFIG_AUDIT is not set

CONFIG_HOTPLUG=y

CONFIG_KOBJECT_UEVENT=y

CONFIG_IKCONFIG=y

CONFIG_IKCONFIG_PROC=y

CONFIG_INITRAMFS_SOURCE=""

# CONFIG_EMBEDDED is not set

CONFIG_KALLSYMS=y

# CONFIG_KALLSYMS_EXTRA_PASS is not set

CONFIG_PRINTK=y

CONFIG_BUG=y

CONFIG_BASE_FULL=y

CONFIG_FUTEX=y

CONFIG_EPOLL=y

CONFIG_SHMEM=y

CONFIG_CC_ALIGN_FUNCTIONS=0

CONFIG_CC_ALIGN_LABELS=0

CONFIG_CC_ALIGN_LOOPS=0

CONFIG_CC_ALIGN_JUMPS=0

# CONFIG_TINY_SHMEM is not set

CONFIG_BASE_SMALL=0

#

# Loadable module support

#

CONFIG_MODULES=y

CONFIG_MODULE_UNLOAD=y

CONFIG_MODULE_FORCE_UNLOAD=y

CONFIG_OBSOLETE_MODPARM=y

# CONFIG_MODVERSIONS is not set

# CONFIG_MODULE_SRCVERSION_ALL is not set

CONFIG_KMOD=y

#

# Processor type and features

#

CONFIG_MK8=y

# CONFIG_MPSC is not set

# CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU is not set

CONFIG_X86_L1_CACHE_BYTES=64

CONFIG_X86_L1_CACHE_SHIFT=6

CONFIG_X86_TSC=y

CONFIG_X86_GOOD_APIC=y

# CONFIG_MICROCODE is not set

CONFIG_X86_MSR=y

CONFIG_X86_CPUID=y

CONFIG_X86_IO_APIC=y

CONFIG_X86_LOCAL_APIC=y

CONFIG_MTRR=y

# CONFIG_SMP is not set

CONFIG_PREEMPT_NONE=y

# CONFIG_PREEMPT_VOLUNTARY is not set

# CONFIG_PREEMPT is not set

# CONFIG_NUMA is not set

CONFIG_ARCH_FLATMEM_ENABLE=y

CONFIG_SELECT_MEMORY_MODEL=y

CONFIG_FLATMEM_MANUAL=y

# CONFIG_DISCONTIGMEM_MANUAL is not set

# CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_MANUAL is not set

CONFIG_FLATMEM=y

CONFIG_FLAT_NODE_MEM_MAP=y

# CONFIG_SPARSEMEM_STATIC is not set

CONFIG_HAVE_ARCH_EARLY_PFN_TO_NID=y

CONFIG_HPET_TIMER=y

# CONFIG_X86_PM_TIMER is not set

CONFIG_HPET_EMULATE_RTC=y

# CONFIG_GART_IOMMU is not set

CONFIG_DUMMY_IOMMU=y

CONFIG_X86_MCE=y

# CONFIG_X86_MCE_INTEL is not set

CONFIG_PHYSICAL_START=0x100000

# CONFIG_KEXEC is not set

CONFIG_SECCOMP=y

# CONFIG_HZ_100 is not set

# CONFIG_HZ_250 is not set

CONFIG_HZ_1000=y

CONFIG_HZ=1000

CONFIG_GENERIC_HARDIRQS=y

CONFIG_GENERIC_IRQ_PROBE=y

CONFIG_ISA_DMA_API=y

#

# Power management options

#

CONFIG_PM=y

# CONFIG_PM_DEBUG is not set

# CONFIG_SOFTWARE_SUSPEND is not set

#

# ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) Support

#

CONFIG_ACPI=y

# CONFIG_ACPI_SLEEP is not set

CONFIG_ACPI_AC=y

CONFIG_ACPI_BATTERY=y

CONFIG_ACPI_BUTTON=y

CONFIG_ACPI_VIDEO=m

# CONFIG_ACPI_HOTKEY is not set

CONFIG_ACPI_FAN=y

CONFIG_ACPI_PROCESSOR=y

CONFIG_ACPI_THERMAL=y

# CONFIG_ACPI_ASUS is not set

# CONFIG_ACPI_IBM is not set

CONFIG_ACPI_TOSHIBA=y

CONFIG_ACPI_BLACKLIST_YEAR=0

CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG=y

CONFIG_ACPI_EC=y

CONFIG_ACPI_POWER=y

CONFIG_ACPI_SYSTEM=y

# CONFIG_ACPI_CONTAINER is not set

#

# CPU Frequency scaling

#

# CONFIG_CPU_FREQ is not set

#

# Bus options (PCI etc.)

#

CONFIG_PCI=y

CONFIG_PCI_DIRECT=y

CONFIG_PCI_MMCONFIG=y

CONFIG_UNORDERED_IO=y

# CONFIG_PCIEPORTBUS is not set

CONFIG_PCI_MSI=y

# CONFIG_PCI_LEGACY_PROC is not set

#

# PCCARD (PCMCIA/CardBus) support

#

# CONFIG_PCCARD is not set

#

# PCI Hotplug Support

#

# CONFIG_HOTPLUG_PCI is not set

#

# Executable file formats / Emulations

#

CONFIG_BINFMT_ELF=y

# CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC is not set

CONFIG_IA32_EMULATION=y

CONFIG_IA32_AOUT=y

CONFIG_COMPAT=y

CONFIG_SYSVIPC_COMPAT=y

CONFIG_UID16=y

#

# Networking

#

CONFIG_NET=y

#

# Networking options

#

CONFIG_PACKET=y

# CONFIG_PACKET_MMAP is not set

CONFIG_UNIX=y

# CONFIG_NET_KEY is not set

CONFIG_INET=y

CONFIG_IP_MULTICAST=y

# CONFIG_IP_ADVANCED_ROUTER is not set

CONFIG_IP_FIB_HASH=y

# CONFIG_IP_PNP is not set

# CONFIG_NET_IPIP is not set

# CONFIG_NET_IPGRE is not set

# CONFIG_IP_MROUTE is not set

# CONFIG_ARPD is not set

# CONFIG_SYN_COOKIES is not set

# CONFIG_INET_AH is not set

# CONFIG_INET_ESP is not set

# CONFIG_INET_IPCOMP is not set

# CONFIG_INET_TUNNEL is not set

# CONFIG_INET_DIAG is not set

# CONFIG_TCP_CONG_ADVANCED is not set

CONFIG_TCP_CONG_BIC=y

#

# IP: Virtual Server Configuration

#

# CONFIG_IP_VS is not set

# CONFIG_IPV6 is not set

CONFIG_NETFILTER=y

# CONFIG_NETFILTER_DEBUG is not set

# CONFIG_NETFILTER_NETLINK is not set

#

# IP: Netfilter Configuration

#

# CONFIG_IP_NF_CONNTRACK is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_QUEUE is not set

CONFIG_IP_NF_IPTABLES=y

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_LIMIT is not set

CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_IPRANGE=y

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_MAC is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_PKTTYPE is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_MARK is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_MULTIPORT is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_TOS is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_RECENT is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_ECN is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_DSCP is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_AH_ESP is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_LENGTH is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_TTL is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_TCPMSS is not set

CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_OWNER=y

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_ADDRTYPE is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_REALM is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_SCTP is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_DCCP is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_COMMENT is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_HASHLIMIT is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MATCH_STRING is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_FILTER is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_TARGET_LOG is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_TARGET_ULOG is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_TARGET_TCPMSS is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_TARGET_NFQUEUE is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_MANGLE is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_RAW is not set

# CONFIG_IP_NF_ARPTABLES is not set

#

# DCCP Configuration (EXPERIMENTAL)

#

# CONFIG_IP_DCCP is not set

#

# SCTP Configuration (EXPERIMENTAL)

#

# CONFIG_IP_SCTP is not set

# CONFIG_ATM is not set

# CONFIG_BRIDGE is not set

# CONFIG_VLAN_8021Q is not set

# CONFIG_DECNET is not set

# CONFIG_LLC2 is not set

# CONFIG_IPX is not set

# CONFIG_ATALK is not set

# CONFIG_X25 is not set

# CONFIG_LAPB is not set

# CONFIG_NET_DIVERT is not set

# CONFIG_ECONET is not set

# CONFIG_WAN_ROUTER is not set

# CONFIG_NET_SCHED is not set

# CONFIG_NET_CLS_ROUTE is not set

#

# Network testing

#

# CONFIG_NET_PKTGEN is not set

# CONFIG_HAMRADIO is not set

# CONFIG_IRDA is not set

CONFIG_BT=y

CONFIG_BT_L2CAP=y

CONFIG_BT_SCO=y

CONFIG_BT_RFCOMM=y

CONFIG_BT_RFCOMM_TTY=y

CONFIG_BT_BNEP=y

CONFIG_BT_BNEP_MC_FILTER=y

CONFIG_BT_BNEP_PROTO_FILTER=y

CONFIG_BT_HIDP=y

#

# Bluetooth device drivers

#

CONFIG_BT_HCIUSB=y

CONFIG_BT_HCIUSB_SCO=y

# CONFIG_BT_HCIUART is not set

CONFIG_BT_HCIBCM203X=y

# CONFIG_BT_HCIBPA10X is not set

CONFIG_BT_HCIBFUSB=y

CONFIG_BT_HCIVHCI=y

# CONFIG_IEEE80211 is not set

#

# Device Drivers

#

#

# Generic Driver Options

#

CONFIG_STANDALONE=y

CONFIG_PREVENT_FIRMWARE_BUILD=y

CONFIG_FW_LOADER=y

#

# Connector - unified userspace <-> kernelspace linker

#

# CONFIG_CONNECTOR is not set

#

# Memory Technology Devices (MTD)

#

# CONFIG_MTD is not set

#

# Parallel port support

#

CONFIG_PARPORT=y

CONFIG_PARPORT_PC=y

CONFIG_PARPORT_SERIAL=y

# CONFIG_PARPORT_PC_FIFO is not set

# CONFIG_PARPORT_PC_SUPERIO is not set

# CONFIG_PARPORT_GSC is not set

CONFIG_PARPORT_1284=y

#

# Plug and Play support

#

CONFIG_PNP=y

# CONFIG_PNP_DEBUG is not set

#

# Protocols

#

CONFIG_PNPACPI=y

#

# Block devices

#

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_FD is not set

# CONFIG_PARIDE is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_CPQ_DA is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_CPQ_CISS_DA is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_DAC960 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_UMEM is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_COW_COMMON is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_LOOP=m

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CRYPTOLOOP is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NBD is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SX8 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_UB is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RAM is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RAM_COUNT=16

CONFIG_LBD=y

CONFIG_CDROM_PKTCDVD=y

CONFIG_CDROM_PKTCDVD_BUFFERS=8

CONFIG_CDROM_PKTCDVD_WCACHE=y

#

# IO Schedulers

#

CONFIG_IOSCHED_NOOP=y

CONFIG_IOSCHED_AS=y

CONFIG_IOSCHED_DEADLINE=y

CONFIG_IOSCHED_CFQ=y

# CONFIG_ATA_OVER_ETH is not set

#

# ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support

#

CONFIG_IDE=y

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDE=y

#

# Please see Documentation/ide.txt for help/info on IDE drives

#

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDE_SATA is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_HD_IDE is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK=y

CONFIG_IDEDISK_MULTI_MODE=y

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDECD=y

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDETAPE is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDESCSI is not set

# CONFIG_IDE_TASK_IOCTL is not set

#

# IDE chipset support/bugfixes

#

# CONFIG_IDE_GENERIC is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CMD640 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEPNP is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEPCI=y

CONFIG_IDEPCI_SHARE_IRQ=y

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_OFFBOARD is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_GENERIC is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_OPTI621 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RZ1000 is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDMA_PCI=y

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDMA_FORCED is not set

CONFIG_IDEDMA_PCI_AUTO=y

# CONFIG_IDEDMA_ONLYDISK is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_AEC62XX is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ALI15X3 is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_AMD74XX=y

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ATIIXP is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CMD64X is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_TRIFLEX is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CY82C693 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CS5520 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CS5530 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_HPT34X is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_HPT366 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SC1200 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_PIIX is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IT821X is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NS87415 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_PDC202XX_OLD is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_PDC202XX_NEW is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SVWKS is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SIIMAGE is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SIS5513 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SLC90E66 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_TRM290 is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_VIA82CXXX is not set

# CONFIG_IDE_ARM is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDMA=y

# CONFIG_IDEDMA_IVB is not set

CONFIG_IDEDMA_AUTO=y

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_HD is not set

#

# SCSI device support

#

# CONFIG_RAID_ATTRS is not set

CONFIG_SCSI=y

CONFIG_SCSI_PROC_FS=y

#

# SCSI support type (disk, tape, CD-ROM)

#

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SD=y

# CONFIG_CHR_DEV_ST is not set

# CONFIG_CHR_DEV_OSST is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_SR is not set

CONFIG_CHR_DEV_SG=y

# CONFIG_CHR_DEV_SCH is not set

#

# Some SCSI devices (e.g. CD jukebox) support multiple LUNs

#

# CONFIG_SCSI_MULTI_LUN is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_CONSTANTS is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_LOGGING is not set

#

# SCSI Transport Attributes

#

CONFIG_SCSI_SPI_ATTRS=y

# CONFIG_SCSI_FC_ATTRS is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_ISCSI_ATTRS is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SAS_ATTRS is not set

#

# SCSI low-level drivers

#

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_3W_XXXX_RAID=y

# CONFIG_SCSI_3W_9XXX is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_ACARD is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_AACRAID is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_AIC7XXX is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_AIC7XXX_OLD is not set

CONFIG_SCSI_AIC79XX=y

CONFIG_AIC79XX_CMDS_PER_DEVICE=32

CONFIG_AIC79XX_RESET_DELAY_MS=4000

# CONFIG_AIC79XX_ENABLE_RD_STRM is not set

# CONFIG_AIC79XX_DEBUG_ENABLE is not set

CONFIG_AIC79XX_DEBUG_MASK=0

# CONFIG_AIC79XX_REG_PRETTY_PRINT is not set

# CONFIG_MEGARAID_NEWGEN is not set

# CONFIG_MEGARAID_LEGACY is not set

# CONFIG_MEGARAID_SAS is not set

CONFIG_SCSI_SATA=y

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_AHCI is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_SVW is not set

CONFIG_SCSI_ATA_PIIX=y

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_MV is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_NV is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_PROMISE is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_QSTOR is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_SX4 is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_SIL is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_SIS is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_ULI is not set

CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_VIA=y

# CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_VITESSE is not set

CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_INTEL_COMBINED=y

# CONFIG_SCSI_BUSLOGIC is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_DMX3191D is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_EATA is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_FUTURE_DOMAIN is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_GDTH is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_IPS is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_INITIO is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_INIA100 is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_PPA is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_IMM is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_SYM53C8XX_2 is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_IPR is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLOGIC_FC is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLOGIC_1280 is not set

CONFIG_SCSI_QLA2XXX=y

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLA21XX is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLA22XX is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLA2300 is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLA2322 is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLA6312 is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_QLA24XX is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_LPFC is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_DC395x is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_DC390T is not set

# CONFIG_SCSI_DEBUG is not set

#

# Multi-device support (RAID and LVM)

#

CONFIG_MD=y

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_MD is not set

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_DM=m

CONFIG_DM_CRYPT=m

# CONFIG_DM_SNAPSHOT is not set

# CONFIG_DM_MIRROR is not set

# CONFIG_DM_ZERO is not set

# CONFIG_DM_MULTIPATH is not set

# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_DM_BBR is not set

#

# Fusion MPT device support

#

# CONFIG_FUSION is not set

# CONFIG_FUSION_SPI is not set

# CONFIG_FUSION_FC is not set

# CONFIG_FUSION_SAS is not set

#

# IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support

#

# CONFIG_IEEE1394 is not set

#

# I2O device support

#

# CONFIG_I2O is not set

#

# Network device support

#

CONFIG_NETDEVICES=y

# CONFIG_DUMMY is not set

# CONFIG_BONDING is not set

# CONFIG_EQUALIZER is not set

# CONFIG_TUN is not set

# CONFIG_NET_SB1000 is not set

#

# ARCnet devices

#

# CONFIG_ARCNET is not set

#

# PHY device support

#

# CONFIG_PHYLIB is not set

#

# Ethernet (10 or 100Mbit)

#

CONFIG_NET_ETHERNET=y

CONFIG_MII=y

# CONFIG_HAPPYMEAL is not set

# CONFIG_SUNGEM is not set

# CONFIG_CASSINI is not set

# CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_3COM is not set

#

# Tulip family network device support

#

# CONFIG_NET_TULIP is not set

# CONFIG_HP100 is not set

CONFIG_NET_PCI=y

# CONFIG_PCNET32 is not set

# CONFIG_AMD8111_ETH is not set

# CONFIG_ADAPTEC_STARFIRE is not set

# CONFIG_B44 is not set

# CONFIG_FORCEDETH is not set

# CONFIG_DGRS is not set

# CONFIG_EEPRO100 is not set

# CONFIG_E100 is not set

# CONFIG_FEALNX is not set

# CONFIG_NATSEMI is not set

# CONFIG_NE2K_PCI is not set

# CONFIG_8139CP is not set

CONFIG_8139TOO=y

# CONFIG_8139TOO_PIO is not set

# CONFIG_8139TOO_TUNE_TWISTER is not set

# CONFIG_8139TOO_8129 is not set

# CONFIG_8139_OLD_RX_RESET is not set

# CONFIG_SIS900 is not set

# CONFIG_EPIC100 is not set

# CONFIG_SUNDANCE is not set

# CONFIG_VIA_RHINE is not set

# CONFIG_NET_POCKET is not set

#

# Ethernet (1000 Mbit)

#

# CONFIG_ACENIC is not set

# CONFIG_DL2K is not set

# CONFIG_E1000 is not set

# CONFIG_NS83820 is not set

# CONFIG_HAMACHI is not set

# CONFIG_YELLOWFIN is not set

# CONFIG_R8169 is not set

# CONFIG_SIS190 is not set

# CONFIG_SKGE is not set

# CONFIG_SK98LIN is not set

# CONFIG_VIA_VELOCITY is not set

# CONFIG_TIGON3 is not set

# CONFIG_BNX2 is not set

#

# Ethernet (10000 Mbit)

#

# CONFIG_CHELSIO_T1 is not set

# CONFIG_IXGB is not set

# CONFIG_S2IO is not set

#

# Token Ring devices

#

# CONFIG_TR is not set

#

# Wireless LAN (non-hamradio)

#

# CONFIG_NET_RADIO is not set

#

# Wan interfaces

#

# CONFIG_WAN is not set

# CONFIG_FDDI is not set

# CONFIG_HIPPI is not set

# CONFIG_PLIP is not set

# CONFIG_PPP is not set

# CONFIG_SLIP is not set

# CONFIG_NET_FC is not set

# CONFIG_SHAPER is not set

# CONFIG_NETCONSOLE is not set

# CONFIG_NETPOLL is not set

# CONFIG_NET_POLL_CONTROLLER is not set

#

# ISDN subsystem

#

# CONFIG_ISDN is not set

#

# Telephony Support

#

# CONFIG_PHONE is not set

#

# Input device support

#

CONFIG_INPUT=y

#

# Userland interfaces

#

CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV=y

CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV_PSAUX=y

CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV_SCREEN_X=1024

CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV_SCREEN_Y=768

# CONFIG_INPUT_JOYDEV is not set

# CONFIG_INPUT_TSDEV is not set

CONFIG_INPUT_EVDEV=y

# CONFIG_INPUT_EVBUG is not set

#

# Input Device Drivers

#

CONFIG_INPUT_KEYBOARD=y

CONFIG_KEYBOARD_ATKBD=y

# CONFIG_KEYBOARD_SUNKBD is not set

# CONFIG_KEYBOARD_LKKBD is not set

# CONFIG_KEYBOARD_XTKBD is not set

# CONFIG_KEYBOARD_NEWTON is not set

CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSE=y

CONFIG_MOUSE_PS2=y

# CONFIG_MOUSE_SERIAL is not set

# CONFIG_MOUSE_VSXXXAA is not set

# CONFIG_INPUT_JOYSTICK is not set

# CONFIG_INPUT_TOUCHSCREEN is not set

# CONFIG_INPUT_MISC is not set

#

# Hardware I/O ports

#

CONFIG_SERIO=y

CONFIG_SERIO_I8042=y

# CONFIG_SERIO_SERPORT is not set

# CONFIG_SERIO_CT82C710 is not set

# CONFIG_SERIO_PARKBD is not set

# CONFIG_SERIO_PCIPS2 is not set

CONFIG_SERIO_LIBPS2=y

# CONFIG_SERIO_RAW is not set

# CONFIG_GAMEPORT is not set

#

# Character devices

#

CONFIG_VT=y

CONFIG_VT_CONSOLE=y

CONFIG_HW_CONSOLE=y

# CONFIG_SERIAL_NONSTANDARD is not set

#

# Serial drivers

#

CONFIG_SERIAL_8250=y

CONFIG_SERIAL_8250_CONSOLE=y

# CONFIG_SERIAL_8250_ACPI is not set

CONFIG_SERIAL_8250_NR_UARTS=4

# CONFIG_SERIAL_8250_EXTENDED is not set

#

# Non-8250 serial port support

#

CONFIG_SERIAL_CORE=y

CONFIG_SERIAL_CORE_CONSOLE=y

# CONFIG_SERIAL_JSM is not set

CONFIG_UNIX98_PTYS=y

CONFIG_LEGACY_PTYS=y

CONFIG_LEGACY_PTY_COUNT=256

CONFIG_PRINTER=y

# CONFIG_LP_CONSOLE is not set

# CONFIG_PPDEV is not set

# CONFIG_TIPAR is not set

#

# IPMI

#

# CONFIG_IPMI_HANDLER is not set

#

# Watchdog Cards

#

# CONFIG_WATCHDOG is not set

# CONFIG_HW_RANDOM is not set

# CONFIG_NVRAM is not set

CONFIG_RTC=y

# CONFIG_R3964 is not set

# CONFIG_APPLICOM is not set

#

# Ftape, the floppy tape device driver

#

# CONFIG_FTAPE is not set

# CONFIG_AGP is not set

# CONFIG_DRM is not set

# CONFIG_MWAVE is not set

# CONFIG_RAW_DRIVER is not set

# CONFIG_HPET is not set

CONFIG_HANGCHECK_TIMER=y

#

# TPM devices

#

# CONFIG_TCG_TPM is not set

#

# I2C support

#

CONFIG_I2C=y

CONFIG_I2C_CHARDEV=y

#

# I2C Algorithms

#

CONFIG_I2C_ALGOBIT=y

# CONFIG_I2C_ALGOPCF is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_ALGOPCA is not set

#

# I2C Hardware Bus support

#

# CONFIG_I2C_ALI1535 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_ALI1563 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_ALI15X3 is not set

CONFIG_I2C_AMD756=y

# CONFIG_I2C_AMD756_S4882 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_AMD8111 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_I801 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_I810 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_PIIX4 is not set

CONFIG_I2C_NFORCE2=y

# CONFIG_I2C_PARPORT is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_PARPORT_LIGHT is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_PROSAVAGE is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_SAVAGE4 is not set

# CONFIG_SCx200_ACB is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_SIS5595 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_SIS630 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_SIS96X is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_STUB is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_VIA is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_VIAPRO is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_VOODOO3 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_PCA_ISA is not set

#

# Miscellaneous I2C Chip support

#

# CONFIG_SENSORS_DS1337 is not set

# CONFIG_SENSORS_DS1374 is not set

# CONFIG_SENSORS_EEPROM is not set

# CONFIG_SENSORS_PCF8574 is not set

# CONFIG_SENSORS_PCA9539 is not set

# CONFIG_SENSORS_PCF8591 is not set

# CONFIG_SENSORS_RTC8564 is not set

# CONFIG_SENSORS_MAX6875 is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_DEBUG_CORE is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_DEBUG_ALGO is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_DEBUG_BUS is not set

# CONFIG_I2C_DEBUG_CHIP is not set

#

# Dallas's 1-wire bus

#

# CONFIG_W1 is not set

#

# Hardware Monitoring support

#

# CONFIG_HWMON is not set

# CONFIG_HWMON_VID is not set

#

# Misc devices

#

# CONFIG_IBM_ASM is not set

#

# Multimedia Capabilities Port drivers

#

#

# Multimedia devices

#

# CONFIG_VIDEO_DEV is not set

#

# Digital Video Broadcasting Devices

#

# CONFIG_DVB is not set

#

# Graphics support

#

# CONFIG_FB is not set

# CONFIG_VIDEO_SELECT is not set

#

# Console display driver support

#

CONFIG_VGA_CONSOLE=y

CONFIG_DUMMY_CONSOLE=y

#

# Speakup console speech

#

# CONFIG_SPEAKUP is not set

CONFIG_SPEAKUP_DEFAULT="none"

#

# Sound

#

CONFIG_SOUND=y

#

# Advanced Linux Sound Architecture

#

CONFIG_SND=m

CONFIG_SND_TIMER=m

CONFIG_SND_PCM=m

CONFIG_SND_SEQUENCER=m

CONFIG_SND_SEQ_DUMMY=m

CONFIG_SND_OSSEMUL=y

CONFIG_SND_MIXER_OSS=m

CONFIG_SND_PCM_OSS=m

CONFIG_SND_SEQUENCER_OSS=y

CONFIG_SND_RTCTIMER=m

CONFIG_SND_SEQ_RTCTIMER_DEFAULT=y

# CONFIG_SND_VERBOSE_PRINTK is not set

# CONFIG_SND_DEBUG is not set

CONFIG_SND_GENERIC_DRIVER=y

#

# Generic devices

#

CONFIG_SND_DUMMY=m

# CONFIG_SND_VIRMIDI is not set

# CONFIG_SND_MTPAV is not set

# CONFIG_SND_SERIAL_U16550 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_MPU401 is not set

CONFIG_SND_AC97_CODEC=m

CONFIG_SND_AC97_BUS=m

#

# PCI devices

#

# CONFIG_SND_ALI5451 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ATIIXP is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ATIIXP_MODEM is not set

# CONFIG_SND_AU8810 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_AU8820 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_AU8830 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_AZT3328 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_BT87X is not set

# CONFIG_SND_CS46XX is not set

# CONFIG_SND_CS4281 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_EMU10K1 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_EMU10K1X is not set

# CONFIG_SND_CA0106 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_KORG1212 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_MIXART is not set

# CONFIG_SND_NM256 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_RME32 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_RME96 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_RME9652 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_HDSP is not set

# CONFIG_SND_HDSPM is not set

# CONFIG_SND_TRIDENT is not set

# CONFIG_SND_YMFPCI is not set

# CONFIG_SND_AD1889 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ALS4000 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_CMIPCI is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ENS1370 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ENS1371 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ES1938 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ES1968 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_MAESTRO3 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_FM801 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ICE1712 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_ICE1724 is not set

CONFIG_SND_INTEL8X0=m

# CONFIG_SND_INTEL8X0M is not set

# CONFIG_SND_SONICVIBES is not set

# CONFIG_SND_VIA82XX is not set

# CONFIG_SND_VIA82XX_MODEM is not set

# CONFIG_SND_VX222 is not set

# CONFIG_SND_HDA_INTEL is not set

#

# USB devices

#

# CONFIG_SND_USB_AUDIO is not set

# CONFIG_SND_USB_USX2Y is not set

#

# Open Sound System

#

# CONFIG_SOUND_PRIME is not set

#

# USB support

#

CONFIG_USB_ARCH_HAS_HCD=y

CONFIG_USB_ARCH_HAS_OHCI=y

CONFIG_USB=y

CONFIG_USB_DEBUG=y

#

# Miscellaneous USB options

#

CONFIG_USB_DEVICEFS=y

# CONFIG_USB_BANDWIDTH is not set

# CONFIG_USB_DYNAMIC_MINORS is not set

# CONFIG_USB_SUSPEND is not set

# CONFIG_USB_OTG is not set

#

# USB Host Controller Drivers

#

CONFIG_USB_EHCI_HCD=y

# CONFIG_USB_EHCI_SPLIT_ISO is not set

# CONFIG_USB_EHCI_ROOT_HUB_TT is not set

# CONFIG_USB_ISP116X_HCD is not set

CONFIG_USB_OHCI_HCD=y

# CONFIG_USB_OHCI_BIG_ENDIAN is not set

CONFIG_USB_OHCI_LITTLE_ENDIAN=y

CONFIG_USB_UHCI_HCD=y

# CONFIG_USB_SL811_HCD is not set

#

# USB Device Class drivers

#

# CONFIG_OBSOLETE_OSS_USB_DRIVER is not set

#

# USB Bluetooth TTY can only be used with disabled Bluetooth subsystem

#

# CONFIG_USB_ACM is not set

# CONFIG_USB_PRINTER is not set

#

# NOTE: USB_STORAGE enables SCSI, and 'SCSI disk support' may also be needed; see USB_STORAGE Help for more information

#

CONFIG_USB_STORAGE=y

CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_DEBUG=y

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_DATAFAB is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_FREECOM is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_ISD200 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_DPCM is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_USBAT is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_SDDR09 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_SDDR55 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_JUMPSHOT is not set

# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_ONETOUCH is not set

#

# USB Input Devices

#

CONFIG_USB_HID=y

CONFIG_USB_HIDINPUT=y

# CONFIG_HID_FF is not set

# CONFIG_USB_HIDDEV is not set

# CONFIG_USB_AIPTEK is not set

# CONFIG_USB_WACOM is not set

# CONFIG_USB_ACECAD is not set

# CONFIG_USB_KBTAB is not set

# CONFIG_USB_POWERMATE is not set

# CONFIG_USB_MTOUCH is not set

# CONFIG_USB_ITMTOUCH is not set

# CONFIG_USB_EGALAX is not set

# CONFIG_USB_YEALINK is not set

# CONFIG_USB_XPAD is not set

# CONFIG_USB_ATI_REMOTE is not set

# CONFIG_USB_KEYSPAN_REMOTE is not set

# CONFIG_USB_APPLETOUCH is not set

#

# USB Imaging devices

#

# CONFIG_USB_MDC800 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_MICROTEK is not set

#

# USB Multimedia devices

#

# CONFIG_USB_DABUSB is not set

#

# Video4Linux support is needed for USB Multimedia device support

#

#

# USB Network Adapters

#

# CONFIG_USB_CATC is not set

# CONFIG_USB_KAWETH is not set

# CONFIG_USB_PEGASUS is not set

# CONFIG_USB_RTL8150 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_USBNET is not set

# CONFIG_USB_MON is not set

#

# USB port drivers

#

# CONFIG_USB_USS720 is not set

#

# USB Serial Converter support

#

# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL is not set

#

# USB Miscellaneous drivers

#

# CONFIG_USB_EMI62 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_EMI26 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_AUERSWALD is not set

# CONFIG_USB_RIO500 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_LEGOTOWER is not set

# CONFIG_USB_LCD is not set

# CONFIG_USB_LED is not set

# CONFIG_USB_CYTHERM is not set

# CONFIG_USB_PHIDGETKIT is not set

# CONFIG_USB_PHIDGETSERVO is not set

# CONFIG_USB_IDMOUSE is not set

# CONFIG_USB_SISUSBVGA is not set

# CONFIG_USB_LD is not set

# CONFIG_USB_TEST is not set

#

# USB DSL modem support

#

#

# USB Gadget Support

#

# CONFIG_USB_GADGET is not set

#

# MMC/SD Card support

#

# CONFIG_MMC is not set

#

# InfiniBand support

#

# CONFIG_INFINIBAND is not set

#

# SN Devices

#

#

# Firmware Drivers

#

# CONFIG_EDD is not set

# CONFIG_DELL_RBU is not set

# CONFIG_DCDBAS is not set

#

# File systems

#

CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y

# CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR is not set

# CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XIP is not set

CONFIG_EXT3_FS=y

# CONFIG_EXT3_FS_XATTR is not set

CONFIG_JBD=y

# CONFIG_JBD_DEBUG is not set

CONFIG_REISERFS_FS=y

# CONFIG_REISERFS_CHECK is not set

# CONFIG_REISERFS_PROC_INFO is not set

# CONFIG_REISERFS_FS_XATTR is not set

# CONFIG_JFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_FS_POSIX_ACL is not set

# CONFIG_XFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_MINIX_FS is not set

# CONFIG_ROMFS_FS is not set

CONFIG_INOTIFY=y

# CONFIG_QUOTA is not set

CONFIG_DNOTIFY=y

# CONFIG_AUTOFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_AUTOFS4_FS is not set

# CONFIG_FUSE_FS is not set

#

# CD-ROM/DVD Filesystems

#

CONFIG_ISO9660_FS=y

CONFIG_JOLIET=y

# CONFIG_ZISOFS is not set

CONFIG_UDF_FS=y

CONFIG_UDF_NLS=y

#

# DOS/FAT/NT Filesystems

#

CONFIG_FAT_FS=y

CONFIG_MSDOS_FS=y

CONFIG_VFAT_FS=y

CONFIG_FAT_DEFAULT_CODEPAGE=437

CONFIG_FAT_DEFAULT_IOCHARSET="iso8859-1"

CONFIG_NTFS_FS=m

# CONFIG_NTFS_DEBUG is not set

# CONFIG_NTFS_RW is not set

#

# Pseudo filesystems

#

CONFIG_PROC_FS=y

CONFIG_PROC_KCORE=y

CONFIG_SYSFS=y

CONFIG_TMPFS=y

CONFIG_HUGETLBFS=y

CONFIG_HUGETLB_PAGE=y

CONFIG_RAMFS=y

# CONFIG_RELAYFS_FS is not set

#

# Miscellaneous filesystems

#

# CONFIG_ADFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_AFFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_HFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_HFSPLUS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_BEFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_BFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_EFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_CRAMFS is not set

# CONFIG_SQUASHFS is not set

# CONFIG_VXFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_HPFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_QNX4FS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_SYSV_FS is not set

# CONFIG_UFS_FS is not set

#

# Network File Systems

#

# CONFIG_NFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_NFSD is not set

CONFIG_SMB_FS=y

# CONFIG_SMB_NLS_DEFAULT is not set

# CONFIG_CIFS is not set

# CONFIG_NCP_FS is not set

# CONFIG_CODA_FS is not set

# CONFIG_AFS_FS is not set

# CONFIG_9P_FS is not set

#

# Partition Types

#

CONFIG_PARTITION_ADVANCED=y

# CONFIG_ACORN_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_OSF_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_AMIGA_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_ATARI_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_MAC_PARTITION is not set

CONFIG_MSDOS_PARTITION=y

# CONFIG_BSD_DISKLABEL is not set

# CONFIG_MINIX_SUBPARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_SOLARIS_X86_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_UNIXWARE_DISKLABEL is not set

CONFIG_LDM_PARTITION=y

# CONFIG_LDM_DEBUG is not set

# CONFIG_SGI_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_ULTRIX_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_SUN_PARTITION is not set

# CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION is not set

#

# Native Language Support

#

CONFIG_NLS=y

CONFIG_NLS_DEFAULT="iso8859-1"

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_437=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_737=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_775=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_850=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_852=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_855=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_857=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_860=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_861=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_862=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_863=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_864=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_865=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_866=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_869=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_936=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_950=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_932=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_949=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_874=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_8=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_1250=m

CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_1251=m

CONFIG_NLS_ASCII=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_1=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_2=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_3=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_4=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_5=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_6=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_7=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_9=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_13=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_14=m

CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_15=m

CONFIG_NLS_KOI8_R=m

CONFIG_NLS_KOI8_U=m

CONFIG_NLS_UTF8=m

#

# Profiling support

#

# CONFIG_PROFILING is not set

#

# Kernel hacking

#

# CONFIG_PRINTK_TIME is not set

# CONFIG_DEBUG_KERNEL is not set

CONFIG_LOG_BUF_SHIFT=14

#

# Security options

#

# CONFIG_KEYS is not set

# CONFIG_SECURITY is not set

#

# Cryptographic options

#

CONFIG_CRYPTO=y

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_HMAC is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_NULL is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_MD4 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_MD5 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_SHA1 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_SHA256 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_SHA512 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_WP512 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_TGR192 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_DES is not set

CONFIG_CRYPTO_BLOWFISH=m

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_TWOFISH is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_SERPENT is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_AES_X86_64 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_CAST5 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_CAST6 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_TEA is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_ARC4 is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_KHAZAD is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_ANUBIS is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_DEFLATE is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_MICHAEL_MIC is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_CRC32C is not set

# CONFIG_CRYPTO_TEST is not set

#

# Hardware crypto devices

#

#

# Library routines

#

# CONFIG_CRC_CCITT is not set

# CONFIG_CRC16 is not set

CONFIG_CRC32=y

# CONFIG_LIBCRC32C is not set

```

----------

## robbyt

does this happen if you're not in X?

also, try this: 

http://packages.gentoo.org/search/?sstring=lsof

----------

## nyk

Yes, also when not in X, just after bootup. I don't have automatic X startup, always do "startx". But the scratching is there before this.

----------

## tlopez

I have the exact same problem.  I tried killing all of the background processes, but still get recurring disk access even when sitting in a shell.  I tried running lsof but didn't see anything that might be the problem.  I've considered using fam and trying to track it down that way, but I'm hoping there is an easier approach!

----------

## mmbrothers

It could be pdflush.

----------

## robbyt

lsof yeilds nothing?

----------

## linuxtuxhellsinki

It could be just that drive, I've understanded that some drives are moving their heads almost all the time just to make some checks on the surface of disks or something like that ?

But there's program called lm-profiler in the package of laptop-mode which you can use for tracking down the programs which are using the hard-drive, try that.

----------

## tlopez

I read up on the above mentioned articles, and eventually tracked down my problem using:

```
echo 1 >/proc/sys/vm/block_dump
```

... and using dmesg to take a look at the logs produced.

It turns out kjournald is doing the frequent disk accesses.  

Thanks for the responses!

----------

## nokilli

kjournald, as in, the kernel thread that flushes the journal for journaliing filesystems to disk, right?

So I'm guessing my picking ext3 for the Powerbook here was a mistake.  I see that there's a five second interval between commits but really even if it was 30 seconds or even a minute it would still be annoying.

The plan then is to backup my root partition, reformat using ext2, and then seeing whether the noise improves.  Sound reasonable?

----------

## nokilli

OK, the above strategy turns out to be pointless since the drive activity goes away when the laptop is unplugged, so clearly it is capable of ceasing this drive activity even when plugged in.

The question is, how do we do this?

----------

## Zarhan

emerge laptop-mode-tools and configure the timeouts as you like in /etc/laptop-mode/laptop-mode.conf.

----------

## nokilli

Thanks for the tip.  I note however that I'm using a PowerBook, and that laptop-mode-tools is ~ppc.

Also of note:  /usr/src/linux/Documentation/laptop-mode.txt

----------

## Zarhan

 *nokilli wrote:*   

> Thanks for the tip.  I note however that I'm using a PowerBook, and that laptop-mode-tools is ~ppc.
> 
> Also of note:  /usr/src/linux/Documentation/laptop-mode.txt

 

  The laptopmodetools are nothing but a (quite a bit grown) shell script (and some helper scripts) that do nothing beyond setting some stuff in /proc/sys/vm (and optionally items such as hdparm etc). So you can safely emerge it as long as your kernel works.

----------

## nokilli

For right now however, I've come upon what seems like an adequate fix, I just set the power policy for when under AC power to "powersave" (I do this in a Mac-specific package called powerprefs).  It seems to be working well so far (~60 minutes), but if I have to go deeper, I'll give laptop-mode-tools a try.

Thanks again for the info.

----------

