Why does my computer randomly try to access the A: drive? It is annoy

Why does my computer randomly try to access the A: drive? It is annoying and causes Windows to stop working while it tries to gain access to a disk that isn’t there!

- Sam

This question was answered on July 9, 2001. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Random floppy drive access issues are usually software based and can often appear after the installation or re-configuration of a program Applications such as anti-virus or utility programs would be the most likely candidates because they generally float around in the background of your system If you can remember when it started and what you may have added or changed prior to that time, try undoing it

Another possibility is the “Documents” list in Windows (Start/Documents), contains an entry that points to the A: drive This list is essentially an MRU (Most Recently Used) list for your entire system If any of the documents on the list point to the A: drive, you will hear your floppy drive being accessed as soon as you click the Documents menu option Anytime Windows tries to “refresh” its drive status, it may include the A: drive because of a reference in the Documents list.

To remove a single entry on the Documents list, right-click on it then select Delete (This will only remove the shortcut to the document, not the document itself.)

To clear the entire list, click on Start/Settings/Taskbar & Start Menu, then on the Start Menu Programs tab at the top Click on the “Clear” button to clear all document references in the Documents menu.

If you are in the habit of working directly on a floppy disk when creating documents, try creating your work on the hard drive then copying it to a floppy disk when you are done This will diminish the chances of you having a random MRU related access of the floppy disk.

If you have any shortcuts on your Desktop (the initial screen when you boot your computer) that point to the A: drive, Windows will often try to access it whenever it has to redraw the Desktop To test for A: drive shortcuts, go to your Desktop and press the F5 key, which tells it to refresh the Desktop If you hear the A: drive being accessed, you need to move any Shortcuts that refer to the A: drive off the Desktop and into a folder

To manually check a Shortcut’s properties, right-click it then select “Properties” Click on the Shortcut tab at the top and look in both the Target: and Start in: boxes for any references to the A: drive.

Many anti-virus programs will automatically look at every drive on your system during any of the automated processes it has scheduled Check your settings to see if the floppy drive is checked as a default drive to be scanned for viruses They may also, by default, check your floppy drive every time that you shutdown, so it can warn you of a disk that is left in the drive This delays the shutdown process but helps keep you from contracting "boot sector" viruses so you will have to decide if the delay is worth it.

Whatever the cause, until you track down the culprit you can pop a blank floppy disk in the drive as a temporary fix This keeps the system from slowing you down trying to access an empty A: drive, but be sure to pop it back out each time before shutting down.