How to check what applications uses a certain harddrive

[blue-eye-boy]

I'm busy free-ing space ons my work pc. This pc was previously used just as a cctv monitoring pc, but later I started using it as my work pc. But when it was used for the cctv alone, we had to switch pc's once, and used the older pc's harddrive, because of stored videos.

Now while I deleted some files, I saw that actually I can format the drive, because nothing is in use. But then I get an error message that some program or utility is using the drive, and that windows cannot format the drive, blah blah blah.

How can I now make sure, what program is using it, or is maybe running on the drive atm, because I cannot see anything which is.

Thanks

 

[Rickster]

Try format in safemode.

 

[blue-eye-boy]

Try format in safemode.

I know I can, but I want to make sure, maybe just there's something running which I need.

 

[The_Ogre]

Put in a different PC and format

 

[Rickster]

If you running Win 7 you can go to Resource Monitor-> Disk -> Disk Activity

 

[blue-eye-boy]

If you running Win 7 you can go to Resource Monitor-> Disk -> Disk Activity

Thanks, that did the trick.

But now there's 3 processes running on and off. Here are they:
taskhost.exe
system
system

All 3 are pagefiles, how can I pinpoint what it is, and how can I stop it?

Thanks

 

[blue-eye-boy]

I just also tried to format it in safe mode, but no luck.

 

[The_Ogre]

I just also tried to format it in safe mode, but no luck.

Do what I proposed man! Take it out, boot PC again, if it boots successfully, which it should, then format the drive in question.

Please note, I'm assuming you have more than one drive?

 

[troublezn]

If it is a pagefile on the drive than u can disable it by doing the following
Open the Start Menu and go to Control Panel
Click on the System icon
Select the Advanced tab
Under Performance, click Settings
Go to Advanced
Under Virtual Memory, click Change
Select No Paging File for the drive u want to format and then click Set
Click OK in all the menus-Restart

 

[blue-eye-boy]

If it is a pagefile on the drive than u can disable it by doing the following
Open the Start Menu and go to Control Panel
Click on the System icon
Select the Advanced tab
Under Performance, click Settings
Go to Advanced
Under Virtual Memory, click Change
Select No Paging File for the drive u want to format and then click Set
Click OK in all the menus-Restart

Thanks, this worked.