![]() ![]() Here you go: DiskLED has a second display mode, similar to how Task Manager shows CPU utilization. When dealing with many other counters, a different visualization method is needed. Obviously an LED type display is well-suited for activity data only. Using a simple INI file, DiskLED can be configured to display any counter’s data. The cool thing is it is not limited to hard disk activity data. Basically, what it does is periodically query a specific counter and display the current value graphically. FlexibilityĭiskLED queries performance counters for disk activity data. That could be all there is to say, but I decided to make the tool a little more flexible. This has been bugging me enough to write a software replacement: DiskLED.ĭiskLED is a little application that sits in the system tray and flickers whenever the hard disk is accessed. But what if you are using a protocol like RDP or ICA to connect to a remote computer or VM? No HDD LED, no quick and simple way to check for hard drive activity. Problem solved – if you are sitting right next to the machine. ![]() The source code is available here.What do you do when your computer reacts sluggishly to even the simplest commands? You probably look at its hard disk LED to determine if the disk is busy, because if it is, the only thing that really helps is waiting (apart from buying a faster disk or SSD). DiskLED should run on any Windows client or server operating system beginning with Windows XP.ĭiskLED is freeware.If you do not see any icon (nothing happens) after starting DiskLED: if you are running Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 make sure that you have configured Explorer to show all icons in the system tray, or configure Explorer to show DiskLED’s icon.So, if you get the following error message when starting DiskLED “InitPDH: PdhAddCounter failed with: 0xc0000bb8” and the tool only displays a red exclamation mark in the system tray: double-click that exclamation mark and select a performance counter in your system’s language. Those settings are localized (they depend on the OS language). If it cannot find the INI file there, it uses built-in default settings. DiskLED looks for its configuration (INI) file in the folder where you put the executable.DiskLED is much more accurate than typical hardware LEDs.DiskLED runs from whatever location you put it in. It might be a good idea to have DiskLED start up automatically when logging on to Windows.Once you are satisfied with the configuration, check “Update the INI file” and then click on apply or OK.The new settings take effect immediately. If you just want to play around with performance counters, do not check “Update the INI file” but click on apply instead.In case of “Current Disk Queue Length” that would be 2 (on systems with one hard disk, no RAID etc.). You tell it by entering the appropriate maximum value corresponding to 100% utilization. DiskLED has no way of knowing which queue length value is low, and which value is high. That counter returns the number of requests for disk activity currently on hold because the disk is busy. Let us say you chose the counter “Current Disk Queue Length”. It might also be a good idea to tell DiskLED how to interpret the values from the selected performance counter.Configure other settings, such as the icon to display.This validates the selection and writes the resulting performance counter path into the dialog box below. The default is _Total (sum of all disks). Select an instance (if the object is a disk, the instance specifies which disk to monitor).This is what DiskLED’s configuration dialog looks like: Read on below for how to configure DiskLED. If you do not see an additional icon, configure Explorer to show DiskLED’s icon. Double-click the icon in the system tray (next to the time).Ignore that for now (just click on OK as you always do -) If you are on a non-English system, it will show an error message. Use any folder, but preferably use one where you have write access with your regular user account, or DiskLED will be unable to save its configuration file (yep, it stores it in the location of the EXE file). It comes with a graphical configuration dialog that lets you choose from all performance counters available on the local system – you can monitor network throughput just as easily as hard disk activity or memory usage. DiskLED is a small tool that displays performance counter data using an animated system tray icon.
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