For some time now my Hard Drive light remains ON even with no programs running. It blinks as I start up in the morning but soon goes ON and remains so. I've checked Task Manager and had a local geek help me look at processes running, but stopping everything but essential Windows systems, the HD light won't go out. I have uninstalled my antivirus program and the light will go out, but it reappears at next startup. I've uninstalled my antispyware program and the light will go out, but it reappears at next startup.

Can anyone offer a suggestion? I've also changed AV programs but with the same results.

Pretty much the only time no programs are running is when the system is turned off. When you are idle, Windows starts doing some housekeeping chores, such as downloading critical updates, running virus scans, indexing files for faster searches, etc.

Next time, look in Task Manager and make sure you recognize everything that is running. Don't terminate anything unknown without checking it out first - you can usually enter the file name in your favorite search engine for more information.

The below are all enhanced Task Manager type programs that will show you what is running. Each is nice in its own way. What's Running is probably the easiest, with AutoRuns for the more experienced, and Process Explorer the most popular. With these, for example, you can see what processes are using the various (it is common to have 4 to 6 running) svchost.exe images.

AutoRuns for Windows
Process Explorer
What's Running