Why HDD keeps spinning up while in idle Windows 10?

[MalickT]

I have SSD for windows (Clean install) and 12TB HDD (internal SATA) that contains pictures, videos etc. In power management I have set to turn off HDD-s after 10 minutes in idle.

Yes, the HDD mostly spins down after 10 minutes but wakes up again 5-10 minutes later. WHY?

I have tried HDDScan and other similar software to spin the HDD down but it just keep waking up again in 5 minutes or so.

I also have tried to completely take the HDD offline in Disk Management but it still spins up. As soon as HDD spins up it does very little HDD activity.

I have tried to trun off real-time protection in Windows Defender, assuming Windows Defender is the cause that scans HDD-s for what ever while PC is in idle - no luck

I did not have this issue in Windows 7. And its not the HDD, the same issue with other HDD-s I have tried.

The thing is that my HDD is 7200 RPM and makes noise!

In BIOS im using ACHI mode.

Any advice?

[QBhd]

Photos will try and create albums for you. It constantly accesses the drives. There may also be other Windows apps working in the background like this.

QB

[StainlessS]

If you have a 2nd monitor, run DebugView on that monitor, [by M$, Google it] (or have it running in background),
you may see that Dism (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) runs every now and then.
You may find that there is Debugview Dism activity when your HD wakes up.
(HD scan, might well be related to Windows Update amongst other things, eg W10 spyware {there seems to always be a little internet activity when it happens})
DISM:- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/what-is-dism?view=windows-11

EDIT: DebugView:- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/debugview

[VoodooFX]

Just check the scheduled tasks, you'll see lots of stuff there are set to run after your system goes idle.

[Emulgator]

Filesystem has to do its job always (ntdll.dll)
Indexing ? Stop that service if you can. Services -> Windows Search -> Deactivate.
If you can at all under Win10 I don't know yet, I don't have Win10 here at the moment, but I have to bite that bullet in a few days...
And under Win10 there is said to be more than that.

P.S. An here I am, sitting in the same clumsy boat, Win10 is.
While copying my data Windows Malwaredetection uses 1 of 8 cores i9-11900K fully up 100%,
letting fans speed up to the max. eating power, killing lots of Nirsoft diagnosis tools on the fly.
Even later being in idle: the same: CPU clock soaring up to 5,2GHz for nothing but...sheesh.
Will take weeks before I can start to work as ususal. Windows Search off, then gnaw my way through...