Unexplained Disk and CPU Usage Soon After Startup
 

I have noticed that soon after starting up FC3 and logging in, maybe 3-5 minutes after, there is nearly constant disk access and the CPU time (according to GKrellm) is pretty much 100%. Every time I notice it, I open System Monitor and look at the processes but supposedly none of them are using any significant amount of CPU time - they are all around 0%.

Back in GKrellm, I opened the options for the CPU monitor and enabled the option to hide "nice" time and it would appear that most of the CPU usage that I am describing falls under that category.

So, getting to the point, does anyone know what this is and if it is anything I should worry about. My thought was that maybe it was just the cron job to update the "Search for Files..." database but I would rest easier if I knew for sure.

Also, since I am writing, what exactly is "nice" time that it doesn't fall under user time or kernel time? I thought those two pretty much included everything (except idle time of course.)

-Brandon

Do you run your box 24 hours? A ton of stuff gets done ar 4AM, 2 tons on Sundays, and if the box is cut off, it's going to run later when it can. "nice" is about scheduling priority, which is user adjustable, but, really, unrelated to the issue of all that activity you are seeing after startup. Unix (linux) was never intended to be used on and off, rather, in constant service. It's a different mindset.

As a matter of fact, I don't run it 24/7 - I use it as more of a desktop system for web development, on a dual boot laptop - so I guess it is just scheduled tasks playing catchup. Just wanted to be sure.