Hello everyone, I have a problem with my Windows XP operating system, particularly with the USB device that is plugged in - 1TB WD My Book external drive. I haven't found any information about such behaviour when searching in Internet, so I have to ask You.

The problem is: when I am using computer, especially during work (programming), when I try to access any information on a hard disk ("internal" one), Windows seems to "consult" it with the external drive. For example, when I open file selection dialog window, if I try to change directory, system activates external drive, reads something (I hear the disk's operational noise) and after some seconds of such pause it makes the operations I requested. There are many situations in which I can reproduce this behavior - opening My Computer, shutting down system, opening partition folder from My Computer -> every operation involves the usage of external drive. Please understand me properly - this is not something that happens EVERY time, but at least "many" times a day.

What causes such behavior and how can I "turn off" external drive when it's not needed?

Thanks in advance for your answers.