This was originally posted as "Keyboard chatter", which was an error. (Must be Alzheimer's coming on.) In apology, I am increasing the points...
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I don't think this is a hardware issue or a driver issue and is probably not related to a particular operating system. I have the latest anti-virus signatures and also faithfully check for SPYWARE.
As the DESKTOP comes up and icons are being finalized, the problem is very heavy on a Windows 98 SE (pentium machine) and very light on a Windows 95 (486) machine. It also occurs somewhat when other background programs are being opened or closed, like at SHUTDOWN.
I did some special testing to see if a large software package would run from CD with the I/O data and *.INI files on the floppy. The test worked just fine, demonstrating that there is an option open in case I have disk storage problems (expecially on the smaller machine), or to avoid losing a program or data if there is a crash or a virus attack.
However, since that successful test, the floppy drive has gone NUTS under Windows 98, and does a lot of chattering as various files are opened during DESKTOP finalization.
In retrospect, I noticed this several years ago on the Windows 95 machine, and probably under Windows 3.1, also. At the time I assumed it was something normal that I would just have to live with. It is probably no worse now under Windows 95 than it ever was.
Another clue is that I recently downloaded the latest version of REAL to the Windows 98 machine, but uninstalled and completely removed it after I caught it trying to dial up the Net.
Using MSCONFIG, I noted that WIN.INI had many redundant COMPATIBILITY settings which are probably not needed. I unchecked the most obvious ones.
Also with MSCONFIG I looked at the STARTUP entries and didn't spot anything unusual. However, since most of the problem occurs during DESKTOP preparation, I don't really suspect anything there.
In addition to MSCONFIG, I did the usual CTL-ALT-DEL search and have not been able to identify any regular program as being the culprit. So, I suspect some sort of change in the Registry. I have looked at RUN and RUN ONCE and don't see anything out of the ordinary.
As a stopgap work around, I have inserted a blank formatted floppy in the drive. That stops the problem, but I must pull it out and press any key when it looks for an operating system, then put it back in.
There must be a simple fix, but I don't have a clue as to what it might be.
I will look again at the BIOS settings, but don't expect to find anything unusual there.
Both machines have UPS isolation from the incoming AC power. The UPS for the Windows 98 machine is a brand new super-duper TRIPP-LITE. Also, our incoming AC power lines are BURIED for at least a few blocks from home, so I don't expect power surges.
