Although I use a desktop PC rather than a laptop most of the time, the PC unit itself is some distance away from the screen. In another room, as it happens. Which makes it pretty much impossible for me to see the LED on the unit which indicates that the hard disk is being accessed.

If you use a laptop, or your desktop is nearer than mine, then you may well not have the same problem. But it's still more convenient to have the indicator on your monitor rather than on the computer.

If you can see whether the hard disk is being accessed, it gives you an instant way to find out why the computer is currently running slowly. Because the hard disk, even a solid state one, is still the slowest part of your computer.

My favourite disk activity indicator utility at the moment is something called Tray Status. Not only does it show disk activity, you can also have it show the status of the num lock, caps lock, windows, ctrl and alt keys too. Plus, it shows read and write access separately (read is in green, write is in red), which is more than a single LED can ever achieve.

Tray Status is free, though you can make an optional donation if you wish. The program is malware-free according to VirusTotal and Web of Trust.  Read More