What is this?

[Rowdy Mills]

HP 3D Drive Guard all of a sudden pops up in the bottom

 

[Chicano]

It may be warning you of a HDD issue... click on the pop-up and see what it's about... if it doesn't give the right and complete information, you may need to install another program such as Hard Disk Sentinel to get more detailed information on the HDD condition. Read the software description below.

I'd suggest running a chkdsk scan to correct possible bad disk sectors:
Start button / All Programs / Accessories / right click on Command Prompt / Run as Administrator / type "chkdsk c: /r" w/o quotes and press Enter.

Info: Hp 3D Drive Guard and Protectsmart on Hp computers.
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-and-Software/Hp-3D-Drive-Guard-and-Protectsmart-on-Hp-DV7-3165DX/td-p/317476

HP 3D DriveGuard Software (HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection)
http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/public/detail?swItemId=ob_124661_1
HP 3D Driveguard Software Description
Quote: HP 3D Driveguard Software (HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection) for supported notebook models that are running a supported operating system. HP 3D Driveguard Software protects the hard drive by parking the heads if the notebook is accidentally dropped, or is abruptly impacted by another object

Hard Disk Sentinel
http://www.hdsentinel.com/download.php