14 Tips To Fix 100% Disk Usage in Windows 10

3/11/2019 14 Tips to Fix 100% Disk Usage in Windows 10
PC & MOBILE
14 Tips to Fix 100% Disk

Usage in Windows 10
By Christian Cawley / Updated January 16, 2019 16-01-2019 / 13 minutes
Christian
Cawley
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Christian Cawley is
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Your computer is hanging. Same old Windows, right?
gaming fan.
Except you’re using a brand-new Windows 10 device;
you’ve only had it a few days. So just what is going on?
Investigating, you discover that your system drive is

running at 100%. Surely this can’t be, right? Sadly, it is.
The latest versions of Windows have a problem with
Latest
the drives being overworked, which slows down the
Giveaways!
operating system. This issue affects both hard disk Govee LED TV Wi-
drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs).
Fi Backlight: The
Budget Ambilight
That Works on
Several xes are available for this, but rst you need to
Any TV
trace the problem.
How to Fix 100% Disk Usage in

i
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-tips-fix-100-disk-usage-improve-windows-performance/ 1/19
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W INDOW S
How to Download
When the error was rst discovered, only a few culprits Windows Media
were found. But as time passes, despite the 100% disk Player 12 for
usage error being reported to Microsoft, more causes of Windows 10
this bug are discovered, not fewer.
W INDOW S
1 Check disk performance with chkdisk Oops! 10

Keyboard
2 Check your anti-virus software Shortcuts Users
3 Disable Windows search
Keep Hitting by
Mistake
4 Disable Superfetch service
T ECHNOLOG Y
5 Time to disable Flash EXPLA INED
Run Old So ware

6 Change web browser
on Windows 10,
7 Check Skype impact on disk usage Watch TV on Your
PC, and Samsung
8 Fix the PCI-Express rmware bug S10…
9 Stop Steam maxing out your PC
10 Check diagnostic tracking
11 Is Windows Update causing 100% disk usage?

Latest Videos
12 Reset your Virtual Memory
13 Enable High Performance mode
14 Install the latest SATA drivers
Click the link above for each possible cause of the bug to
see how to x it.
BLIND TASTE:
PC & MOBILE
CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM |
Once you’ve established that there is a problem, you S2E05 | TECH GEEKS TRY
have several options available. Check the following STUFF (Sponsored by
steps one at a time, checking the disk usage in the Task RØDE Microphones)
Manager after each.
Note that even if you nd a solution, a Windows Update

could reset the changes you’ve made. Bookmarking this
page will help you nd it in future to run through the xes
again.
Tech Trivia II: Fire Noodle
Penalty
1. Slow Performance? Run Disk
Check
This performance issue is most obvious when
attempting to use Windows Search to nd a le or
program, and anything else that requires the drive to do $70 Ambilight Actually
some work (perhaps copying and pasting a group of Works: Govee TV
Backlight Review
les).
To establish whether it is a problem that is affecting you,

when your computer next slows down press
Ctrl+Alt+Del and select Task Manager.
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(Alternatively, right-click the Taskbar and select Task
Manager.) Note that this may take some time to open
with the drive being under strain
with the drive being under strain.
PC & MOBILE
On the rst tab, Processes, look for the Disk column. If

you’re having problems with drive performance, this
should be at 100%, and shaded red to indicate whether
you have a problem or not. Wifi Porter: The Simple
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How to Increase Windows 10
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Problematic sectors on your HDD can cause the 100%

disk usage issue in Windows 10. However, using
Windows’ built-in disk check can x this.
Open Windows Explorer and select This PC, then

identify your hard drive. Right-click on C: and select
Properties. Here, nd the Tools tab, and under Error
checking click on Check.
In the resulting window, click Scan drive. Wait while the

system scans the drive; a reboot may be required for a
full disk repair. This should deal with the error.
2. Check Your Anti-Virus So ware

As with any such performance issue, the rst thing to do
is con rm that your computer hasn’t been infected with
malware. Your security software should be able to deal
with this, whether it’s a free app or a paid suite.
PC & MOBILE
At the very least, tools such as Malwarebytes Anti-

Malware should be able to scan your system drive and
detect any problems, although with a heavy load on your
drive already this may take a while.
If threats are found, use the software’s

recommendations to discard them and reboot. Next,
check your drive’s performance further. Hopefully, you’ve
resolved the issue; if not, then malware wasn’t to blame,
so read on.
3. Disable Windows Search for

Improved Disk Performance
The next thing to check is whether the 100% disk usage
error has anything to do with Windows Search.
A bug in Windows 10 results in a “search loop” that

causes an increased load on the system drive.
To stop this and prevent it from happening during your

current session (until Windows is rebooted) open the
Command Prompt (the quickest way is by clicking the
Start button and typing cmd, then right-click and select
Run as administrator) and enter:
net.exe stop "Windows search"
To permanently disable Windows Search or Indexing,

press WIN+R, enter services.msc, and hit Enter. In the
Services window that opens nd the Windows Search
entry and double-click it to open the Windows Search
Properties window.
Disable Windows 10 search
PC & MOBILE
Under Startup type, select Disabled. Here you can click

Stop to abort the service. Click OK to save your changes.
A few moments after disabling Windows Search, your

Windows 10 performance should improve considerably.
If not, move on…
4. Disable Superfetch Service
Another Widows 10 feature that has been identi ed as a
potential cause of the 100% disk usage issue is the
superfetch service.
What Is SuperFetch on Windows 10?

And How to Disable It
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works, and how to disable it.
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To deal with this, open another Command Prompt (or if

you’ve still got the earlier box open, use that) and enter:
net.exe stop superfetch
Disable Superfetch service in Windows 10
Again, wait a few moments to check whether this has

had any effect on your computer’s performance. You
should also run Check Disk in a Command Prompt:
chkdsk.exe /f /r
PC & MOBILE
You’ll be informed that your PC must be rebooted for

Check Disk to complete, so make sure you have closed
all your applications rst.
If this doesn’t work, it is likely that you’re experiencing an

iteration of this issue that is frustrating to realize, but
simple to resolve.
5. Is Flash Causing the 100% Disk

Usage Bug?
Flash remains one of the most vulnerable aspects of
modern computing and should be disabled. Adobe plans
to kill off its multimedia plugin in 2020, so there’s little
reason to keep using it.
Flash also seems to be one of the most common culprits

for the 100% hard disk usage in Windows 10 if you’re
using the Google Chrome browser.
Open Menu > Settings > Show advanced settings and

nd the section marked Privacy. Here, click on Content
settings and nd Flash. You’ll see a toggle, so set it to
Block sites from running Flash, then click Back..
Change Flash settings in Chrome
Restart the browser and check your HDD performance.
6. Use a Di erent Web Browser

It may not be Flash that is impacting on your browser
performance.
Another cause could be the browser itself, particularly if

you’re using Google Chrome.
PC & MOBILE
The obvious option is to choose a different browser.

Windows 10 already has two browsers built in. You
probably don’t want to use internet Explorer, but
Microsoft Edge is an adequate replacement for Chrome.
Several browsers are available, some better than others.

See our guide to the best web browsers for Windows to
nd an alternative.
The Best Web Browsers for

Windows
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we're spoiled for choice, the majority of us stick
to the tried and tested major players. What are
better alternatives for resource use, speed, and
security?
READ MORE
7. Is Skype Eating Disk

Resources?
Another widely-used application could also be causing
your 100% HDD usage: Skype.
To nd out—and disable its OTT resource requirement,

begin by checking that the software is not running. You
can do this by looking in the Task Manager, or checking
the System Tray, the area on your desktop around the
clock. If Skype is running here, right-click the icon and
select Quit.
Next, press WIN+R and paste this address into the box:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\

3/11/2019 g ( ) yp 14 Tips to Fix 100% Disk Usage in Windows 10
PC & MOBILE
Click OKto nd the Skype.exe le and right-click this

and select Properties. In the Security tab click Edit, then
select ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES.
Manage Skype permissions
Put a check next to Write in the Allow column and nish

off by clicking Apply, then OK. Head back to the Task
Manager to see the change. You may also consider
nding a Skype alternative.
6 Free Skype Alternatives for the

Windows Desktop
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Here are six free services that can replace Skype
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No difference? Keep reading…
8. Resolve PCI-Express Firmware

Bug
Some drivers don’t run quite as they should in Windows
10. One that has been discovered to be causing 100%
HDD use is the StorAHCI.sys driver, which has a rmware
bug. StorAHCI.sys intended for storage devices
connected to the PC or laptop motherboard via
Advanced Host Controller Interface PCI-Express.
If you’ve made it this far with no success, this could be

the problem.
O th D i M ( Wi d 10 h
Open the Device Manager (use Windows 10 search, or
PC & MOBILE
right-click This PC in Windows Explorer, then
Properties > Device Manager) and expand IDE
ATA/ATAPI Controllers. If an AHCI Controller entry is
listed, double-click, then open the Driver tab and select
Driver Details.
Is the driver listed as

C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\storahci.sys? If so,
you could be affected by this bug.
Close the driver details box and switch to the Details tab,
selecting Device instance path from the drop-down
menu. Where the Value is listed, right-click, and select
Copy. Launch your text editor (like Notepad) and Paste
the contents in.
Next, press WIN+R and type regedit, followed by the OK

button. Navigate to this address:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\
and use the pasted string above to open the correct
AHCI Controller, followed by the random number.
Fix the PCI-Express rmware bug
Here, expand
Device Parameters\Interrupt Management\MessageSignaledInterruptProperties
and you should see MSISupported listed in the right-
hand pane. Double-click this, then change the Value data:
to 0. Click OK to con rm and follow the instructions to
restart Windows.
9. Is Steam Maxing Out Your HDD?

Enjoy gaming and have Steam installed? There’s a good
chance this digital delivery system is causing 100% disk
usage.
Usually this is due to update delivery, causing the

background downloader to get caught in a loop. Clear

PC & MOBILE
the Steam cache to x this.
First, make sure you have exited Steam. Where Steam is

a likely cause of the 100% disk usage error, it may hang
when you try to exit. In this case, use the Windows 10
Task Manager to close the software.
Next, open the WIN+R run box and enter
steam://flushconfig
You’ll see a dialogue box, informing you that content will

be deleted.
Clear the Steam cache
Click OK to proceed.
Note that games and saves will be retained, so there is no

risk of them being deleted.
10. Disable Diagnostic Tracking in

Windows 10
Finally, it’s worth considering the impact of diagnostic
tracking in Windows 10. A feature that you might have
otherwise disabled for privacy reasons, it has been
blamed for 100% HDD use on many PCs.
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PC & MOBILE
When it comes to reducing your hard disk drive usage,

it’s quicker to simply disable the DiagTrack service. If this
is the source of the 100% disk usage error in Windows
10, you can stop the service launching.
However, to do this you’ll need to access Command

Prompt in administrator mode.
Do this by clicking Start and typing cmd in the search

box. Wait for the results and right-click Command
Prompt, selecting Run as administrator.
Right-click the Start button and select Command

Prompt (Admin), then input these commands to disable
and stop DiagTrack:
sc config "DiagTrack" start= disabled

sc stop "DiagTrack"
Disable diagnostic tracking in Windows 10
In addition, you might also head to Settings > System >

Noti cation & actions and disable Get tips, tricks and
suggestions as you use Windows. Doing so has been
shown to improve things.
11. Windows Update Can Cause

High Disk Usage
As well as affecting changes you make to your PC when
xing the 100% disk use problem, Windows Update can
also be a cause.
This usually only happens when Windows Update has a

problem (which is typically due to a le refusing to
download). You have two options here:
PC & MOBILE
1 Leave your computer alone—shut all your open

applications and wait. Eventually, the les will
download, but depending on how Windows Update
is scheduled on your computer, it may require a
reboot.
2 Shutdown your computer—once you’ve done that,
restart and wait for Windows Update to resolve the
problem.
Once the update has nished downloading, it’s wise to

run it as soon as possible. Remember to check any
previous xes for 100% disk usage before proceeding;
as noted above, Windows Update can reverse these
xes.
How to Resolve Windows Update

Problems in 5 Easy Steps
Has Windows Update failed you? Maybe the
download got stuck or the update refused to
install. We'll show you how to x the most
common issues with Windows Update in
Windows 10.
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12. Reset Your Virtual Memory

Virtual memory is a combination of RAM and hard disk
space and can be responsible for overuse of your HDD. If
there isn’t enough RAM to perform a task, the HDD is
used to supplement the RAM. Data moved to the HDD is
then returned to RAM when required.
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If you’ve made it this far and you’ve yet to solve the

100% disk usage issue, it could be worth resetting your
virtual memory.
Open the System screen with Windows+Break/Pause,

then Advanced System Settings on the left. In the
resulting box, select the Advanced tab, then under
Performance click Settings.
Here you’ll nd another Advanced tab, which has a

section labeled Virtual memory. Click Change and clear
the checkbox for Automatically manage paging le size
for all drives.
Reset Windows 10 virtual memory
Staying on this screen, select your Windows drive

(usually C:) and then Custom size. Here, add an Initial size
and a Maximum size; note both are measured in MB
rather than GB.
These numbers can be confusing, so with the rst value,

rely on the recommended option. For the maximum
value, aim for a gure no more than 1.5 times your
system RAM.
PC & MOBILE
Everything You Need to Know About

RAM & Memory Management
RAM is your computer's short term memory.
Hence, memory management has a signi cant
impact on system performance. Here we explain
how RAM works and whether you can do
anything to increase its ef ciency.
READ MORE
For instance, a computer with 4GB of RAM should have

no more than 6.5GB (6144MB).
With the values input, click Set, then OK to continue. You

now need to clear the temporary les that have been
used in the previous virtual memory allocation.
Do this by opening the Run box (WIN+R) then entering

“temp”. When the temp directory opens, select all les
(Ctrl+A) and tap Delete on your keyboard.
13. Activate High Performance

Mode
One nal thing to try is altering your Windows power
settings. Standard power modes are more prone to the
100% disk usage bug but switching to high performance
often overcomes the problem.
The downside, of course, is that your computer will use

more power. Thanks to modern processor design this
shouldn’t be a massive issue. However, notebooks and
desktop replacement laptops may take a hit on battery
life.
To change to high performance, open the Power &

g g p , p
sleep screen with WIN+XPC
> Power Options.
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make Windows faster that take 10 minutes or
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Here, click Additional power settings, select High

performance, then OK.
Create a new power plan in Windows 10
If this isn’t a displayed option, you’ll need to create your

own custom power plan. Click Create a power plan, then
choose High performance. Give the plan a name, tweak
any personal settings you need then select it as a power
plan to use.
In a moment or two, the 100% disk usage issue should

drop down to less than 10%.
14. Install the Latest SATA Drivers

Could a storage device driver be resulting in the 100%
disk usage error?
Your Windows 10 computer almost certainly uses SATA

connections for hard drives, SSDs, and optical drives. If
the drivers aren’t up to date, the disk usage error can
occur.
Avoid this by upgrading to the latest SATA drivers.
Open the Power User menu with WIN+X and select

Device Manager. From here, expand Storage
g , p g
controllers, then identify the correct controller for your
PC & MOBILE
SATA devices. If you can’t do this, don’t worry—simply

update both.
To update, right-click on each controller and select

Update driver.
Update Windows 10 SATA drivers
Select the Browse my computer for driver software

option, then Let me pick from a list of available drivers
on my computer. Here, choose Standard AHCI
Controller and see how this impacts performance.
You may need to reboot Windows for this to take effect.

Note that if it doesn’t work, you can still try this by
checking the manufacturer’s website for a new driver.
This can be installed using the instructions that
accompany it.
Disk Usage Should Rarely Be

100%
Put simply, there is little reason for your disk load to be
anything close to 100%, certainly not under normal
usage. A slow computer is one with a problem, and if you
cannot x it by disabling a browser plugin, stopping
services, or running your antivirus software, then the
problem may well be hardware related.
Perhaps your drive is getting old; it may be defective, or

the cables may need replacing. Alternatively, there is a
chance that the problem is connected to the Windows
defrag tool.
If your computer is attempting to defrag your drive, but

your HDD is actually an SSD, then serious problems can
occur Deal with this by opening the Task Scheduler
occur. Deal with this by opening the Task Scheduler
PC & MOBILE
(WIN+Q, enter “task scheduler”) and disable any

scheduled disk defrag tasks.
Try these xes the next time your Windows computer

slows down. Add these xes to your skill set for solving
annoying Windows issues.
8 Annoying Windows 10 Issues &

How to Fix Them
The upgrade to Windows 10 has been smooth
for most, but some users will always encounter
issues. Whether it's a ashing screen, network
connectivity issues, or battery drain, it's time to
resolve these problems.
READ MORE
Explore more about: Computer Maintenance, Computer Memory,

Hard Drive, Solid State Drive, Troubleshooting, Windows 10,
Windows Update.
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It Feel Windows Management Windows
Faster 10 BSOD 10
PC Error 0xC0000225 Record

Performance in in in
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3/11/2019 14 Tips to Fix 100% Disk Usage in Windows 10

14 Tips to Fix 100% Disk

Investigating, you discover that your system drive is

How to Fix 100% Disk Usage in

Windows 10 Wifi Porter: The

1 Check disk performance with chkdisk Oops! 10

Run Old So ware

10 Check diagnostic tracking

11 Is Windows Update causing 100% disk usage?

13 Enable High Performance mode

14 Install the latest SATA drivers

Note that even if you nd a solution, a Windows Update

To establish whether it is a problem that is affecting you,

How to Install PIP for

On the rst tab, Processes, look for the Disk column. If

Problematic sectors on your HDD can cause the 100%

Open Windows Explorer and select This PC, then

In the resulting window, click Scan drive. Wait while the

2. Check Your Anti-Virus So ware

At the very least, tools such as Malwarebytes Anti-

If threats are found, use the software’s

3. Disable Windows Search for

A bug in Windows 10 results in a “search loop” that

To stop this and prevent it from happening during your

net.exe stop "Windows search"

To permanently disable Windows Search or Indexing,

Disable Windows 10 search

Under Startup type, select Disabled. Here you can click

A few moments after disabling Windows Search, your

What Is SuperFetch on Windows 10?

To deal with this, open another Command Prompt (or if

net.exe stop superfetch

Disable Superfetch service in Windows 10

Again, wait a few moments to check whether this has

You’ll be informed that your PC must be rebooted for

If this doesn’t work, it is likely that you’re experiencing an

5. Is Flash Causing the 100% Disk

Flash also seems to be one of the most common culprits

Open Menu > Settings > Show advanced settings and

Change Flash settings in Chrome

Restart the browser and check your HDD performance.

6. Use a Di erent Web Browser

Another cause could be the browser itself, particularly if

The obvious option is to choose a different browser.

Several browsers are available, some better than others.

The Best Web Browsers for

7. Is Skype Eating Disk

To nd out—and disable its OTT resource requirement,

C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\

Click OKto nd the Skype.exe le and right-click this

Manage Skype permissions

Put a check next to Write in the Allow column and nish

6 Free Skype Alternatives for the

No difference? Keep reading…

8. Resolve PCI-Express Firmware

If you’ve made it this far with no success, this could be

Is the driver listed as

Next, press WIN+R and type regedit, followed by the OK

Fix the PCI-Express rmware bug

9. Is Steam Maxing Out Your HDD?

Usually this is due to update delivery, causing the

background downloader to get caught in a loop. Clear

the Steam cache to x this.