If you are using Windows 10, you will surely find that at startup or in use, the computer suddenly slowed down, very hot, checked the Task Manager and found that Disk 100% continuously while you do nothing.
Here are ten methods you can use to solve the high disk usage problem on your Windows 10 system. Some may take longer than usual due to increased stress and usage where your hard drive has crashed.
Method 1: Reboot your system
You know from experience that rebooting your pc can often solve all kinds of problems. Your 100% Windows 10 disk usage issue is no exception. While following this path may not help you figure out the potential reason for the problem, it might be enough for you if it goes away.
Be sure to use the Software Reboot option, which boots your system in a new state instead of the Shut Shut Down option to protect your system state and may not resolve the issue.
Method 2: Update Windows
Installing the latest updates can often solve mysterious problems with your Windows 10 system. Check to see if you’re up to date by going to the Update and Security section of the Windows Settings app.
You can check for new updates and install them if they are available. This can improve the overall performance of your system, including your hard drive.
Method 3: Check for malware
Your computer may be infected with malware that causes your disk usage to spike. If you have anti-virus software running in the background, then it has caught the problem. Nothing is perfect, though, so force your antivirus package to scan your hard drive for potential infections. This can be a time-consuming process as your disk is already in high usage, but it may be necessary to identify and remove malware.
Method 4: Disable Windows Search
A known bug in Windows 8 and 10 could cause a search loop, which could be the cause of your high disk usage. To temporarily stop the Windows Search utility and see if it improves your disk problem, open the admin prompt, and enter the command: net.exe stop “Windows search”. This will prevent Windows search from running until Windows is restarted next time.
If the determination that Windows Search responsible for your Windows 10 disk usage reaches 100%, you can disable it permanently by following this procedure:
- Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
- The Services window will open. Select the Windows Search item and double-click on it to update its properties.
- Select Disabled under Startup and OK to save your changes.
Method 5: Stop Superfetch service
Another feature of Windows 10 that can cause the problem is the Windows Superfetch service. You can temporarily disable this service in a similar way to Windows search with the command: net.exe stop superfetch
To disable the service permanently, use the same procedure as to disable Windows search.
Method 6: Change the energy option from Balanced to High Efficiency
This change in power settings seems to have been useful for some users who have experienced 100% disk usage on Windows 10.
Use this process:
- Go to Start> Control Panel> Hardware and Sound> Power Options> Change plan settings> Change advanced power settings.
- Select the High-performance option from the drop-down box and ensure all package settings are set to their defaults.
Method 7: Temporarily turn off your antivirus software
Another step to take when investigating the cause behind your Windows 10 Disk 100% usage issue is to disable your antivirus software temporarily. See if this improves your disk usage. If so, you may want to consider changing anti-virus packages. Even Windows Defender can cause problems by increasing I / O, and network usage can lead to high disk usage.
Method 8: Reset virtual memory in Windows 10
Virtual memory treats your disk as if it were RAM and uses it to swap temporary files when the actual RAM runs out. Error in the pagefile.sys can cause 100% disk usage on your Windows 10 machine. The workaround is to reset your virtual memory settings.
Follow these steps to reset your virtual memory:
- In the ” System Properties ” of your computer, you need to click on ” Advanced system settings “.
- Click the “ Settings” section of the Performance section.
- Select the ” Advanced ” tab and click the ” Change” button.
- Make sure ” Automatically manage paging file size ” is checked.
- You can also select “ No paging file ”, press OK, and then Reboot. This will inhibit virtual memory usage and possibly improve the disk performance of your system.
