If your Windows 10 Task Manager shows 100% disk usage, something is causing your hard drive to over-work. Your computer is now so slow it’s almost impossible to use, and you’re probably wondering what you did wrong. The answer is, nothing! This problem can occur all by itself. But the good news is, it’s usually not a hard problem to fix.
6 fixes for 100% disk usage on Windows 10
2) Go to the Advanced tab, then click Settings.
3) Go to the Advanced tab again, and choose Change… in the Virtual memory section.
4) Ensure the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives checkbox is NOT ticked.
6 fixes for 100% disk usage on Windows 10
Here are a few fixes that have helped other users resolve their Windows 10 100% disk usage problem. You may not need to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.
Disable SuperFetch service(Does not Work with latest version of Windows 10)- Update your device drivers
- Perform a diskcheck
- Reset Virtual Memory
- Disable Antivirus Software temporarily
- Fix your StorAHCI.sys driver
Fix 2: Update your device drivers
Some time it is caused by Driver Issues. You can update drivers by visiting manufacturers website and downloading drivers from there. Most of them provide Auto Driver Update utilities. For Example, 'HP Assistant' by HP. You can also use Driver Pack Solution also known as DPS, it is very easy to use but it is not safe and hence I don't recommend using it.
Fix 3: Perform a disk check
1) On your keyboard, press Windows key and X at the same time, then choose Command Prompt (Admin).
2) Click Yes at the User Account Control prompt.
3) The command prompt will once again display. Type in the following command:
chkdsk.exe /f /r4) Hit Enter on your keyboard, then type Y to confirm that you’d like to perform the disk check the next time you restart your computer. Please make sure you have closed all of your applications first.
IMPORTANT: Disk check will start the next time you boot your PC and it might take some time to complete (could be a day for some). If, when you restart, you don’t have time to wait for the disk check to complete, you can skip it. You’ll need to reschedule it again, as described above, though.
5) Once you’ve completed the disk check, check your computer’s disk usage again: Type “task manager” in the Windows search bar and select Task Manager, then in the Processes tab, look at the % at the top of the Disk column. If it’s no longer 100%, you’ve fixed the problem!Fix 4: Reset Virtual Memory
Virtual memory can be considered an extension of your computer’s physical memory. It’s a combination of RAM and a portion of your hard drive. When the RAM isn’t enough to perform a task, Windows will temporarily store files in virtual memory, then swap them back to RAM when required.
To reset virtual memory:
1) On your keyboard, press Windows key and Pause/ Break key at the same time. Then choose Advanced System Settings on the left panel.2) Go to the Advanced tab, then click Settings.
3) Go to the Advanced tab again, and choose Change… in the Virtual memory section.
4) Ensure the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives checkbox is NOT ticked.
5) Select your windows drive (the hard drive or partition that has Windows installed on it – usually C:), and enter an Initial size and Maximum size for your virtual memory:
- Initial size – This value varies, depending on your computer. If you’re not sure what value to use, just enter whatever the number is in the Recommended category.
- Maximum size – Don’t set this value too high. It should be about 1.5 times the size of your physical RAM. e.g. A PC with 4 GB (4096 MB) of RAM should have no more than about 6,144 MB virtual memory (4096 MB x 1.5).
Once you’ve entered your virtual memory values, click Set, then click OK to continue.
6) Clear all your computer’s ‘temp’ files. On your keyboard, press Windows key and R at the same time, then in the Run form, type temp and hit Enter. This will invoke Windows Explorer with your Temp folder open, showing you all the temp files on your computer.
7) Select all the files in the Temp folder and delete them.
8) Check your computer’s disk usage: Type “task manager” in the Windows search bar and select Task Manager, then in the Processes tab, look at the % at the top of the Disk column. If it’s no longer 100%, you’ve fixed the problem!
Fix 5: Disable Antivirus Software temporarily
If you’ve installed antivirus or anti-malware programs such as Norton, Kaspersky, AVG, Avast Behavior Shield or Malwarebytes, you should temporarily turn them off or disable them to see if they’re causing your disk usage problem.
Please see our article on how to disable Windows Defender You might also find it useful.
Fix 6: Fix your StorAHCI.sys driver
Note: Use this at your own risk. You might end up losing all your data and/or OS. Editing system files and registry is risky.
The Windows 10 100% disk usage problem might also be caused by some Advanced Host Controller Interface PCI-Express (AHCI PCIe) models running with the inbox StorAHCI.sys driver due to a firmware bug.
Here’s how to determine if this is your problem and fix it:
1) Open Device Manager by pressing Windows logo key and X at the same time to choose Device Manager.
2) Expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers category, and double-click the AHCI controller.
3) Go to the Driver tab and click Driver Details. If you can see storahci.sys stored in a path of system32 folder, then you are running the inbox AHCI driver.
4) Close the Driver Details window and go to Details tab. From the drop-down menu, select Device Instance Path. Make note of the path, starting from VEN_.
5) Type regedit in the search box of Start panel, then hit Enter on your keyboard to run Registry Editor. Then go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\ <AHCI Controller>\<Random Number>\Device Parameters\Interrupt Management\MessageSignaledInterruptProperties
The <AHCI Controller> here refers to the name you see from step 2).
The <Random Number> differs on different machines.
6) Double click the MSISupported key and change the value to 0.
7) Restart your computer after the change, then check your computer’s disk usage: Type “task manager” in the Windows search bar and select Task Manager, then in the Processes tab, look at the % at the top of the Disk column. If it’s no longer 100%, you’ve fixed the problem!
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