Troubleshooting 100% HDD Usage in Windows

Experiencing 100% disk usage in Windows can significantly slow down your system, making it nearly unusable. This guide combines basic and advanced troubleshooting methods to help you identify and fix the root cause of high disk usage. I have categorized this troubleshooting into two levels: basic troubleshooting and advanced troubleshooting. Please check these steps. Feedbacks will be appreciated in the comments section.

Basic Troubleshooting Steps

1. Check for Malware

• Windows Defender: Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Quick scan.

• Third-Party Antivirus: Run a full system scan using reliable antivirus software like Malwarebytes.

1. Disable Windows Search

• Temporarily: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, go to the Services tab, find Windows Search, right-click, and select Stop.

• Permanently: Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter. Find Windows Search, right-click, select Properties, set Startup type to Disabled.

1. Disable Superfetch (SysMain)

• Open services.msc, locate SysMain, right-click, select Properties, set Startup type to Disabled, and click Stop.

1. Update Drivers

• Press Win + X and select Device Manager. Expand Disk drives and IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, right-click on each entry, and select Update driver.

1. Reset Virtual Memory

• Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, and hit Enter. Go to the Advanced tab, click Settings under Performance, go to the Advanced tab, click Change under Virtual memory, uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives, select your system drive (usually C:), choose No paging file, click Set, restart, then set it to System managed size and click Set.

1. Check Disk Health

• CHKDSK: Open Command Prompt as an administrator and run chkdsk /f /r.

• Third-Party Tools: Use tools like CrystalDiskInfo to check S.M.A.R.T attributes.

1. Disable Startup Programs

• Open Task Manager, go to the Startup tab, right-click on unnecessary programs, and select Disable.

1. Adjust Windows Notifications Settings

• Go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions, turn off notifications for individual apps or the entire notification system.

1. Perform a Clean Boot

• Press Win + R, type msconfig, hit Enter, go to the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services, click Disable all, go to the Startup tab in Task Manager, disable all startup items, and restart your computer.

1. Upgrade to an SSD

• If your budget allows, consider upgrading to a Solid-State Drive (SSD) for a significant performance boost.

Advanced Troubleshooting Steps

1. Analyze Disk Activity Using Windows Performance Recorder (WPR)

• Download and install the Windows Performance Toolkit from the Windows ADK.

• Run wpr -start generalprofile -start CPU in an elevated Command Prompt.

• After a few minutes, stop with wpr -stop c:\high_disk_usage_trace.etl.

• Analyze the .etl file using Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA).

1. Advanced Power Settings Adjustment

• Go to Control Panel > Power Options, select Change plan settings, click Change advanced power settings, expand the Hard disk section, and set Turn off hard disk after to a higher value or Never.

1. Advanced Virtual Memory Management

• Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter, go to the Advanced tab, click Settings under Performance, then Change under Virtual Memory, uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives, and set a custom size based on your RAM size.

1. Disable Windows Telemetry and Diagnostic Tracking

• Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, press Enter, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds, double-click Allow Telemetry, and set it to Disabled.

1. Inspect and Manage System Resource Usage Using Sysinternals Suite

• Download the Sysinternals Suite from the official Microsoft website.

• Run Process Explorer for a detailed view of active processes.

• Use Process Monitor to capture real-time file system, registry, and process/thread activity.

1. Investigate Event Viewer Logs

• Press Win + X, select Event Viewer, expand Windows Logs, check System and Application logs for errors and warnings, and research Event IDs online for specific fixes.

1. Adjust Pagefile Location

• Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter, go to the Advanced tab, click Settings under Performance, click Change under Virtual Memory, uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives, select a secondary drive, set System managed size, click Set, and restart your computer.

1. Investigate Driver Issues with Driver Verifier

• Press Win + R, type verifier, press Enter, select Create standard settings, click Next, choose Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer, click Finish, and reboot. If issues are found, they will be identified in a BSOD.

1. Inspect and Adjust BIOS/UEFI Settings

• Restart your computer and enter BIOS/UEFI setup (usually by pressing Del, F2, or another key during startup), check that SATA mode is set to AHCI, and adjust power management settings for optimal performance.

1. Check for Disk Fragmentation (HDD only)

• Press Win + S, type defrag, select Defragment and Optimize Drives, select your primary drive, and click Optimize.

Conclusion

By combining basic and advanced troubleshooting steps, you can systematically identify and resolve the underlying causes of 100% disk usage in Windows. Start with simpler methods like checking for malware and updating drivers, and proceed to more advanced techniques such as using the Windows Performance Recorder and Sysinternals Suite for in-depth analysis. If all else fails, consider hardware upgrades like switching to an SSD for a significant performance improvement.