Fix: 100% Disk Usage Windows 10

Kevin Arrows May 12, 2021
7 minutes read

Windows 10 has been receiving numerous updates throughout the year, this causes the system to consume numerous resources causing 100% Disk Usage. Due to the number of updates in the background, and numerous changes with the settings after the updates, the disk usage stays at 100%. In order to address the issue, there are a couple of solutions listed below.

Task Manager Showing 100% Disk Usage on Windows 10

You can check the disk usage from your task manager in the processes tab. If you don’t know how to open the Task Manager then follow the steps given below

  1. Press and Hold ALT, CTRL and Delete key simultaneously (ALT + CTRL + DELETE)
  2. A new screen will open.
  3. Select Task Manager
  4. Select the Processes tab if it isn’t selected already
  5. Look at the Disk You should see a percentage below it.

Method 1: Disable Windows Search

Disabling the Windows Search have proven to be very useful for a lot of users. Basically what Windows Search does is that it scans through your files and folders and records information in an index file. That is why this service is also known as SearchIndexer. The benefit of the Windows Search is that it speeds up the searching of your files. So, disabling the Windows Search won’t have any noticeable effect on your searches. The only drawback will be the increased time when searching for files and folders but it won’t be a considerable increase in time. If you don’t search through a ton of files on regular basis then it you won’t even feel the difference.

So, follow the steps given below to Disable Windows Search

  1. Press Windows key once
  2. Type Command Prompt in the Start Search
  3. Right click the Command Prompt from the search results and select Run as administrator

  4. Type exe stop “Windows search” (with quotes) and press Enter
  5. Wait for the system to stop the Windows Search. You will see a message

Keep in mind that this will disable the service temporarily. You can open the Task Manager and look at the Disk usage once the Windows Search is turned off. If your Disk usage decreases then you can turn the Windows Search permanently via the steps given below.

  1. Hold Windows key and press R
  2. Type services.msc and press Enter

  3. Locate a service named Windows Search
  4. Double-click the Windows Search
  5. Select Disabled from the drop down menu in Startup Type

  6. Click the Stop button if the Service Status isn’t Stopped.
  7. Click Apply then select Ok

Keep in mind that it disabling this service isn’t recommended. But, if it makes your system better and you want to keep it disabled then that’s up to you. If it doesn’t affect your system speed or disk usage then you can turn it back on by going back to services and selecting Automatic as the Startup Type.

Method 2: Disable Message Signaled Interrupt (MSI) Mode (Firmware Bug)

Disabling Message Signaled Interrupt also solves this problem for a lot of users. StorAHCI.sys is a driver that has the firmware bug associated with high disk usage. This means that it might be behind the issue and disabling it will solve the issue for you.

  1. Hold Windows key and press R
  2. Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter

  3. Double click IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
  4. Double click Standard SATA AHCI controller

  5. Click Driver tab
  6. Click Driver Details button
  7. If the driver file name is StorAHCI.sys then you are running the inbox driver and you need to make some changes to Registry Key
  8. Click Details tab
  9. Select Device Instance Path from the drop down menu under Property
  10. Note the path that is shown or keep it open here
  11. Hold Windows key and press R
  12. Type regedit.exe and press Enter

  13. Navigate to this address HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\”Device Instance Path taken from step”\Device Parameters\Interrupt Management. If you don’t know how to navigate to this path then follow the steps given below
    1. Double click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE from the left pane
    2. Double click System from the left pane
    3. Double click CurrentControlSet from the left pane
    4. Double click Enum from the left pane
    5. Double click PCI from the left pane
    6. Double click “Device Instance Path taken from step” from the left pane
    7. Double click Device Parameters from the left pane
    8. Double click Interrupt Management from the left pane
  14. Now click MessageSignaledInterruptProperties from the left pane
  15. Double click MSISUpported from the right pane
  16. Change its value from 1 to 0
  17. Click Ok

Now reboot your computer and your problem should be solved now. If you see multiple controllers in your device management screen (step 4), repeat the above process from all the controllers and then check if the 100% Disk Usage is now dropped down.

Method 3: Google Chrome

Sometimes, the problem might be because of the Google Chrome and its prediction features. Users have complained about these features using system resources. So, disabling these prediction features from Google Chrome might improve the 100% Disk usage issue of yours.

Follow the steps given below to turn off prediction feature of Google Chrome

  1. Open Google Chrome
  2. Select the 3 dots (menu) on the top right corner
  3. Select Settings

  4. Scroll down and select Show advanced settings…

  5. Uncheck the option Use a prediction service to load pages more quickly. This option will be under the Privacy section

Now, close the Google Chrome and you should be good to go. If this doesn’t solve the problem then don’t turn the feature back on. Go to the next method (Skype method) and follow that.

Method 4: Turn off Skype

A lot of users have solved the high disk usage issue by turning off the Skype. There are some programs like Google Chrome and Skype that are known to cause the high or 100% disk usage issue. So, turning off some features or the whole application usually solves the problem. But, if it doesn’t, then you can always turn these settings back on.

Steps for turning of Skype are given below

  1. Press and Hold Windows key and press R
  2. Type C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\ and press Enter

  3. Right click the Skype application and select Properties

  4. Select Security tab and then select Edit

  5. Select ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES in the section Group or usernames
  6. Check (tick) the Write Allow option in the section Permission for ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES section
  7. Select Apply then select Ok

Now check the disk usage from the Task Manager. It should be fine now.

Method 5: Uninstall Flash Updates

A lot of users have mentioned that uninstalling the Flash Updates from the Windows Update History have solved this problem. This might have to do something with the latest Windows Updates and Flash Updates. The latest update might have a bug that is causing the issue. Also, keep in mind that Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome comes with a Flash Plugin. So, even if you didn’t install the Flash, it might already be installed and updated via Windows Updates.

Here are the steps to uninstall the Adobe Flash Updates.

  1. Press Windows key once
  2. Select Settings from the start menu
  3. Select Update & Security

  4. Select Update History

  5. Select Uninstall Updates

  6. Scroll down and look for the Adobe Flash Player update
  7. Select the Adobe Flash Player update and select Uninstall

  8. Follow any additional on-screen instructions.

Reboot your computer once the update is uninstalled. Now if the problem of disk usage is solved or not.

Note: Do not attempt to completely uninstall Flash via the uninstallers available on the internet/Flash’s official website. Uninstalling Flash has known to cause some problems with the Windows.

Method 6: Unlink OneDrive

The problem seems to be arising from OneDrive for a lot of users. Many users have complained about the high disk usage when they signed in to OneDrive. So, signing out and unlinking the OneDrive resolves the issue of high disk usage.

Follow the steps given below to unlink OneDrive.

  1. Right click your OneDrive icon in the system tray (right bottom corner). If you can’t see it then you might have to click the upward arrow button and it will show up.
  2. Select Settings

  3. Select Account tab
  4. Click Unlink this PC

  5. Click Unlink account

Now restart your computer and check if the issue is still there or not.

You can also completely uninstall the Microsoft OneDrive by following the steps given below

  1. Hold Windows key and press R
  2. Type appwiz.cpl and press Enter
  3. Locate Microsoft OneDrive
  4. Select Microsoft OneDrive and select Uninstall
  5. Follow any on-screen instructions

Method 7: Disable Windows Notifications

Disabling Windows notifications is known to solve the issue for many. You can easily disable the notifications from your settings

  1. Press Windows key once
  2. Select Settings from the start menu
  3. Select System

  4. Select Notifications & actions
  5. Turn off all the notification under the Notifications section

Wait a few seconds and you will be good to go. Your disk usage should go down within 10 seconds.

Method 8: Feedback & diagnostics

Settings the Feedback & diagnostics option to basic seems a viable solution when it comes to lowering the disk usage. Usually, your Feedback & diagnostics will be set to either Full or Enhanced. Turning it back to Basic will lower the disk usage.

Steps for lowering the Feedback & Diagnostics are given below

  1. Press and Hold Windows key and press I
  2. Select Privacy

  3. Select Feedback & diagnostics
  4. Select Basic from the drop down menu in Diagnostic and usage data section

Now check the disk usage and it should be lowered significantly.

Method 9: Cancelling Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) (Workaround)

Windows Performance Recorder, as its names suggests, is a tool that is used to record and report your performance to Microsoft. It is located at %SystemRoot%\System32 and comes with the Windows. Cancelling the WPR via command prompt solves the issue of high disk usage.

Note: This is a workaround and not a permanent solution. You will have to repeat this process on every reboot of your system.

  1. Press Windows key once
  2. Type Command Prompt in the Start Search box
  3. Right click the Command Prompt from the results and select Run as administrator
  4. Type WPR –cancel and press Enter

Now you should be good to go. But, remember, you have to repeat this on every restart.

Method 10: Disable Connected User Experiences and Telemetry

Disabling Connect User Experiences and Telemetry service is also known to solve the issue.

  1. Press and Hold ALT, CTRL and Delete key simultaneously (ALT + CTRL + DELETE)
  2. A new screen will open.
  3. Select Task Manager
  4. Select Services tab
  5. Locate DiagTrack
  6. Right click DiagTrack and select Stop

  7. Right Click DiagTrack and select Open Services

  8. Locate the service Connect User Experiences and Telemetry
  9. Double click Connect User Experiences and Telemetry

  10. Select Disabled from the drop down menu in Startup type

  11. Click Recovery tab
  12. Select Take no Action from the drop down menu in First Failure. Repeat this for Second Failure and Subsequent Failures

  13. Click Apply then select Ok

Once done, you should be good to go. This is a permanent solution and you won’t have to repeat on every reboot.

Kevin Arrows May 12, 2021
7 minutes read
Photo of Kevin Arrows
Kevin Arrows
Kevin is a dynamic and self-motivated information technology professional, with a Thorough knowledge of all facets pertaining to network infrastructure design, implementation and administration. Superior record of delivering simultaneous large-scale mission critical projects on time and under budget.

Expert Tip

Fix: 100% Disk Usage Windows 10

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