Windows 10 users experiencing issues like sluggishresponse time may check their Task Manager to get some guidance. This utilityoffers loads of useful information regarding processes that are active atpresent. Among other metrics you can monitor via Task Manager is your system’sdisk usage.
If you find disk usage of 100%, it means your system’s disk usage has maxed out. This, in turn, affects your computer performance, unless you take some corrective measures.
The “disk usage of 100%” issue can occur at any time.Many users experience encounter it after they upgrade to Windows 10.
In this post, we’ll share with you 10 different methodsby which you can solve the disk 100% usage issue. So let’s get started.
Solution1 – Restart Windows
The first thing you should do is turn your computer offand on again. While restarting Windows sounds simple, it often cures issuesthat you might otherwise spend hours investigating.
If you use Windows 10, remember to use the Start optionrather than the Shut Down. When you select the latter, Windows 10 saves thesystem state to boot up faster the next time. As you may guess, that means theproblems you are experience will reappear on reboot.
Solution2 – Update Device Drivers
Outdated drivers can cause all sorts of issues including disk 100% usage. Therefore, before you proceed to more complicated solutions, you should consider updating your device drivers.
Updating drivers is as easy as one-two-three with a driver update tool software such as DriverDownloader. The tool comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can have a go at it without any worry. Here are the steps to download, install, run and register DriverDownloader.
Download
Click the link below to download DriverDownloader.
Start Download
Click Run or Save
Depending on your browser,you’ll either see message in a dialog box or a pop-up window on your screen.
If you click ‘Run’, simply goto the next step.
If you click ‘Save’, browse to the ‘download’ folder on your pc or to the location where you’ve have saved the executable file and double-click driverdownlaoder.exe to launch it.
Install
Just click the ‘Install’ buttonand follow on-screen prompts to complete the installation process, whichshouldn’t take more than a minute or two.
Register
This is the last step. To getautomatic driver updates, register DriverDownloader.
Solution #3 – Disable the Antivirus SoftwareTemporarily
Sometimes, your antivirussoftware may interfere with other programs and in turn cause the disk space tomax out. Therefore, we recommend you to temporarily disable your antivirussoftware. Windows come with built-in protective software called WindowsDefender. By default this program is enabled, so you don’t have to worry aboutyour system being unprotected for the time duration you turn your third-partyantivirus software off. If, for some reasons, you’ve disabled Windows Defender,enable it before you disable your antivirus tool.
Please refer to your antivirussoftware’s documentation to check the steps for disabling it. After you’vedisabled the antivirus tool, check the computer’s disk usage again.
To do so, type “task manager”in the Start Search box and then click Task Manager. In the Processes tab,check the disk usage.
In case the reading in the Diskcolumn shows less than 100%, you can safely assume your antivirus software wasthe culprit. In that case, you can consider using another third-party antivirussoftware or contacting the vendor of your antivirus software for help.
Solution #4 – Disable SuperFetch
With the help of SuperFetch, it’spossible to bring down boot time. SuperFetch also ensures the must-loadprograms get launched more efficiently. That said, many Windows 10 and Windows8 users have complained about it causing the disk usage to max out. For thisreason, we recommend you disable SuperFetch and then check the disk usage.
To disable this service,perform the following steps:
- Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard. In the Start Search box, type command prompt and then select Run as administrator option
- In the User Access Control window, click the Yes button
- Type the following message
- Press the Enter key
- If you get a message stating something like “the command you’ve put is invalid”, try this command
- Now go wait for a few minutes and then open task manager window and check the disk usage percentage
Solution #5 – Perform Disk Check
Windows come with a tool calledCheck Disk utility which scans your hard disk for errors and fixes themautomatically.
Here’s how you can check yourhard disk for errors and get them fixed:
- Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard. In the Start Search box, type command prompt and then select Run as administrator option
- In the User Access Control window, click the Yes button
- Type the following command
- Press the Enter key. Next type Y to confirm you want the system to check the disk when Windows boots next
Note: Windows will now run a disk scan the nextsystem you start the system. This tool may take a long time to finish its job,so ensure you can afford not using your computer for a couple of hours (maybeeven longer). But if you can’t, skip disk check when system reboots. You canreschedule the scan for the next time following the steps shown above.
- After disk check iscomplete, wait for a few minutes and then open task manager and check thepercentage of disk usage
If the problem persists, go tothe next solution.
Solution #6 – Reset Virtual Memory
Windows uses a section of thehard drive to temporarily store files when the available RAM doesn’t suffice.Many users claim they were able to resolve the issue by resetting virtualmemory, so it’s worth giving it a shot.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Press Windows keyand Pause/Break key simultaneously
- Click Advancedsystem settings in the left panel
- Click the Advancedtab
- Click Settings
- Click the Advancedtab once more. Select Change… in the Virtual Memory Section and deselect thecheckbox before Automatically manage paging file size for all Drivers
- Choose the drive onwhich you have Windows installed (in most cases it’s the “C” drive). Now set aMaximum size and an Initial size for the virtual memory:
InitialSize – This figure varies from one computer to next. We recommend you to goalong with whatever number appears in the recommended category.
MaximumSize – Avoid entering a too high number. We recommend not exceeding 1.5 timesthe size of RAM. For example, if your PC has a RAM of 4GB, you should set thisvalue greater than 6,144 MB.
- After you’ve setthe values, click the Set button and then click the OK button
- Now remove alltemporary files. Press Widows key and R key simultaneously. In the run dialogbox, type temp and press the OK button. This will open the Temp folder. This iswhere all the temp files reside.
- Select all tempfiles and delete them
Wait for a few minutes. Go totask manager and check the disk usage percentage. If it’s less than 100%, theissue is resolved. If no improvement is seen, go to the next step.
Solution #7 – Update Windows
Updating Windows fixes manyproblems, so it’s worth giving a shot. To make sure Windows is up to date, performthe following steps:
- Click the Start icon
- Go to Settings >Update & Security settings > Windows Update
- Check for newupdates and install them if available.
Solution #8 – Check for Malware
Your system may be infectedwith virus or malware that’s causing the disk usage to max out. To rule outthis cause or fix it if that’s what’s triggering the problem, scan your harddisk for a malware infection.
The antivirus software you usemay take some time to finish scanning, as your hard disk is already reportinghigh usage, so be patient.
Solution #9 – Disable Windows Search
Sometimes high disk usage issuecrops up because of a known bug in Windows that causes a search loop. To fix theproblem, you can temporarily stop the Windows Search facility.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard. In the Start Search box, type command prompt and then select Run as administrator option
- In the User Access Control window, click the Yes button
- Type the following command
Now wait for a few minutes andcheck if the disk usage percentage has come down below 100%. If so, you cansafely assume Windows Search was causing the Windows 10 disk usage 100% issueand choose to permanently disable it.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Press the Windowskey and R key simultaneously
- In the run dialogbox, type services.msc and press the OK button
- In the Serviceswindow, select Windows Search entry and then double-click it
- Under Startup type,choose Disabled and then click the OK button
Solution #9 – Change Energy Options to HighPerformance from Balanced
Changing the energy settingshave worked for several users who were plagued by the 100$ disk usage issue.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Click Power Options> Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings
- ChooseHigh-performance from drop-down box. Ensure all plan settings are set to theirdefaults
Solution #10 – Fix StoreAHCI.sys Driver
This issue might also rear upbecause of an Advanced Host Controller Interface PCI-Express model using inbox StoreAHCI.sysdriver. There’s a firmware bug which causes this error.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Press Widows key and R key simultaneously. In the run dialog box, type devmgmt.msc to launch Device Manager
- Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers category
- Double-click AHCI controller
- Click the Driver tab and then select Driver Details. In case storachi.sys is saved in a path that has system32 in it, that means you’re using inbox AHCI driver
- Now close Driver details. Click the Details tab, select Device Instance Path in the drop-down menu, and then note down the path (starting from VEN_)
- Press Widows key and R key simultaneously. In the run dialog box, type regedit and press Enter to launch Registry Editor
- Now go to:
The<Random Number> varies from one device to the next
The <AHCI Controller> refers to the name you saw in Step two.
- Double-click MSISupported key and alter the value to 0
- Reboot Windows. Open Task Manager and check the Disk Usage percentage under the Process Tab. Hopefully, it would be less than 100% now.