Hi - I have had problems with crippling High Disk usage for the entire history of my Laptop which was Win 10 HOME.
Today I upgraded to PRO hoping that with more control over many things including Windows Update I could fix the problem. It is worse!
There is not a specific process I can identify because it varies.
Hello, please complete your system specs (see mine for comparison). Tutorial available if necessary.
Please boot to Safe Mode and post a screenshot of your task manager's 1st screen for reference.
To post a screenshot please use the Insert Image icon above your post
Then please perform a clean boot (Google if unsure how) and post another such screenshot.
Then please download install and run Crystal DiskMark
CrystalDiskMark – Crystal Dew World
and post a screenshot of the result.
Also please download and install Hard Disk Sentinel (trial), run it and post a screenshot of the main GUI.
How much free space do you have on C: ?
Hi dalchina - It is not currently at High Usage. It happens a lot, but not all of the time.
I have 1TB free space on HD (spin disk 5300 rpm).
This laptop is HP I3 8gb ram
I did a fresh clean install today of Win 10 Pro so there is no "bloatware" from Hp.
The only think I have installed is Firefox, so otherwise this is pristine system
I am an old retired government computer specialist so the fact that I have never been able to solve this is astonishing to me, though microcomputers were not my specialty, but get real! This is ridiculous!
So I guess I have to wait until this is acting up again to obtain all of the specs you want
There are several of those steps you can follow now.
It would be of interest to see the task manager when the problem is occurring
Try restarting with a set of drivers from Windows Update. Remove third-party drivers for SATA (use standard MSAHCI driver and recheck), etc... See if there is a difference. For intel chipsets IaStorE.sys driver is often faster (not by a big margin by the way) but msahci standard driver is more stable.
Check chipset drivers too, audio, video, etc..
Thank you both eLPuSHeR and dalchina for your suggestions. I'll get back to you soon after I do more troubleshooting.
Please edit your profile with ALL your hardware specs.
I would say that the High Disk Usage is related to Windows Update (downloading and / or installing).
Next time it happens, try to disconnect the WiFi. If High Disk Usage stops, it's WU.
Also a screenshot of your Update History (Settings, Windows Update) - any repeatedly failing update attempts should then be shown.
Dear Comrades in Arms! Thank you again to Megahertz, dalchina, eLPuSHeR for trying to help me.
1) As I told you, I am retired professionally from within the field of computer science but my specialty was NOT microcomputers! And now I am old, and memory challenged, with little patience left these days for these exasperating time sucking machines.
I use to program and debug in machine language and also assembly language. It is wonderful to be dealing with "Digital Honesty"! when you know the precise contents of the registers and everything is pure and honest!
2) However, every Windows OS since the early 1990's has been a shameless liars! I had microcomputers since 1988 and loved the old OS2. Also of course DOS. But Windows since 3.0 & 3.1 has been quite a ride these nearly 30 years.
So, long story short. I liked Windows 2000, 2003, & XP pro to some extent. It provide the absolute most control over the OS. Windows 7 pro was OK.
But, Windows 10 is a lying sack of shit.
Task manager lies, the Services are a joke! It will make you think you have disabled thing but it lies. Task Scheduler lies. I have been fighting with Windows 10 for 2 years and can tell some hilarious stories!
Just for fun 2 years ago, I dedicated 1 week to killing Cortana! and succeeded! It was glorious!
I had to crash my system repeatedly AND NOT BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET as certain key phases. Once I finally learned how to kill Cortana, I realized what a devious web of inter-dependencies Windows 10 has woven concerning Cortana's associations. So to regain certain functionalities I had to make concessions and allow certain aspects of Cortana to function. But later feature updates caused me to have to surrender and just turn off every Cortana setting, but leave it in tact.
3) But Windows Update continued to be my largest foe. So this is why I upgraded to Windows Pro to see if I could obtain more control. Long story short, I decided to take Windows Defender out of the picture since it is integrated with Window Update and temporarily installed a 3rd party AV/Firewall.
Next I used the Group Policy editor to try to take control of Windows Update completely
Very long story short: Window 10 Pro LIES just as much as Home version
It is giving me the "illusion" of having "temporarily" suspended Windows updates, but I can tell you it lies.
4) You see, my problem is that my Research & Projects that I do on the system is 24/7, and so the "Active Hour" settings are a joke.
Countless times I will be deep in work with numerous browsers, documents and so many thing running, and this lying sack of shit OS seems to know when I go into the kitchen for 5 minutes to get some food and drink and when I walk back into my office it has restarted and is in the midst if time consuming updates.
5) Also, how many times have you checked for updates and it tells you that you are up to date? And then clicked on it again for updates and then it tells you that you have many updates waiting?
It lies.
I can never relax when I am working because of the fear of updates. I lose so much work.
6) And yes, I should remember to disconnect from the Internet every time I leave the room, but I forget.
For the past 24 hours the system has been calm, and this 3rd Party AV/Firewall I think has been a big help.
BUT I did this in the Home version too, and I know the calmness is just temporary
7) I also hope you all know that even when Windows 10 makes you think an update has been fully installed that this is a lie too, right? For many more days &/or restarts it will continue to finish the last phases of the updates deep in the background because if it really had done everything at once you would have been without access to your system for a far more unacceptable period of time that you are already.
BOTTOM LINE: I am too old for this! Microsoft is so inconsiderate. I hate their programmers.
My professional assessment is that Microsoft programmers are SADISTIC & enjoy making us suffer.
FYI: when things start to act up again, which they undoubtedly will, then I will share al of the diagnostics information you have requested. THANK YOU.
Last edited by Psalm23; 16 Jun 2019 at 10:41.
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