USB stick prevents boot since update to 1903 - and slowwwwwww performa

Well, I cried victory too early. Despite the fact I had paused updates for three days counting from today, irrepressible Windows was up to its old update shenanigans. As I restarted the computer, to check a first attempt at speeding up the transfer rate, on went one of these updates at sign off and interrupted signing off the machine for a whopping 25 minutes!!! And after restart, of course very long boot as usual with updates needing a restart.
The galling aspect is that there had been no warning sign whatsoever of an update. There were in fact two:
- (KB4514359)
- (KB4515384)
And what do you know? One of them (KB4514359) failed and is now retrying at a watching grass grow and paint drying speed. While there is another one pendingKB4516115)
I've now paused again those updates coz I can't have my work interrupted or slowed down at Windows random.
My only consolation:
When I read how many users have had to endure horrors with the 1903 update, my terrible problems pale in comparison. Why can't Microsoft bring out updates without problems?
Ah well, this was only to inform you of continuing annoyances. And yes, having finished part of my work, I am now spending my idle time trying out various manners to speed up the transfer rate, using as a guide, a link provide in one of the threads: Windows 10 100% disk usage in Task Manager [SOLVED] - Driver Easy.
So, about to restart the computer again (no USB plugged in!) and hope that Windows won't take over once again.
Best,
h

Everything was in place to prevent updates for three days. I know all this, that's why I signalled it because it's unusual. But the 1903 update was a pain for lots and lots of users, not to mention the ensuing qualitative and other updates - and all those users can't all have deficient machines or installations, can they? No excuse for such sloppiness.
As I always say: I am not alone in having to endure such miseries, that's kind of a consolation.
Greetings,
haku

- - - Updated - - -

Everything was in place to prevent updates for three days. I know all this, that's why I signalled it because it's unusual. But the 1903 update was a pain for lots and lots of users, not to mention the ensuing qualitative and other updates (ah! the delightful pleasures ensuing KB4512941!) And all those users can't all have deficient machines or installations, can they? No excuse for such sloppiness.
As I always say: I am not alone in having to endure such miseries, that's kind of a consolation.

But there is some light at the end of this very dark tunnel: since the two last updates (KB4514359 and KB4516115) the machine seems to run smoother with far less CPU involvement. As we say in French: bit by bit, the little bird builds its nest.
Greetings,
haku

- - - Updated - - -

But I've been too kind to Windows. In fact slowness remains: lagging cursor, lagging mouse (now an then), opening of apps takes ages (first time - after prefetch helps, but still...)
It's a mess.
But we'll keep it solved. Nothing one can do about it anyway.

Hi again,

It's getting worse and has nothing to do with HD performance as you can see in the attached screenshots: system is gobbling up immense resources and power, and this has been going for +40 minutes!!!
Forum 10 solutions in earlier threads are not working (a rather funny one was the Spectre "solution": gobbledigook). Simple: it's the abominable 1903 update + its train of patches which is at fault. And that's that.

h

Let's keep this closed. Nothing helps anyway.

Will do. Thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

Hi Dalchina!

Have done so - had already done about 1/3 of these tweaks before. None gave any appreciable results. It isn't after studying Task Manager Processes and Performances some time that I noticed that some of the recently installed HP utilities for my Envy Printer and particularly its (rather useless and numerous) HP Support modules were playing havoc with the disk frequency, keeping it - at best - at 46% if not 100%. Uninstalling those modules brought immediate relief (it's not the first time that I experience HP software as being the clunkiest in the field - their programmers should be sent on an early retreat). Please note that these modules do not appear the whole time on Task Manager.

That said, deleting some of these modules made everything run fine again (perhaps in combination of the aforementioned tweaks). One problem remains: it still takes quite a long time for the machine to stabilize after boot, meaning allowing disk activity to drop to 0% when nothing is active: sometimes more than 20 minutes, which does not seem normal.

I have eliminated some automatic start ups (like Google Chrome, which does gobble up quite some resources), and all other startups that lead to large consumption (one Microsoft "suggestion" from its forum was stopping font services - but that didn't do anything, just as disabling sysmain, which didn't do anything either.

Anyway, now everything seems okay. I'll try to figure out the reason for the long post boot stabilization. I have an uneducated guess: maybe you remember that the first 1903 updat let to a quasi thrashing of my external HD, which had become unreadable, although being flagged as "healthy". I could only have it more or less readable, and make the files retrievable after returning to a state previous to the failed update attempt thanks to Rollback. Now, there are several Internet articles alluding to Windows update attempts leading to similar situations.

My dark suspicion is that somehow the USB system has been compromised one way or another, although not thoroughly, by the update attempt. Proof of that assumption? When I unplug the present (brand new) external HD, the machine stabilizes extremely quickly after boot. When I plug this HD back again (or another absolutely reliable HD), wham: same lag after boot.

I explainable (within my limited knowledge), this seems quite a scientific proof.

Anyway, albeit with a bit of patience, we are more or less solved. But how I wish that those Microsoft updates (even the intermediary ones) wouldn't play such havoc. This is getting so tedious...

Thanks again for you invaluable help,

Best

haku

PS - Embedded, the latest Task Manager screenshots.

Buy a small SSD (120G) for windows and programs and move C:\Users (SSD) to D:\Users (HDD).
Do a Clean install on the SSD and use Kari tutorial to move C:\Users (SSD) to D:\Users (HDD).
Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10
It will boot in 30 sec. You will have the speed of a SSD and the space of a HDD at low cost (US$~25).

How does a combined 256GB SSD and 1TB SATA HDD work together?

Thanks Megaherz,

But the speed lag (computer post-boot stabilisation after about 30 minutes) is not due to the hard disk but to the functioning of build 1903 itself. Indeed, problem only started after that update. So, except for some unlikely coïncidence, 1903 is the culprit. And since I'm not the only one suffering from this, it's certainly in that direction one should look.

But, as said, buying an SSD is on my immediate purchase list, so your various suggestions were welcome. Thanks again.

Bye,

h

Run msconfig and find out the non MS services running and startup programs. You will be surprised how many starts when you boot.
As you just installed Win 10 1903 there is a big update to correct the bugs.
Also I can see that you have Chrome. It loads on startup and spy everything you do online and offline. On the Task manager sort by name and you will see many Chromes and a lot of memory being used. I use Firefox.
Also Google drive synchronization uses resources after startup. But that is normal as it it comparing the files on the cloud with the one on the computer.