HDD Constantly Running at 100%

BJC1992 · 31 May 2020

Upon startup of my PC its not painfully slow but it isn't as fast as it should be, when I open Task Manager the HDD is running at 100%, and doesn't move from that for maybe half an hour or so, then after that it gets back to normal, so whilst running only the web browser to write this post its now ranging between 2-10%. When it is running at 100% I can't really see whats causing it to run so high. I've tried a few things that I've read like disabling Windows Search but can't tell what the computer is struggling with. Any ideas are much appreciated.
Windows version number - Version 1903

dalchina · 31 May 2020

I've tried a few things that I've read like disabling Windows Search

When windows search works normally, it
a. stops when indexing is complete
b. updates when something indexed changes or something is added or deleted in an indexed folder
c. backs off (stops) when there is just a little activity.

When disk activity is high, capture a screenshot like this:

noting the transfer rate.

To post a screenshot:

HDD Constantly Running at 100%-untitled.png

History: (so often omitted by posters)
- how long has this been happening?
- what change preceded it? E.g. upgrade, update, installation, uninstallation, power outage, the dog chewed the cables...

When CPU usage is high, post another screenshot like this

clicking on the CPU column header to orgainise it high to low.

Run these basic checks:
HD Tune v2.55 free Health and Error Scan tabs
From an admin command or Powershell prompt
chkdsk c: /scan
and post the short summary result

How much free space do you have on C: ?

If the above checks pass, perform a clean boot (Google or see tutorial).
Do you notice any change?

BJC1992 · 02 Jun 2020

Is hard to say exactly how long its been going on for, or what may have caused it, its been going on for a little while as the PC doesn't always feel massively slow but of course is slower than it should be, especially upon startup, when I check task manager its then on 100% for a short while even with no apps running, I can load up the internet for example and carry on as usual and things are not too bad, even though its saying 100%.
At the moment the C drive has 348GB free space, (116GB used space).

Thanks for the advice, I'll try out the points mentioned, and will then post some screenshots when I see it running high.

BJC1992 · 07 Jun 2020

HDD Constantly Running at 100%-details-new.jpg

HDD Constantly Running at 100%-hdd-usage.jpg

I done the HD Tune, picked up no errors. Only thing left to try is the clean boot, I looked it up and it involves turning services off, so I assume this should be done to see if any of these are causing the high disk usage?
As previously mentioned the computer only runs at 100% disk usage for a short while and doesn't dramatically slow done the computer, although when using HD Tune to do the health check the HDD stayed at 100% for that whole time.

dalchina · 07 Jun 2020

That's unlikely to help now you've shown the screenshot, but you're welcome toe try.

You show 100% usage at 10MB/s transfer rate- which is very low. There are quite a few posts about this- search for

Disk 100%
low transfer rate

for example.

See e.g. :
Windows 10 100% disk usage in Task Manager [SOLVED] - Driver Easy
post #45
Disk usage 100% please help

Hope something there helps.

Remember- search the forum for more examples, looking for solved threads. There can be more than one cause.

BJC1992 · 31 Jan 2022

I haven't had this particular issue for a while, although I am going through something similar. I'll close the thread now but will reopen it if the issue returns.

EnvioX · 01 Feb 2022

BJC1992 said:

Upon startup of my PC its not painfully slow but it isn't as fast as it should be, when I open Task Manager the HDD is running at 100%, and doesn't move from that for maybe half an hour or so, then after that it gets back to normal, so whilst running only the web browser to write this post its now ranging between 2-10%. When it is running at 100% I can't really see whats causing it to run so high. I've tried a few things that I've read like disabling Windows Search but can't tell what the computer is struggling with. Any ideas are much appreciated.
Windows version number - Version 1903

check my post on your other topic