100% disk usage (out of ideas)


  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
       #1

    100% disk usage (out of ideas)


    I’ve been having problems with disk usage being at 100% for the drive my OS is on for a few months now. Usually, as soon as I boot up my PC the disk usage will jump to 100% and stay that way for the majority of the time my PC is on, rendering it pretty un-usable. Occasionally it will resolve itself and go down to normal usage, and other times it will jump all over the place, going from 0% to 100% and then dropping back down to 0%. I don’t remember doing anything drastic before this started happening. I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and everything was fine for months, this seems to have happened all of a sudden, randomly.

    After trying pretty much everything suggested from various sources online and not being able to resolve the problem, my hard drive finally died. I figured buying a new hard drive and doing a fresh install of windows would finally resolve the problem. However, I recently bought a Samsung Evo 850 SSD, installed windows, but the problem still persists.

    I’m also receiving blue screen crashes, which happened after about an hour after the fresh install of windows. I’m unsure if this is related to the 100% disk usage problem though.

    I’m pretty much out of ideas as I’ve already tried disabling superfetch, windows search, playing around with the power settings, virtual memory, new hard drive, new RAM, fresh windows install, new sata cables, trying different sata ports, updating drivers, SFC scan, virus scan, etc.

    I don't have a windows 10 disk as I upgraded from windows 7, so I had to use windows tools to put windows 10 on a USB from my old hard drive and did a fresh install on the new SSD I bought. Could this have taken over a corrupt version of windows 10? Any help would be appreciated, as I'm pretty much out of ideas.

    Specs below. My PC is about 6 years old now.

    Windows 10

    MSI 770-C45

    Amd phenom ii x4 925

    4GB Ram

    Sapphire Radeon HD 5770

    2 TB internal HD (Used for storage)

    1TB Internal HD (Used for the OS. This is the drive that has just died and was replaced with a SSD)

    750W Power Supply
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 54
    Windows 10 64-bit
       #2

    What do you see in task manager? What program has the largest MB/s number?

    As for the blue screens I use this program: http://www.resplendence.com/whocrashed
    It can give a vague idea why you had the blue screen.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 83
    Windows 10 Professional
       #3

    GioXmen said:
    What do you see in task manager? What program has the largest MB/s number?

    As for the blue screens I use this program: http://www.resplendence.com/whocrashed
    It can give a vague idea why you had the blue screen.
    I don't recommend whocrashed since it often provides misleading information when analyzing the dump files. It's much more informative to ask the blue screen crash analysts for help:

    BSOD - Posting Instructions - - Windows 10 Forums

    BSOD Crashes and Debugging - Windows 10 Forums


    Ben54321 may also want to follow 100% usage on disk - - Windows 10 Forums and provide similar information to what's being asked for in that thread to get more in-depth help with the 100% disk usage issue.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Now that I have hardly anything installed I've been able to get a better look at the disk read/write and the main culprits, among others, appears to be NTFS volume log, NTFS master file table, and a large number of entries for C: Windows/software distribution.

    I tried stopping Windows update from services, but was unable to, and also tries deleting the software distribution file, again I was unable to due to the folder being in use.

    I'll try to get a screen shot of the processes the next time I'm on my PC, as well as looking into the crash I had, which fortunately hasn't happened again since.

    Any suggestions on following up on these leads?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 83
    Windows 10 Professional
       #5

    Ben54321 said:
    Any suggestions on following up on these leads?
    Just to get a screenshot of the processes. I'd recommend the route from the other thread: Display the disk activity of any process in Windows - gHacks Tech News

    As discussed in the other thread, make sure to run the Process Explorer application in elevated/administrator mode.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 14,901
    Windows 10 Pro
       #6

    What error code do you see with the BSODs?
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 366
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #7

    How long has it been since you installed the drive and installed Windows on it? It is not unusual for a system to be slow right after installing Windows. This is due to some setup that is still being done and also the system searching for and applying updates.

    EDIT:

    Look into what BIOS version you are running. If there is a newer BIOS version on the manufacturer website for your system, install it. There was a time where I had a issue very similar to yours. Nothing seemed to fix it. Resets, total restores, what have you. The only thing that fixed it was a BIOS update.
    Last edited by ArazelEternal; 01 Apr 2017 at 21:48. Reason: Added Info
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Xilnik said:
    Just to get a screenshot of the processes. I'd recommend the route from the other thread: Display the disk activity of any process in Windows - gHacks Tech News

    As discussed in the other thread, make sure to run the Process Explorer application in elevated/administrator mode.
    100% disk usage (out of ideas)-3.png
    100% disk usage (out of ideas)-4.png

    The read/write total has gone as high as about 130,000,000 for a split second. Which seems really excessive.

    ArazelEternal said:
    How long has it been since you installed the drive and installed Windows on it? It is not unusual for a system to be slow right after installing Windows. This is due to some setup that is still being done and also the system searching for and applying updates.

    EDIT:

    Look into what BIOS version you are running. If there is a newer BIOS version on the manufacturer website for your system, install it. There was a time where I had a issue very similar to yours. Nothing seemed to fix it. Resets, total restores, what have you. The only thing that fixed it was a BIOS update.
    I put in the new drive and did a fresh install only a few days ago, on Thursday I think it was.

    Just checked and my BIOS version is up to date.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 42,734
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #9

    Hi, maybe you've resolved this by now as it's been a couple of days. You need to clean install Win 10, as I believe you haven't actually done this. (See 2. below)

    1. Some observations on the above.

    There's quite a bit going on.
    First, Tiworker.exe is active- something related to Windows updates.
    If you look at your Update History, do you see any failed updates? (Please post a screenshot).

    Second, searchindexer is active, and should not be. I would expect this to have backed off (not be active) as it's only intended to run when your PC is relatively idle.

    Edge is clearly doing more than it should

    Defender is using resources (Msmpeng.exe) presumably with all the disk activity.

    SearchUI.exe is Cortana, and again, that's creating excessive disk activity, which should not be the case.

    I don't have a windows 10 disk as I upgraded from windows 7, so I had to use windows tools to put windows 10 on a USB from my old hard drive and did a fresh install on the new SSD I bought.
    Now, here I think lies the root of your problem. You haven't downloaded a Win 10 iso for a fresh install of Win 10. So that's where to start. As you have a new disk, that shouldn't be a problem.

    2. Clean install Win 10.

    Now, you have got a SSD, so if your BIOS supports it, you should enable AHCI for faster performance before installing Windows.
    (e.g.
    Why do i need AHCI with a SSD Drive (Guide Here!) ... - Crucial Community
    for reference).

    I recommend you format your SSD before installing Win 10.

    Windows 10 ISO Download - Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials

    Clean Install Windows 10 - Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Hi dalchina,

    The links you provided is how i re-installed Windows 10 on the new SSD originally. It looks like the problem has now been resolved any how after updating windows, which is strange as I had done the same thing on the old hard drive, which didn't fix the problem. I still get the occasional jump up to around 100% or just below, but it's only happening when I'm actually doing something and isn't constant. It's been a few days now and things seem ok, so hopefully it stays that way.


    Unfortunately I didn't enable AHCI before installing windows. I may look into it soon, but for the time being, things seem ok without it being enabled.

    Thanks for all of the suggestions and help, I appreciate it.
      My Computer


 

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