Windows 11 - HP Pavillion Laptop 15 - keeps locking up with disk usage at 100%

I've provide all the results above.

Greg,

I'm going to read between the lines here and suggest that you think I am not doing the work. I'm sorry you think that. I've provided detailed replies to each of your suggestions - perhaps you are not reading my comments?

I have detailed the steps that I have done with as more details that you have provided to me.

If you have solved these problems for other user's I wish you had just referenced those solutions rather than having me dig thru web based posts some of which have incorrect information in them. As Windows expert, I would think that recommendations for disabling Windows Defender would be something you would advise against.

I've used google and have come back with all of the solutions that you have provided before I posted in these forums.

I was hoping that someone monitoring this forum would have some more experience with using diskmon and other MS tools to get to the root of this issue.

It sounds like this problem is beyond your ability. Reinstalling an OS is really a work around and not a true diagnosis or fix. Running Linux on this laptop with the SSD is another workaround, but I was hoping that a Windows expert would see this as a challenge worth pursuing.

If you have anything specific you'd like to suggest, please let me know. There are literally hundreds of other posts where the suggestions you have offered don't fix the problem.

1. I am not sure which update caused this specifically. The laptop had a HDD disk in it that was often running at 100% usage or near there which resulted in slow slow performance. At times "locking" the computer up. It became worse with the arrival of Windows 11. I did not previously have time to troubleshoot and knowing that an HDD has limited performance vs a SDD, I cloned the HDD to an SDD ( Western Digital 1TB WD Blue SA510 SATA Internal Solid State Drive SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, M.2 2280, Up to 560 MB/s - WDS100T3B0B) and then removed the HDD.

Since I had the laptop case open, I also installed an extra 8 GB of RAM that matched the speed and manfacturer of the existing RAM in there. I ran tests on the RAM for approx 8 hours to ensure that it was quality and there were no errors EVER reported.

10. (out of order) I ran extensive hardware tests yesterday on RAM and the SDD, and both came up 100% ok both using WD utilities and HP built in utilities at the BIOS level. No errors were detected.
11. I reviewed the 5 web links you referenced. I had had already tried all the steps in there.
12. I used HP website to check for drivers on my machine after letting their site self identify my laptop and their site said all the drivers were as up to date as possible.
13. I have fully updated all the security patches and updates BEFORE I had cloned the drive so these were already installed. Doing so after the new drive was in use, confirmed that everything was up to date.
14. Chkdisk returned a few minor corrections, but nothing significant.
15. Clean boot resulted in the same 100% disk usage. Also of note when booted in safe mode with no other options, the 100% disk usage still occurred.
16. Malware bytes returned 3 minor PuP but that was it. I also have run full scans with McAfee and nothing was found there either. I still have the 100% drive lockup whether McAffee is installed or completely erased from the machine. I have also turned off windows defender and disabled it, but IT does not appear to be causing the 100% disk usage either.
17. The DISM checker found an error with a modem driver and repaired that, but the 100$ disk usage continues.
18. After all the above I performed the steps referenced in the web article for 9. After 1.5 hours of waiting for the rebuild, the 100% disk usage with the laptop locking up is still present.

Chkdsk came back with no errors at all.

11. Nope - you didn't write up an 11, I did. I repeated the whole process of reimaging the drive from from the HDD to the SDD AND repeated steps 1-9. The only difference the second time was that I ran chkdsk on the HDD before making the image and there were no errors on it nor on the SDD afterward.

I was/am MCSE on Windows NT 4.0, have spend years working on Windows 98 - XP, and have some experience with Windows 10.

Before I posted the original post, I put in roughly 2 days of trouble shooting to no avail. Since posting, I have been running tests/troubleshooting for another 14 hours.

I would love to hear other suggestions on how to troubleshoot this problem. My challenge is that in task manager and using resource monitor, I don't see any particular process or image that is grabbing the disk during it's 100% usage. Nothing is showing excessive CPU time and when the lockup occurs these utilities stop responding mostly other than showing the 100% usage. The CPU clock still proceeds and the chart advanced so the CPU isn't being interupted.

Hi Greg,

Many of the suggestions you referenced, I have already tried. I ran extensive hardware tests yesterday on RAM and the SDD, and both came up 100% ok both using WD utilities and HP built in utilities at the BIOS level.

It is an HP Laptop Pavilion 15-cw1xxx running windows 11 home version 21H2 OS build 22000.978.

I even tried a fresh load from of Windows 11 from Windows 11 Repair Upgrade and then ran thru all the suggestions. Still getting the same drive 100% utilization although minimal programs are open and it completely hangs the laptop up until the 100% utilization disappears.

I'm up for a other ideas on how to track down the issue with the sdd usage.

Hi Jeffrey. I'm Greg, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, here to help you.

1. What Windows Update caused this? If you know about when this Update was installed then See if you can System Restore to a point before the problem started:

https://itechhacks.com/system-restore-windows-11/

System Restore is your first line of defense and can take you back to a point before a problem began like a time machine. If it doesn't help then you can undo it. Read about it first in the tutorial above and then try restoring to just before this started. If System Restore is not enabled on C drive do that now so it's available in the future.

If the problem repeats or System Restore doesn't work then check which Windows Updates were installed at Settings > Update & Security > Windows Updates > Update History, uninstall them there or System Restore again, then immediately check for and block the Updates with the Hide Updates tool explained here: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8280-hide-s...

2. If that doesn't work then First try these fixes for 100% disk usage in Window 11:

https://beebom.com/how-fix-100-disk-usage-windo...

https://allthings.how/how-to-fix-windows-11-hig...

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/fix-100-percen...

https://nerdschalk.com/how-to-fix-100-disk-usag...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad-nX6YPMAM

3. Update your drivers from the PC maker's Support Downloads webpage for your exact model. While there check for the latest Chipset, BIOS, Sound, Network, USB3, Bluetooth and all other drivers to compare with the version/date installled for that device in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu.

If the drivers are not present or not working for Facial Recognition or Fingerprint then contact your PC manufacturer's Support.

4. Expedite install of all Windows Updates in Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for Updates, including needed restarts, then go back to check again until no more are offered.

Then go into Microsoft Store app > My Library > Get Updates and expedite all Store app Updates, too, until no more are offered.

5. Run a full Windows 11 Disk Check: https://allthings.how/how-to-run-chkdsk-in-wind...
6. Establish a Clean Boot to turn off Startup Freeloaders that can conflict and cause issues:

https://www.makeuseof.com/clean-boot-windows-11/

7. Download, install and run a full scan with free Malwarebyes from https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/ after enabling Root Kit scan in Scan Settings. Clean Up anything it finds and then run again. Turn off Real Time trial in Control panel to keep as on-demand scanner.
8. Run System File Checker/DISM in WIndows 11:

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/use-system-file-c...

9. If that doesn't fix it then you can do a Windows 11 Repair Upgrade which reinstalls Windows while saving your files and apps in place, brings it up to the latest version by the most stable method, takes about an hour and resolves most problems: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/repair-install-wi...
10. Test the hard drive or SSD with diagnostics:

https://www.lifewire.com/free-hard-drive-testin...

https://mashtips.com/ssd-health-test-and-perfor...

HP and Dell have hardware diagnostics triggered by tapping the ESC or F12 keys respectively as you power on.

Best is to use the HDD/SSD manufacturer's own if there is one, otherwise use Seatools bootable long test: http://blog.nowherelan.com/2013/04/04/boot-seat...

Follow this up with a full Disk Check from the Command Prompt in Repair Mode or from bootable media: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/check-hard-dri... if necessary from the Command Prompt at boot: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2294-advanc...

Feel free to ask back any questions. Based on the results you post back I may have other suggestions if necessary.

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