Heavy disk usage by System while running programs (most notably video games) or after moving/downloading large files/folders.

Question

Heavy disk usage by System while running programs (most notably video games) or after moving/downloading large files/folders.

Anonymous

The "System" process will often have extremely high disk usage when using my computer, usually sending usage from either my C: drive (NVME SSD) or D: drive (HDD) to 100%, upon utilising the relevant disk in any manner i.e startup, downloading/moving files, booting games or even after I defragment my HDD. After sitting idle, however, without utilising my drives for any programs, it will eventually slow down after a minute or so and allow my drives to become usable again. At its peak, especially when my C: drive is being overloaded, it renders my computer unusable.

I initially noticed this when my games became unplayably stuttery and upon opening Task Manager to monitor my disk usage. I don't remember whether or not I had that stuttering when I initially purchased this computer 15 months ago, but I had never really been watching Task Manager recently either. I have been trying to solve this problem for at least six months now, but to no avail.

As I haven't found any other threads or forums on the internet mentioning behaviour like this, I assumed that this is probably abnormal.

I am entirely sure I don't have any viruses on this computer, and I periodically scan it with either Malwarebytes or Windows Defender virtually daily.

I have attempted the following:

-Disabling antivirus

-Updating windows

-Playing with memory (pagefile, XMP, drivers, even upgrading my memory to 64gb)

-Verifying Windows file integrity

-Watching Resource Monitor for abnormalities

-Running the CHKDSK utility

-Updating drivers

As well as numerous other small fixes that I saw in forums that I unfortunately cannot remember at this moment.

It should also be noted that my memory is never anywhere near capacity when this is happening.

From what I can tell with Task Manager and Resource Monitor, when something like a game is idle the System process takes up ~1/3 as much disk usage as the game. During and after loading screens, it has an equal amount, yet has an extremely adverse affect on the disks performance following the loading screen for up to a minute. This happens on both of my drives equally, meaning it shouldn't be a hardware problem. It results in games stuttering constantly when playing and loading screens taking an extremely long time. I thought it was fixed after I defragged my HDD yesterday and games stopped stuttering, but it simply started happening again today like clockwork.

Resource Monitor also tells me that the system process reads exactly the same files as the games .exe at the same time. This is probably why disk usage is usually equal to the game itself, but it also rules out the idea that it's a rogue background Windows process causing the disk usage. I have also taken a screenshot of Resource Monitor while idling on the game Zenless Zone Zero, which may prove useful.

This problem doesn't only affect games though. Usually a large game download, patching a game, moving large files, or even a windows process utilising the disk (such as the CHKDSK utility or defragmentation) will also result in the disk usage maxing out for a period of time afterwards. It seems to just automatically happen whenever the disks are utilised at all.

System Specs:

Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX
CPU - Ryzen 5 7600X

GPU - Geforce RTX 4070

RAM - 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 6000 MHz

SSD - MSI M461 1TB

HDD - Seagate BarraCuda 2 TB

Any help with this problem or clarification on whether this is normal or not would be much appreciated. Thank you very much in advance.

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4 additional answers

Answer 1

Thank you for your response.

Thank you so much for the detailed information and photos that were able to give me more insight into your current situation!

It does seem odd that I personally play Zenless Zone Zero but haven't run into anything similar.

I'm going to provide you with some other solutions through a lot of research and actual testing, so I hope it works out well for you my friend, and I hope you have a great time playing it!

Option 1: Because the problem persists with disconnecting the D drive and keeping only the system disk, but the secure boot seems to work fine.

In terms of underlying logic, since Safe Boot only retains a limited set of files and drivers, if Safe Mode is able to run properly it means that the probability is that third-party software, services, plug-ins, drivers, etc. are causing the problem.

I suggest you try a clean boot and after a clean boot you can “dichotomize” to see if there are any services that are affecting the problem.

Please note that the difference between a clean boot and a safe boot is mainly the difference in the way of troubleshooting, as a clean boot can be faster and more specific to a particular service!

Please refer to Clean Start for more information: How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support. (After a clean boot, slide down the page to find “How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot”)

**Disclaimer:**A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem. These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track. 

Option 2: Try updating the drivers, BIOS, and possibly the firmware of the hardware in your computer.

I have found that sometimes low BIOS versions and driver conflicts can cause similar problems.

To update the BIOS I recommend that you visit the motherboard manufacturer's official and download the latest version that matches the motherboard model and install it.

For drivers you can go through the brand side of the corresponding hardware and download the driver for the corresponding model through the brand's official website and install it.

Option 3: If the drivers, updated BIOS, and clean boot troubleshooting service did not find the cause of the problem. I think you can try reinstalling the system, because reinstalling the system will usually solve the problem, even if there is a virus or some other problem in the computer.

(1) However, there are several cases of reinstallation, I personally recommend a clean install, which can effectively avoid problems, but you need to backup your personal files and data.

(2) You can also choose to keep your personal files reinstalled, which will only delete the applications in the computer.

I think you can try (2) first and then (1) if the problem persists.

Reinstalling Windows you can refer to (please select the scenario that corresponds to you): Reinstall Windows - Microsoft Support.

Disclaimer: At this point, we have exhausted all troubleshooting and I recommend that we try to perform a clean install to get your computer back into a working condition. Please ensure that you backup any important data, including Documents, Pictures, Videos, and more.

These three options are the ones that I think will help you the most after I tested them according to your problem and situation, and I hope that they will help you solve your problem successfully my friend!

I sincerely hope that the above solution will solve your problem. Please feel free to contact me if you encounter any problems.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Best Regards

Arthur Sheng | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Glad to hear your good news!

I am very honored to be able to help you solve your troubles. To help other customers who may be facing the same issue, please vote ‘Yes’ underneath the post that had the solution for you. This highlights the information for other customers. Thanks for your cooperation.

Have a nice day my friend!

Best Regards

Arthur Sheng | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 3

Thank you Arthur!

The problem seemingly disappeared after a clean install of Windows 11, so I assume it was right to think it was some dysfunctional background process slowing the system down. But it's quite the weight off my shoulders to have this sorted out after being bothered by it for so long.

Thank you again for your effort and time in helping me, I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.

Answer 4

Thank you Arthur.

Unfortunately I haven't seemed to find any luck with the solutions you have provided.

Firstly, there was a misunderstanding with what I was saying about defragmenting. I have only ever defragmented my HDD, as I understand SSDs are fundamentally different.

Now, I will number my responses to your solutions so they match up.

Option 1) The disk seemingly worked fine when I was in safe mode, although unfortunately no disk-based processes were visible in task manager and there was no real way to test whether or not the system process was causing the same problems as it was as performance already seemed quite poor and the game I was primarily testing the stuttering issues on (Zenless Zone Zero) couldn't boot (obviously due to something about safe mode being engaged). This means that I essentially have no clue whether the problem persisted in safe mode or not.

Option 2) Disconnecting the D: drive, my HDD, had no effect on the problem. It still pertained as it always had, as I tested through a routine virus scan. The process was so heavy on my SSD that my computer was virtually frozen the entire time the scan occurred. Visibly in Resource Monitor, the System process was utilising the same files as Malwarebytes at the same time.

Option 3) I used CrystalDiskInfo (A third-party disk checking service) as it seemed to be a good option from what I saw on forums, although unfortunately it didn't seem to tell me anything I didn't already know about my drives. I also used HDDSentinel, but features such as those were locked behind a paywall. I may end up purchasing it later as a last resort, but I would rather just get back to you now with what I've tried to see if you have any other ideas.

Option 4) I performed a full scan with Malwarebytes, Norton, Avast, Bitdefender and Kaspersky and none of them had any detections on my computer. I also performed a rootkit-specific scan with Malwarebytes which found nothing. I must continue to say that whatever files are being utilised by the system process are identical to whatever files are being used by any other process at the time, and that my GPU or CPU never experience any stress at any time. I am extremely sure that there is no foul play occurring, as that would make it a very unusally useless mining virus.

Option 5) MSI had no such software, but Seagate had its Seatools program. I used it to perform a long scan on both of my drives which took numerous hours, but I still found no issues with either drive.

Overall the issue is still plaguing my system, seemingly making video games even more unplayable than before. If there is anything else you could think of to help, I would greatly appreciate it.

Edit: I must also add, I am YOUNG and have NOT been into computers as much as I am for much time. The only reason I'm assuming the System process taking up disk is unusual behaviour is because I haven't seen any other threads or articles on the internet about it when it seems to be a problem for me. Unfortunately I have no other systems to see if this issue is simply a quirk of Windows or not, but there is a possibility this is completely normal and I'm just having an irregular amount of trouble with it.

Answer 5

Hi Cameron Beck 1

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, I understand that both your SSD and HDD disks are used at 100% when moving, downloading large files or folders, launching a game, or disk organizing, and I know exactly how you feel! You've tried some solutions that didn't successfully solve your problem, but commend you on your problem solving skills and mindset!

Allow me to start by explaining to you that I have found a very strange point, as both your SSD & HDD disks will take up to 100%, even defragmentation will take up 100%, which is very unusual. From a hardware point of view, currently SSD SSD does not need defragmentation anymore, HDD defragmentation is because the underlying principle of the two is different, HDD defragmentation because of its underlying reallocation and make a new index leads to can speed up the use of speed.

You mentioned in the problem description that when the game is idle, the system will take up about 1/3 of the game's disk space, and although you regularly scan your computer with Malwarebytes and Windows Defender, it is very likely that some powerful viruses will not be scanned.

I cause this problem for the following reasons:

(1) Third party software will run secretly in the background, but Task Manager cannot monitor it.

(2) The computer is infected with a virus, but the virus disguises itself as a systematic process, resulting in not only anti-virus software can not scan it, but Task Manager will also show it as a systematic process.

(3) The computer has been forced to “mining”, some mining virus will be injected into the computer when clicking on certain web pages or download certain software and disguise. The underlying code will be described as “mining” using the disk only after your specific application or disk has reached a certain amount. This prevents anti-virus software from scanning it and makes it less likely to be detected.

(4) Problems with the disk hardware itself, and because it is the same cause affecting both disks with the same problem.

If you are comfortable, you can open the task manager when the disk usage is very high and sort by disk usage and upload a screenshot or photo in the reply.

So I will give you some solutions or suggestions to try:

Option 1: Please try to start your computer safely and try defragmenting or moving folders in safe mode to see if the disk is working properly. Safe Mode can troubleshoot if there is some third party software, driver incompatibility or system reasons for similar problems.

Safe boot you can refer to: Start your PC in safe mode in Windows - Microsoft Support.

However, please note that if it is a “mining” virus or a fake virus, it may still run automatically after Safe Boot.

Option 2: If it is convenient for you, please try to keep only the disk where the system is installed, remove the other disk, and try to move, download files or folders, defragment, etc., to see if the disk works properly.

Option 3: You can try to use some third-party hard disk monitoring applications to try to monitor your disk activity in real time and generate reports during use. Such monitoring applications may be able to detect fake viruses or “mining viruses” or other causes.

Option 4: Please try to use some other powerful and reputable third-party antivirus programs to do a full disk scan, because different antivirus programs have different algorithms and focuses to scan the whole disk.

Option 5: Please check the MSI and Seagate website to see if there is a disk checker available, and try to check the disk with this type of tool to see if there is any problem with the disk itself.

Please note that you cannot rule out the possibility that the disk itself is the problem, as there are many very strange cases.

I sincerely hope that the above solution will solve your problem. Please feel free to contact me if you encounter any problems.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Best Regards

Arthur Sheng | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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Heavy disk usage by System while running programs (most notably video games) or after moving/downloading large files/folders.

4 additional answers