100% CPU usage when transferring files?

Question

First of all, here are my system specs:

• Windows 8.1 Pro x64
• 6 GB DDR3 RAM
• Intel Core i3 1.80 GHZ
• 500 GB HDD

I created a partition to store my files and installers (the partition was 100 GB). Now what happens is that when I transfer files from this drive to my main drive C:, my Disk reaches to 100% usage which in turn slows down my system to the point that the mouse cursor freezes. This happens when I transfer large chunks of files between the two partitions (let's say 4GB).

I've also noticed that using 3rd party copy utilities like Tera Copy seems to fix the issue. However, I would like to stick with the default File Explorer copier.

Can someone help me troubleshoot this issue? Why does my entire system lag whenever I transfer a large file - especially my mouse cursor freezing?

Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi Dann,

Thank you for updating the status of the issue. It appears that you have reinstalled Tera copy and issue is not persisting.

Improving our file management basics: copy, move, rename, and delete

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/08/23/improving-our-file-management-basics-copy-move-rename-and-delete.aspx

Hope the information provided is helpful. Do reply, if you need further help.

Answer 2

Thanks for the reply.

Suggestion 1: Windows Troubleshooter

-- I ran the said wizard as an administrator and it informed me that no changes were necessary.

Suggestion 2: Safe Mode and Clean Boot

-- I recreated the issue by copying a 7.06 GB installer from one of my partition (D:) to my main disk (C:). Unfortunately, the issue did recreate itself and my system lagged down.

Suggestion 3: Optimization of Drives

-- I am currently using Auslogics Disk Defrag Professional and optimize my drives once a week. It is an NTFS drive.

I used the CHKDSK utility and it reported that no problems were found.

I reinstalled TeraCopy and the issue didn't persist anymore. Is this a bug on Windows 8.1 on how it handles file tranfers between partitions?

Thank You!

Answer 3

Hi Dann,

It seems that you are facing issues with system performance. Follow these methods to troubleshoot the issue:

Method 1:

I would suggest you to follow these steps and run the System maintenance troubleshooter:

a. Open **Control panel**.

b. Click on Troubleshooting.

c. Click View all on the left pane of the screen.

d. In the list of options, click on System maintenance.

e. Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions.

Method 2:

Let us check if any third party program is interfering with the system performance.

Step 1:

I would suggest you to restart the computer in **safe mode** with networking and check if the issue persists.

Step 2:

If the issue doesn’t occur in Safe mode, you may try to restart the computer in **clean boot** mode to check if any third party application is causing the issue, as clean boot helps in eliminating software conflicts.

Note: After troubleshooting, see the section “How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot” to return the computer to a Normal startup mode.

Method 3:

Refer to the article and check if it helps:

Improve performance by optimizing your drive

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/improve-performance-optimizing-hard-drive

Note:

-       If the drive is being used by another program, or is formatted using a file system other than NTFS, FAT, or FAT32, it can't be optimized.

-       Network drives can't be optimized.

-       If a drive isn't appearing in Optimize Drives, it might be because it contains an error. Try to repair the drive first, then return to Optimize Drives to try again. For more info, see "To repair a drive" at the end of this article.

Let us know the results. If you have any further issues on the computer, please post your question regarding Windows and we will be happy to help you.