100% Disk Usage on Windows 10

Question

I'm running Windows 10 and have been seeing 100% disk utilization in task manager even though nothing is running on the machine, how do I isolate and fix this ?  This is causing my PC to run slow.

Answer 1

Hi SandeepRaichura -

I'm Kevin B. Independent advisor and a Windows user like you. I do apologize for the inconvenience that you experiencing right now, let me help you sort things out.

Are there any recent changes made on the computer before the issue started?

Kindly follow the steps below and check if it will resolve the issue

Run a system file checker to verify the integrity of windows system files on your computer making sure that there are no corrupted files on your windows.

Perform SFC Scan and Repair Windows Image

-This process will perform scan for any corrupted system files or integrity violation and will attempt to repair it along with the Windows Image.

1. Open command prompt with administrator access
2. Type each command below and wait until scan is completed.

SFC /scannow

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Quick note: While the command is running, it's expected to see the process stuck at 20 or 40 percent. After a few minutes, the process will complete successfully.

Once you complete the steps, the Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool will connect to the Windows Update servers to download and replace any damaged files in the local image for Windows 10 as necessary.

3. Close the command prompt.

After the scan completes, kindly check for available updates on your computer

Press windows key + I

Click on Updates and Security

Click on Check for Updates

Wait until windows fetches all available updates and install them on your computer.

After the updates completes, restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

After restart, kindly perform cleanboot on your computer

Perform Clean Boot

• This process will eliminate 3rd party application running in the background of your computer along with services that are not needed to run windows. If there's any conflicting 3rd party application that causes the issue on your computer, this process will stop it.

1. Open the run box by pressing the Windows Key + R and type msconfig
2. System Configuration Utility box will open and by default you are on general tab.
3. On the General tab, click the selective startup and make sure that load system service and load startup items both have checked mark.
4. Click on services tab
5. Put a check mark on Hide All Microsoft Services > This is a very important part as if you miss to click on this, computer might not boot properly or permanently and will end up on clean installation.
6. Once Hide all Microsoft Services have checked mark on it, click on Disable All
7. Click on the Startup Tab and click open task manager. This will open another window which contains all your startup applications on the administrator account.
8. Disable all application that you're not using. You can simply just click on them and select disable.
9. Click OK , Apply and close the configuration utility

Restart the computer again and check if the same issue appears

Hope this will help and have a bless day!

Thanks.

Kevin B.

Independent advisor

Answer 2

I'm running Windows 10 and have been seeing 100% disk utilization in task manager even though nothing is running on the machine, how do I isolate and fix this ?  This is causing my PC to run slow.

Hello,

See if this fix helps you:

https://www.kapilarya.com/fix-windows-10-100-percent-disk-usage-problem

Let us know if this helps!

Note: Included link in this reply refers to blog post by a trusted Microsoft MVP.

Answer 3

Replacing the SATA cable of my SSD fixed this issue for me. I'd recommend trying it if you have a spare cable. I was also unable to find what process was periodically using a lot of disk by using task manager.

Answer 4

I've had this same issue and spent countless hours trying to resolve it. Followed every recommendation I could find. It's still not 100% solved but I've found a way to cope with it.

I keep Task Manager open in the right hand corner of my screen. When I see it hit 100% Disk usage, I find Runtime Broker in the list of processes, select it and then click the End Task button. If I catch it in time, disk usage returns to normal. Good news is that it doesn't now happen very often, maybe 2-3 times per day.

The disk usage error seems to happen most often when I've got the Outlook App open. And this is especially true if I leave my desk and my computer goes inactive. I'm hoping that someone with more computer knowledge than I have can investigate Runtime Broker being the cause of the problem (I've seen nothing on this). The Runtime Broker process always returns and if I don't keep a watchful eye, 100% Disk usage returns. If that goes on for too long (maybe a minute or so), my computer freezes requiring a reboot.

Answer 5

Try Updating the Hard Disk or SSD Driver, i have Kingstone SSD installed and i  updated the Firmware using Kingston SSD Manager and it solved the issue.

i've been trying almost all proposed solutions about stopping Windows Search/Cortana/Super fetch/Playing with Registry /Clean Boot/Check Disk/etc... nothing worked untill i updated by SSD Firmware.

i have win 10 20H2 installed