Disk drive at 100% usage
1) Check Task Manager for disk-heavy processes
- Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc).
- Go to the Processes tab and sort by Disk column.
- Note any processes using excessive disk. Common culprits: Windows Update, Superfetch (SysMain), antivirus scans, indexer, or third-party apps.
2) Disable or optimize common disk-heavy services
- SysMain (Superfetch):
- Press Win+R, type services.msc, press Enter.
- Find SysMain, right-click, Stop. Set Startup type to Manual or Disabled.
- Windows Search indexing:
- In services.msc, find Windows Search, stop, disable if not needed.
- You can also adjust indexing options: Control Panel > Indexing Options > Modify, reduce indexed locations.
- Windows Update (temporary):
- If updates are pending or being installed, allow it to finish; if it seems stuck, you can stop the Windows Update service temporarily:
- services.msc -> Windows Update -> Stop. Re-enable after a while.
3) Check for malware or unwanted software
- Run a full system scan with Windows Defender or your security suite.
- Consider a reputable malware scan (malwarebytes) to rule out disk I/O from malicious software.
4) Check storage health and cleanup
- Ensure you have at least 10–15% free space on C: for Windows to operate smoothly. You mentioned 240 GB free on C, so space is fine, but also check the 150 GB partition.
- Run Disk Cleanup:
- Search Disk Cleanup, run as admin, clean system files.
- Check disk health:
- Open a Command Prompt as admin and run: chkdsk /f /r
- You may be prompted to schedule on next restart; reboot to let it run.
- Run S.M.A.R.T. health checks using a tool (CrystalDiskInfo or similar) to verify if the drive is failing.
5) Check for drivers and firmware
- Update storage controller drivers (AHCI/IDE) from the laptop manufacturer’s support site or via Windows Update.
- Check for BIOS/UEFI updates from Acer for your Aspire model.
6) System file integrity
- Open Command Prompt as admin and run:
- sfc /scannow
- DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- Reboot after completion.
7) Consider background apps and startup
- In Task Manager > Startup, disable unnecessary programs from starting at boot.
- Review Settings > Privacy > Background apps and turn off those you don’t need.
8) If the issue persists
- Boot into Safe Mode to see if the problem occurs there. If disk usage is normal in Safe Mode, a third-party app or service is likely the cause.
- Consider a clean reinstall of Windows 10 if the system remains plagued after all fixes.
Note: Given your specs (older Aspire, HDD, 6 GB RAM), you might experience persistent slowdowns due to HDD latency and background indexing or updates. If upgrade is possible, replacing HDD with an SSD can dramatically improve performance.
3 answers
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Hello,
To start, you can try the utility "CrystalDiskInfo," which gives an idea of the disk health: it should be "OK"; if you see "careful" or "bad," it probably means it's failing.
In Task Manager, you can sort processes by disk usage to see if anything stands out:
Cheers.
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@AldonelsonYou should back up your personal data as long as you can to an external drive or a cloud, and replace the hard drive before it fails, then reinstall everything on the new disk or fresh SSD. This requires at least some competence or willpower; if you lack it, the best option to avoid huge costs is to go through a regional association that will charge you only for what is strictly necessary.
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@Aldonelson
I join Winux01, save important files elsewhere and consider a replacement before it becomes completely dead.
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Moderator@T3chN0g3n
Hello,
If it’s not too late, (depending on errors) you can image the disk to another disk.
O&O DiskImage 19 in Giveaway
The Giveaway:
The Setup (En):
The Manual (En)
You just need to create an ISO file with the DiskImage program by integrating the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver for Gen XX (depending on your platform) if your PC is Intel-based and recent.
(Run SetupRST.exe and check %Temp% for the driver files.
Create a bootable USB drive with Ventoy (Note: everything will be erased)
If the PC is old, you need to create the USB key in MBR mode
In GPT mode for EFI (Secure Boot Support for Ventoy depending on how the BIOS is configured)
Ventoy is handy in the sense that you can put the Windows ISO also on the USB key, or Ubuntu which you can try without installing
Windows 10
Windows 11
Boot from it using the PC’s Boot Menu keyOne can search on Google "[Brand Model] Boot Menu Key"
From Ventoy, start O&O DiskImage (ISO) and back up to the same USB key or external drive, or to whatever disk you want to replace.
Select (Check the entire disk at once) at the top left before creating the image (Not by selecting the partitions one by one)
To restore later, in case there are errors, don’t rely on it; in case of errors, back up everything in C:\Users\You first, your browser favorites, list of installed programs, backup of icon positions on the desktop with DesktopOK
And at worst, reinstall Windows or Ubuntu if there’s a problem.
@+
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Hello,
thanks I will take a look,
it's all Greek to me, the disk has started to work normally again, performance 25-30% max, I don't really understand.
I had the same issue with my other computer; I tried quite a lot of tricks, I will restart and we’ll see, I’ll keep you posted
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Hello,
I can hardly provide a report of your PC with your information, but if your PC isn’t a rocket, even the slightest background activity, such as an update, antivirus scan, can partially affect your session.
Or again, if you use a browser that consumes a lot of RAM, multitasking can "freeze" your session for a few minutes before resuming, like the symptom you described.
