When your Windows 10 Task Manager indicates a 100% disk usage, it means that you’re experiencing a massive dip in performance. You’ll need to take some steps to correct this issue because your hard drive is pushing its performance limits. In an event like this, you don’t need to have triggered anything for this problem to occur. It can ultimately arise by itself for many reasons ranging from updates to bugs. On the bright side, it usually isn’t a hard thing to fix.

6 Ways to Fix a 100% Disk Usage on Windows 10

In this article, we have some tested methods of fixing this issue that has plagued Windows 10 users. Some of these methods can take a while to execute due to the heavy load on your hard drive. Nevertheless, you don’t have to try all these methods. Attempt the most straightforward fixes at the top of the list if you’re lucky enough to get a quick fix. If not, scroll down the list and try the different methods until you find one that works.

1. Disable SuperFetch service

Superfetch is a default Windows service that was created to reduce the boot time and make the necessary programs load faster. Although it is built for efficiency, Superfetch has a history of causing disk usage problems since as far back as Windows 8 and newer versions of Windows 10. To disable Superfetch, here’s what you can do.

1.) Hold the Windows Key and press the X key then select the Command Prompt (Admin) option from the drop-down menu.
Alternatively, press the Windows Key and type cmd, then right-click on the Command Prompt app and click on Run as Administrator.

2.) Click on Yes for the User Account Control prompt that pops up.

3.) Type in this command:

net.exe stop sysmain

4.) Hit Enter to run the command.

5.) If the command above is invalid, use this one instead.

net.exe stop superfetch

6.) It does not work immediately, so you have to wait for a few minutes to see if your system performance has improved. After a few minutes, check the disk usage by right-clicking on your taskbar and select Task Manager. In the tab called Processes, look at the % on the Disk column. If it’s not at 100%, congratulations, you’ve successfully solved the issue.

Try the method below if the issue persists.

2. Update all your device drivers

If you’ve tried the steps above and you’re still experiencing a 100% disk usage, the problem might be from an old device driver build. This is solved by updating your drivers.

When your drivers are outdated, you might experience some dips in performance and stability issues. To curb this, update your drivers. Updating drivers can improve the performance of your system and solve random problems that arise on your Windows 10 PC.

1.) Windows Update

Usually, drivers for Intel, AMD and Nvidia are shipped alongside the default Windows Updates. For you to install the new drivers, you have to open the Windows Update settings. Type in the search bar Windows Update and select Windows Update settings. From this page, click on Check for Updates. By default, Windows 10 drivers are downloaded and installed automatically.

2.) Update Intel Drivers

Intel has an assistant tool to help users download and install new updates. You can download the tool from Intel’s official website.

If the website does not work, update the drivers manually:

• To do this, download the driver’s zip file from Intel’s website
• Extract the zip file
• Hold the Windows Key and click on the Device Manager
• Click on the graphics driver under Display adapters and select Properties
• Select the Driver tab and click on Update driver
• Choose the Browse my computer for driver software option
• Select the folder where you extracted the content of the zip file

3.) Update Nvidia and AMD Drivers

You can download the AMD Radeon Software so that you can automatically update the drivers. AMD also offers avenues to download and install graphics drivers manually. This is accessible here.

For Nvidia drivers, you can download the updates from their website. The process is similar to the one explained above.

4.) After the updates have been installed, check your disk usage by right-clicking on the taskbar and select Task Manager. In the tab called Processes, look at the % on the Disk column. If it’s below 100%, you’ve successfully solved the issue.

If the issue persists, try this fix instead.

3. Run a disk check

1.) Hold the Windows Key and press the X key then select the Command Prompt (Admin) option from the drop-down menu.
Alternatively, press the Windows Key and type cmd, then right-click on the Command Prompt app and click on Run as Administrator.

2.) Click on Yes for the User Account Control prompt that pops up.

3.) Type in this command:

chkdsk.exe /f /r

4.) Hit Enter to run the command. After this, type Y to allow your computer to run the disk check during your next restart. Make sure all apps are closed before you initiate the restart.

Note: Disk check starts only when you restart your PC. The process usually takes a while to complete and for some PCs, it could take a day. If you don’t have the time for the disk check to complete, you can still skip it. However, you’d have to execute the whole process again for your next restart.

5.) Once the disk check is complete, check the disk usage by right-clicking on your taskbar and select Task Manager. In the tab called Processes, look at the % on the Disk column. If it’s below 100%, you’ve successfully solved the issue.

If the issue persists, you can try resetting the virtual memory.

4. Reset Virtual Memory

Virtual memory is a way computers manage the use of memory when the RAM is not sufficient enough to perform a task. Virtual memory is created through a combination of RAM and part of your hard drive. Windows uses virtual memory to store files temporarily. It is eventually stored back in RAM when it is required.

How to reset virtual memory:

1.) Press the Windows key and type in Control Panel, click on the app. Head to the System and Security option. After this, click on System. Choose the Advanced System Settings link on the left panel of the page.

2.) Choose the Advanced tab and under Performance, select Settings.

3.) Within the Performance options, select the Advanced tab again and choose Change in the Virtual memory option.

4.) Make sure the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives option is not ticked.

5.) Choose your Windows drive (Usually C:) and write an Initial Size and a Maximum size for your virtual memory.

• The Initial Size is a value that usually varies from different computers. If you are unsure of the value to use, simply use what is written in the Recommended option.
• The Maximum Size is not meant to be an astronomical figure. The best way to determine this size is by multiplying 1.5 to the size of your physical RAM. For example, a PC with 8GB RAM should have a maximum size that doesn’t exceed 12,288 (8,192 x 1.5) in virtual memory.

Click on Set when you’ve inputted your virtual memory and click on Ok to continue.

6.) Clear all the temp files on your computer. To do this, hold the Windows key and press R at the same time. This will open the Run form. Type “temp” and press the Enter key. This will open the Windows Explorer page with your temp folder. The temp folder contains all the temp files stored on your computer.

7.) Hold Ctrl + A to highlight the entire content of the folder and delete them.

8.) Once the content is deleted, check the disk usage by right-clicking on your taskbar and select Task Manager. In the tab called Processes, look at the % on the Disk column. If it’s below 100%, you’ve successfully solved the issue.

You can also temporarily disable your antivirus if you’re still dealing with the issue.

5. Temporarily Disable Antivirus Software

When you have an antivirus or anti-malware program, you should temporarily disable them or turn them off. There is a likelihood that a 100% disk usage might be caused by your antivirus software. Some notable Antivirus programs associated with this problem include Kaspersky, Norton, AVG, Malwarebytes, ESET Smart Security or Avast Antivirus.

Check the documentation on the website of your Antivirus to learn the proper way to disable it.

Microsoft has a default anti-malware application called Windows Defender, so you shouldn’t be too worried about any viruses once you disable your Antivirus protection. Windows defender is always automatically running regardless of your other Antivirus applications. Windows defender will be running while your other Antivirus is disabled.

Once you’ve disabled your Antivirus, check the disk usage by right-clicking on your taskbar and select Task Manager. In the tab called Processes, look at the % on the Disk column. If it’s below 100%, you’ve successfully solved the issue. Contact the manufacturer of your Antivirus on this issue for any inquiries on fixing it. If there is no response, consider changing your Antivirus software.

If the issue is not fixed, try this one below.

6. Fix the StoreAHCI.sys driver

The 100% disk usage on Windows 10 can also be caused by a unique firmware bug on some Advanced Host Controller Interface PCI-Express (AHCI PCIe) models that might be running within the StorAHCI.sys inbox.

If this is the root cause of your issue, here is the appropriate fix:

1.) Hold the Windows Key and press the X key then select the Device Manager option from the drop-down menu.
Alternatively, press the Windows Key and type Device Manager, click on the app to run it.

2.) Open the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers drop-down menu and open on the AHCI controller.

3.) Click on the Driver tab and open the Driver Details. Once opened, if storahci.sys is within a path of your system32 folder, this means that your Windows 10 PC is using the inbox AHCI driver.

4.) Close the window for the Driver Details and head to the Details tab. In the drop-down menu, choose the Device Instance Path. Note the content of the path, it starts with VEN_.

5.) Type regedit in the search box of the Start button. Press enter on your keyboard to open the Registry Editor. Now, go to this path within your registry.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\{AHCI Controller}\{Random Number}\Device Parameters\Interrupt Management\MessageSignaledInterruptProperties

The AHCI Controller is the number beginning with VEN_ that we noted earlier. As for the Random number, it varies between computers, input the AHCI controller and the random number for your computer.

6.) Now, you have to double-click on MSISupported to access the value data. Change the value data to 0.

7.) Restart your PC once you’ve made changes in your registry. This will put those changes to effect.

8.) Check the disk usage by right-clicking on your taskbar and select Task Manager. In the tab called Processes, look at the % on the Disk column. If it’s below 100%, you’ve successfully solved the issue.