Experiencing 100% disk usage in Windows 11 can significantly impact your system’s performance. Follow this detailed tutorial to troubleshoot and resolve the issue:
How to Fix 100 Percent Disk Usage in Windows 11
Step 1: Identify the Culprit Process
- Open Task Manager:
- Press
Ctrl + Shift + Esc
to open Task Manager. - Check the “Processes” tab to identify the specific process causing high disk usage.
- Press
Step 2: Disable Superfetch (SysMain)
- Disable SysMain Service:
- Press
Win + X
and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” or “PowerShell (Admin).” - Type
net stop sysmain
and press Enter to stop the SysMain (Superfetch) service. - To disable it permanently, run
sc config sysmain start=disabled
.
- Press
Step 3: Adjust Windows Search Indexing
- Modify Indexing Options:
- Open Control Panel, search for “Indexing Options,” and select it.
- Click on “Advanced,” go to the “File Types” tab, and uncheck any file types that are not essential for search.
Step 4: Disable Windows Search Service
- Disable Windows Search:
- Press
Win + R
, typeservices.msc
, and press Enter. - Locate “Windows Search,” right-click, and choose “Properties.”
- Change the startup type to “Disabled.”
- Press
Step 5: Check for Malware
- Run Antivirus Scan:
- Perform a full system scan using your installed antivirus software to rule out malware causing the high disk usage.
Step 6: Update Device Drivers
- Update Drivers:
- Press
Win + X
and select “Device Manager.” - Check for any devices with a yellow exclamation mark, indicating a driver issue. Right-click and choose “Update driver” for each.
- Press
Step 7: Adjust Power Settings
- Modify Power Plan:
- Open Control Panel, go to “Power Options,” and select the current power plan.
- Click on “Change plan settings” and then “Change advanced power settings.”
- Expand the “Hard disk” option and set “Turn off hard disk after” to a higher value.
Step 8: Disable Windows Tips
- Turn Off Windows Tips:
- Open Settings (
Win + I
), go to “System” > “Notifications.” - Turn off “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows.”
- Open Settings (
Step 9: Check for Windows Updates
- Update Windows:
- Ensure your Windows 11 system is up to date. Open Settings (
Win + I
) and go to “Windows Update.” Install any pending updates and restart your computer.
- Ensure your Windows 11 system is up to date. Open Settings (
Step 10: Adjust Virtual Memory
- Modify Virtual Memory Settings:
- Open Control Panel, search for “Performance” and select “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.”
- Go to the “Advanced” tab and click on “Change” under Virtual Memory. Uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” and set a custom size.
Step 11: Check for Disk Errors
- Run CHKDSK:
- Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
- Type
chkdsk /f
and press Enter. Allow the tool to scan and fix any disk errors on the next system restart.
Conclusion
By systematically following these steps, you can troubleshoot and resolve the 100% disk usage issue in Windows 11. If the problem persists, consider seeking further assistance from Microsoft support or relevant forums.