Windows 10: C: (SSD) usage is 100%

[brotherS]

Hi,

a few days after Windows 10 installed its Anniversary update I noticed in the task manager that C: is used 100% virtually constantly, writing about 3 MB/s continually. A reboot didn't help. It's not Windows Defender and I couldn't find any other task to blame. According to the task manager it's "System" that's doing this (while mostly using 1-2% CPU time).

How to fix this... Any ideas? I don't believe this can be good for the SSD.

[MilesAhead]

Is your OS 64 bit or 32 bit?  Do you have Windows Search enabled?  If so you might try disabling it to see if the indexing is pegging the drive access.

Also I would post on
www.tenforums.com

A lot of regular posters there are in the Windows Insider program and have been updating W10 from the beginning of the first trials.  Someone may have a solution there.

[wraith808]

I had the same problem just yesterday.  I did the following - don't know which fixed it.

1. Disable Windows Search - from an elevated command prompt, type net.exe stop "Windows search".  You'll have to go into the services applet to disable it permanently, but that should stop it for long enough for you to see if it is just that.  It wasn't for me, but after some thought, I went ahead and disabled it anyway because of my third piece of advice below.

2. Disable Superfetch.  I remembered something about this from when w10 first came out.  Similarly to the above, the command is net.exe stop superfetch.  Same applies as above if you want to make this permanent.

3. After I did the above, I didn't notice a difference.  So I ran chkdsk, and disabled both of the above permanently before I rebooted for the chkdsk.  command, just for completeness: chkdsk.exe /r

After that ran, the usage stopped after reboot.  Again, not sure which step fixed it... I guess I could have done it more scientifically, but I wasn't doing it for science. 

HTH!

[brotherS]

After posting I had hibernated my system, C: usage still at 100% when I did so. When I woke it up again many hours later, C: usage dropped to (close to) 0% right away. So weird...

Thank you for your specific suggestions! I'll try those once/ if the 100% thing returns.

[skwire]

I don't run Windows 10 but came across this today:  http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/fix-100-disk-usage-after-windows-update-kb3201845

[brotherS]

Great find, thank you! Will try that too if/when the issue returns.

[IainB]

I don't run Windows 10 but came across this today:  http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/fix-100-disk-usage-after-windows-update-kb3201845

Yes, I saw that in the AddictiveTips blog feed about 5 hrs ago, but I recall reading about it elsewhere a day or so ago. I don't recall where though. That earlier article recommended not doing the update until the 100% disk usage problem was fixed, so I blocked my Win10 update with the WUMT Update tool and am waiting to see if MSoft correct the update.

[wraith808]

I don't run Windows 10 but came across this today:  http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/fix-100-disk-usage-after-windows-update-kb3201845

Just in case the link goes down... the suggestion is

Assuming you have the update installed, and you are getting high or 100% disk usage it is likely the update is responsible for it. To fix the problem open Command Prompt with administrative rights. Run the following command to fix the problem.

Code: (text)

WPR -cancel

What Does This Command Do?
WPR refers to Windows Performance Recorder. It’s a Windows tool that records how well your system is performing. It does so by recording system events. The increased usage is due to this tool working. The command will stop the tool’s current recording session. No data from it will be saved. Normally, it is saved to your disk so you can look at it later and check out what’s wrong with your system.

Each time you boot your system, this tool runs in the background which is why you will need to run the command again each time you boot your system. After applying the fix, my own disk usage went from 92% to 10%.

It’s possible that the disk usage is genuine or that it is being caused by something else. If after running this command, you get the message ‘There are no trace profiles running’, it simply means the Windows Performance Recorder tool isn’t running and it isn’t the cause of the problem.

It’s not clear why this tool is causing problems after the update but that is just what Windows 10 and its updates do now. This solution comes from Reddit user YukiNagatoKyo.

[Deozaan]

Just in case the link goes down...

Whenever I think that, I do this:

https://archive.is/iS8KZ