How to Solve Windows 10 100% Disk Usage Issues

What causes the problems?

The System and compressed memory process is the usual culprit when high CPU and disk usage are observed. While normally it uses reduced resources, certain problems lead to the process overloading the disk to 100% slowing everything to a crawl. There are to main reasons that may cause the process to go haywire: poorly configured virtual memory settings or core Windows files are corrupted. In order to fix the problem, follow the advice below:

1. Restore paging file size to default

On Windows 10, the paging file size for all drives is automatically managed by the OS in order to assure the best performance possible. While tech-savvy users may opt to enter custom values,  restricting the size below a recommended limit may cause the System and compressed memory to malfunction, which will lead to the notorious 100% disk usage. You changed the paging file sizes, reverting to default rules is the optimum solution.

1. Open the Start Menu. Search for performance and select ‘’Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows’’ from the list
2. Select the Performance Options Window then click on the Advanced tab
3. Click on the Change… button and tick the ‘’Automatically manage page file for all drives option’’
4. Click OK, and on Apply and OK in the performance menu
5. Reboot the system and the issue should be soled
6. Disable the system and compressed memory process
7. Go to Start/Control Panel/ Administrative Tools/Task Scheduler
8. Select the Task Schedule Library from the list
9. Select Microsoft and after the lists expands select Windows
10. Select MemoryDiagnostic and right click on RunFulllMemoryDiagnostic Entry
11. Choose Disable, close the window and reboot your PC

If A and B did not work, have no fear. There are plenty of solutions left for you to try. One of the is guaranteed to fix your problem

1. Disable the Superfetc h service

Designed to maintain and improve performance of the system over time, the Superfetch service may sometimes by the cause of your disk woes. There are multiple ways to disable the service, with themost popular listed below:

Method 1: Disable Superfetch from the Service manager

1. Start a Run instance by searching for it in the Start menu or pressing the Windows key and R
2. Type services.msc and press enter. A window named Services will open
3. Search for Superfetch
4. Click on Stop and set the Startup type do disabled
5. Click on both Apply and OK
6. Reboot your system

Disable Superfetch using the Registry Editor

1. Open Run
2. Type regedit and press enter
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Session Manager > Memory Management
4. Click on the PrefetchParamters under Memory Management
5. Locate and double click on the value named Registry Editor. Change the value to 0
6. Click on OK and reboot your system

D: Stop the Speech Runtime Executable process

1. Launch Task Manager via the Start Menu or CTRL-Shift-Esc
2. Go to the Processes tab and find the Speech Runtime Executable
3. Select the process and end the task

Disk load should decrease considerably if this was the issue

1. Check for faulty RAM

In some cases the issues may be caused by a faulty RAM stick. Buy or borrow a compatible RAM stick. Swap each stick of RAM, one at a time, and restart the system. If after you took out a particular stick, the system performs better, that stick may be damaged and the cause of the overload.

Other potential causes and solutions.

If you upgraded several times from one version of the OS to another (Windows 7/8/10) without a clean install, there may be permission conflicts depending on the status of the account before the update. A clean installation may fix your issues and give your system a fresh start.