1. Disable SysMain Service
1. Disable SysMain Service
For the uninitiated, SysMain is a service from Windows 10 that’s also present in the Windows 11 OS. It’s meant to pre-load the app into the system memory before the launch to make them open quickly. Since it’s engaged all the time, it’s one of the main reasons behind the 100% disk usage issue in Windows 11. Here’s how you can disable it.
2. Disable Connected User Experiences and Telemetry
2. Disable Connected User Experiences and Telemetry
This is yet another Microsoft service that causes high disk usage in Windows 11. The service is basically meant to track the diagnostic data and send it to Microsoft’s servers. You can disable it to fix 100% disk usage on Windows 11 and here’s how to do it.
3. Disable Background Apps
3. Disable Background Apps
Another major cause of 100% disk usage in Windows 11 is the background apps. While it’s meant to make your computer snappy, the opposite of it is actually true. You need to disable the Background Apps to make your PC responsive. Here’s how you can do it.
4. Run Disk Check
4. Run Disk Check
Sometimes 100% disk usage in Windows 11 is caused by incomplete operations that continue to hog the memory as they couldn’t finish executing because of bad sectors or logical errors. You can follow the steps below to run Disk Check and resolve the issue
5. Update Storage Drivers
5. Update Storage Drivers
At times the disk is stuck in a memory loop due to faulty storage drivers, which causes 100% disk usage and slows down Windows 11. Here’s how you can update the storage drivers to resolve this issue.
6. Disable Windows Search
6. Disable Windows Search
This method affects files and folder search on the PC and hence is not much recommended. But if you are sure that Windows Search is causing a 100% disk usage issue on your PC, disabling it is the only option. Here’s how you can do it.
7. Disable Scheduled Defragmentation
7. Disable Scheduled Defragmentation
Windows 11 has an integrated scheduled hard disk defragmentation feature, which is intended to improve the performance. However, it also causes the 100% disk usage error and thus needs to be disabled. Here are the steps to disable Scheduled Defragmentation in Windows 11.
8. Disable MSI Mode
8. Disable MSI Mode
Some users faced the 100% disk usage issue because of the Advanced Host Controller Interface PCI-Express (AHCI PCIe) controllers with firmware incompatibility. Microsoft states that for laptop and PCs using StorAHCI.sys driver, disabling Message Signaled Interrupt (MSI) mode can reduce the disk usage drastically. Here’s how to do it.
9. Reset Virtual Memory
9. Reset Virtual Memory
In case of low RAM, your PC sometimes swaps to the hard disk memory to hold apps and files in memory. At times, this takes up major space and ends up causing the 100% disk usage issue. You can reset the virtual memory to avoid this. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to reset virtual memory in Windows 11.
10. Disable Startup Apps
10. Disable Startup Apps
Windows 11 runs several apps automatically in the background whenever you turn on your computer. These apps take up significant space at times. You can disable unnecessary startup apps by following the steps below.
Why is my disk constantly on 100%?
There are several reasons behind 100% disk usage. It could be because of Virtual RAM, Background apps, startup apps, and more. You can follow the steps in this article to resolve the issue.
What is Superfetch and should I disable it?
SuperFetch enables a snappy startup by launching apps even before Windows could get up and running. However, the background service uses both CPU and GPU resources and tends to slow down the PC. It’s best to disable it to speed up your computer.
Will SSD solve 100% disk usage?
Yes, apparently SSD doesn’t show 100% disk usage all the time. Your computer will feel a lot faster after upgrading to SSD.
Final Words
Final Words
These are the most effective ways to resolve the 100% disk usage issue on a Windows 11 machine. Additionally, a clean install of Windows 11 and upgrading to SSD storage also seem to resolve the issue for many users. Let us know if any of these methods worked for you, in the comment box below.
