I've been experiencing an issue with my C Drive, a WDC WDS240G2G0A-00JH30, which is constantly showing nearly 100% disk usage. This problem has been ongoing for a while, and although it can sometimes subside, it has recently become more persistent. I've attempted to run chkdsk, and restarting my computer sometimes alleviates the problem, but I'm not confident that's a solution. In Task Manager, there aren't any clear processes indicating what's causing this high usage, apart from occasional system spikes. Can anyone provide some guidance?
4 Answers
First, you should check your RAM usage. Sometimes, high disk usage can be linked to insufficient memory. If your RAM usage is normal, it might be worth checking out an app like Windirstat. You can use it from a USB drive if your disk usage is too high to run it normally. I've seen many cases lately where issues arise from certain files in the ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsCompatibilityAssistant. Best of luck with it!
Another option is to create a Windows 11 creation tool USB boot disk. Run setup.exe from it and perform a repair install. Most times that resolves the issue, but if not, you may need to check if the drive itself is failing using tools like AOMEI Partition Assistant to perform a sector scan.
You might want to run CrystalDiskInfo to check the health of your drive. It can give you a quick overview of the status of your disk, including any potential errors.
It's also a good idea to check how many antivirus and malware scanners you have running at the same time. It's surprising how often having multiple security programs can slow down your system.
I only have Windows Security running, so that shouldn't be the issue.
I tried Windhawk and uninstalled Microsoft Office 365, and I noticed an immediate drop in my disk usage. Disabling OneDrive helped too, but I'm not sure if it was a real fix or just a coincidence.