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Hard Drive at 100% usage


dmitriy1980

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I'm very good around computers but lately I'm very stumbled with the new computers that are being sold. I have a couple of computers that are always at 100% usage for at least 10 minutes after boot up. I went through most of the things that I can think of, like checking antivirus, malware (not present), Search service, start up items, etc. The thing is there are other computes that are exactly the same don't have the same issue. They are all set up exactly the same. All have the latest drivers, Windows Updates, etc. I'm just stumbled why.

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If you are meaning what is shown in the Task Manager then it's just an oddity with Windows 10.

Although it usually only lasts for seconds, not minutes, on my machines.

For some reason whenever you open Task Manager with Win 10 it shows the CPU usage to be 100% at the top of the column.
It's not really using 100%, it's just a 'holding' number while it works out what is being used.
In previous Windows versions it used to show 0% at the top, but nobody worried that it wasn't doing anything.
Why Microsoft have changed it is a mystery.

You can repeat it every time by fully closing and then reopening Task Manager.

If you look down the column each individual item is still showing 0% until Task Manager works out what they are all actually using.
At which time it then populates the column and puts the correct total figure at the top.
As I say for me it only lasts for seconds and I have to be quick to capture a screenshot like this:

image.png

*** Out of Beer Error ->->-> Recovering Memory ***

Worried about 'Tracking Files'? Worried about why some files come back after cleaning? See this link:
https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/52668-tracking-files/?tab=comments#comment-300043

 

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I believe they're talking about disk usage (two columns over).  I have this problem with some of my computers too.

 

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I saw the title said hard drive but was covering the bases, by far the most queries I've seen about high usage at startup have been that CPU oddity.

I've never really had a problem myself with high disk usage at startup, I do see it now and again but just ignore it.

I did notice that it got higher when booting in the week before Patch Tuesday, and more so when there was a version/feature update due.
That made me think that it is MS polling the computer to see how it was setup and what software was installed.
(I now usually hibernate rather than shutting down, which seems to stop it happening).

As the article that Hazelnut linked shows there could be many causes, but I think the first thing I'd do it check what Windows Telemetry settings the affected machines have.

Another thing I'd look at is the read/write speed of the discs, if they are slow for some reason that could explain why it's taking so long.

*** Out of Beer Error ->->-> Recovering Memory ***

Worried about 'Tracking Files'? Worried about why some files come back after cleaning? See this link:
https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/52668-tracking-files/?tab=comments#comment-300043

 

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Some computer manufacturers have YouTube videos on how to fix it, such as Dell. It's rather common and there's many YouTube videos showing how to potentially fix it.

YouTube Search:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hard+disk+at+100+percent+usage

Edit:
One solution would cost a little money, and that is to install an SSD (at least 240GB to 256GB) as the main boot drive Windows is installed on. Then re-purpose and use that HDD as mass storage for games, music, video, etc. Even if the CPU isn't modern installing an SSD as the boot drive is the most significant upgrade where the results are immediately noticed.

Edited by Andavari
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12 hours ago, Andavari said:

Some computer manufacturers have YouTube videos on how to fix it, such as Dell. It's rather common and there's many YouTube videos showing how to potentially fix it.

YouTube Search:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hard+disk+at+100+percent+usage

Edit:
One solution would cost a little money, and that is to install an SSD (at least 240GB to 256GB) as the main boot drive Windows is installed on. Then re-purpose and use that HDD as mass storage for games, music, video, etc. Even if the CPU isn't modern installing an SSD as the boot drive is the most significant upgrade where the results are immediately noticed.

Most if not all youtube videos resolve issues that are documented in the provided link above: https://www.cleverfiles.com/howto/100-disk-usage-windows-10.html. As I mentioned none of these resolve the problem.

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  • 8 months later...
On 11/01/2021 at 16:49, dmitriy1980 said:

As I mentioned none of these resolve the problem.

go to the Device Manager and delete all IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. Then turn off the computer (I have a reboot of the computer does not give results, only a complete shutdown). The next time you turn on the computer, the system will install these controllers, and the hard disk will not boot up to 100%. I solved this problem this way, and as far as I understand, it happens on legacy computers.

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