Disk usage 100% - Problem Windows 8

esimplu

New Member
Messages
3
Hello,

Brand : Asus
Processor : i5 - 2,5 Ghz
Memory ( ram ) : 8 Gb
Video : NVidia 2 Gb
HDD : [AHCI mode] - 750 GB
OS : Windows 8 - 64 Bit ( Installed fresh )
Drivers : Installed from original ASUS cd - ( Drivers for Windows 8 - 64 bit )


Virus : Scanned with 3 Antivirus ( nod32, Norton, bit defender ), result = 0 Infected files

Problem : In task manager I find out my Disk Usage is at 100% most of the time. When I copy files or download files it gets up to 100% disk usage and freezes all my other applications. I can't even open Internet Explorer, I must wait about 2-3 minutes to open. Everything works fine but when I do copy/download/process anything that needs writing on disk => my computer works very slow. I must say I get this at system start too, when I open my computer and Windows 8 starts, I must wait about 5 minutes to access some applications like word, yahoo or others.

PS : For this configuration, I find this slow-working pc not appropriate ! I had windows 7 before and it worked PERFECT ! Any solutions ?

Thank you and hope to get some answers !
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    i5 - 2.5 GHZ
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia 2GB
Use your task manager to find the culprit.
In the Processes tab, which "task" is high on disk usage?
This is generally a driver problem, I had an outdated network driver once that caused this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    i5-3570K
    Motherboard
    GA-Z77X-UD3H
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GTX 660 Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung LED
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2TB Western Digital Caviar Green
    PSU
    XFX PRO750W 80Plus Silver
    Case
    Fractal R4
    Cooling
    Stock Fan :3
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Keyboard 5000
    Mouse
    Logitech G9x
    Internet Speed
    ~30Mbits
I did this and all I can see in the task manager at disk usage is some usual system files + " system interrupts " , they are using small amount like 100kb/sec or 13kb/sec but even that rises my disk usage to 100% .

How can I see if a driver is outdated ? I have everything good in device manager.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    i5 - 2.5 GHZ
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia 2GB
Hi there
Uninstall ALL the A/V software - especially Norton as it's generally a resource hogger.

Windows 8 has a decent built in AV software system. After you've uninstalled the software reboot your system do a windows update as it will update Ms's Virus definitions. Your system will perform light years faster even without an SSD installed.

NORTON in particular is a huge resource hogger --you won't see it either in resource manager.

W8 doesn't need any 3rd party AV product. In any case if you MUST run 3rd party AV software only ever install ONE.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I don't have any A/V software - I checked online only. Its just a fresh windows 8 install. Any other ideas ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    i5 - 2.5 GHZ
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia 2GB
Find a light weight disk usage utility (there are several) or at least check the properties on your high level folders on drive C: to find out where the hogs are. That might give a first order clue as to what's happening. If this occurred after a fresh install, I assume you started out at much less than 100% usage and then it went up. What were you doing before it went up? And how long did (or does) it take to go from normal to 100%?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 / Win 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo T510 / HP ProBook 4540S
    CPU
    Intel i5-510m / Intel i3-3110m
    Memory
    4GB / 8GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6"
Hi there
Uninstall ALL the A/V software - especially Norton as it's generally a resource hogger.

Windows 8 has a decent built in AV software system. After you've uninstalled the software reboot your system do a windows update as it will update Ms's Virus definitions. Your system will perform light years faster even without an SSD installed.

NORTON in particular is a huge resource hogger --you won't see it either in resource manager.

W8 doesn't need any 3rd party AV product. In any case if you MUST run 3rd party AV software only ever install ONE.

Cheers
jimbo

can you base your opinion that norton is resource hogger on some tests or other facts or is it just your belief.
i find my pc with windows 7 and norton antivirus 2013 is faster and smoother than with MS security essentials.
and there is lots of problems with windows 8 and windows defender if you use start is back/start8 or similar software to restore start button.. to populate start menu with entries takes long time when windows defender is on.. with other AV software its instant.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 uiltimate, Windows 8.1 pro 64bit, Windows server 2008R2, Windows 10 TP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Hi there
Uninstall ALL the A/V software - especially Norton as it's generally a resource hogger.

Windows 8 has a decent built in AV software system. After you've uninstalled the software reboot your system do a windows update as it will update Ms's Virus definitions. Your system will perform light years faster even without an SSD installed.

NORTON in particular is a huge resource hogger --you won't see it either in resource manager.

W8 doesn't need any 3rd party AV product. In any case if you MUST run 3rd party AV software only ever install ONE.

Cheers
jimbo

can you base your opinion that norton is resource hogger on some tests or other facts or is it just your belief.
i find my pc with windows 7 and norton antivirus 2013 is faster and smoother than with MS security essentials.
and there is lots of problems with windows 8 and windows defender if you use start is back/start8 or similar software to restore start button.. to populate start menu with entries takes long time when windows defender is on.. with other AV software its instant.

I am pretty sure that they slimmed down Norton lately.
It's detection rate still floats right above MSE.
Honestly, BitDefender and ESET are the preferable ones, unless you prefer something that doesn't compromise security for speed, Kaspersky.
Try updating all your drivers.
Go to your motherboard manufacturer's site and download every driver that is compatible with Windows 8.
Or you can TRY installing Windows 7 ones using compatibility settings.
Before trying Windows 7 ones, you will ALWAYS want to back up. It can cause failed startups sometimes.
I used to have this problem where my computer ran slow, and a network and audio driver later, I'm at very low percentages of HDD usage.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    i5-3570K
    Motherboard
    GA-Z77X-UD3H
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GTX 660 Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung LED
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2TB Western Digital Caviar Green
    PSU
    XFX PRO750W 80Plus Silver
    Case
    Fractal R4
    Cooling
    Stock Fan :3
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Keyboard 5000
    Mouse
    Logitech G9x
    Internet Speed
    ~30Mbits
hey bro.. that is my problem last week. but i solve it using ccleaner.. i fix the issues in registry using that software.. this is not about promoting the software but it really helps me in solving my disk usage getting up to 100% when i see it in my task manager...
it really a helps guys.. try to analyze your registry then fix it...
good luck!
for me it is 100% working.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Fujitsu
    CPU
    Intel dual core b940
    Motherboard
    --
    Memory
    4gb Ram
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia with Cuda
Firmware upgrade was my issue

I was having this issue on my sony viao. I installed a verbatim SDD 128Gb and conducted a mirror image of the drive which was windows 7 using nit cloning software and then I upgraded to windows 8 and everything was fine. I started to load all my old legacy apps then noticed my disk was running 100% after awhile. I had this issue for several months and was searching through forums after forum to resolve this issue. I did all the SDD tips and tricks to optimize drive. i couldnt figure it out... :mad: I found another forum that was talking about firmware upgrades (mine was S5FAM014) I followed the instructions from the forum to upgrade my firmware to S5FAM017 and wow :D my computer woke up from its slumber and everything was just snappier so i believe that fixed my issue. I completed this last night so i am axious to get back on my laptop to see if the problem has been resolved 100%. You will have to clone or sdd to a hdd because upgrading the firmware deletes the sdd data. The site that was on is as follows:

MyDigitalSSD mSATA, Half Slim, and 2.5 Inch SATA SSD Firmware Update | My Digital Discount (Page 2)

I really hopes this helps!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X550CA
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5 3337U - (1.80GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1066MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(HD) Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Sound System: Intel® High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.5"
    Screen Resolution
    (1366x768) widescreen
    Hard Drives
    Intel 128Gb Solid State Drive SATA III
    Mouse
    Microsoft Arc
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Symentic
I have had the problem of 100% disk activity causing the computer to slow down so it is almost useless. I read someone had solved the problem by turning off "one drive" in metro (curser to right hand margin...hit settings and change PC settings...one drive) turn off one drive settings in all categories. This worked for me, I think it works as one drive is trying to copy/update data in background (that's why you can't see it in the task manager) and that's why it everything is ok once it stop updating. So far so good, seems to be ok and quite a relief. Nothing like a slow Laptop !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
Finding Disk Usage 100% Culprit

Thanks to the previous members for mentioning all the usual suspects.

The Task Manager and Resource Monitor screenshot below shows Norton 360 (n360.exe) being the problem. After running a while the problem went away. n360.exe has several files being read.

n360.PNG

On a laptop, with one disk the Active time, Read Speed, Write speed go down as the average response time goes up as shown in the snap shot below.

n360c.PNG

Perhaps, we should have an eight forums resource hog award ranked by the highest average response time and the lowest active time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba C55Dt-A5106
    CPU
    Processor AMD A6-5200 APU with Radeon(TM) HD Graphics, 2 Ghz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Toshiba PSCFWU-02C031
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 8400
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop and DELL E193FP
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba MQ01ABD075
    DVD Writer TSSTcorp CDDVDW SU-208FB
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave 2.4 Cordless or Laptop Standard PS/2 Keyboard Enhanced
    Mouse
    Logitech M1100 Performance Laser Cordless Combo or Logitech G500
    Internet Speed
    Upload/Download 91/11Mbps
    Browser
    IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton
    Other Info
    Toshiba System Settings V1.1.2.32001
    BIOS Version Inside Corp., 1.60, 11/15/2013
    EC (Embedded Controller) Version 1.20
    Hardware Abstraction Layer 6.3.9600.16500
Hi there
Uninstall ALL the A/V software - especially Norton as it's generally a resource hogger.

Windows 8 has a decent built in AV software system. After you've uninstalled the software reboot your system do a windows update as it will update Ms's Virus definitions. Your system will perform light years faster even without an SSD installed.

NORTON in particular is a huge resource hogger --you won't see it either in resource manager.
W8 doesn't need any 3rd party AV product. In any case if you MUST run 3rd party AV software only ever install ONE.

Cheers
jimbo

can you base your opinion that norton is resource hogger on some tests or other facts or is it just your belief.
i find my pc with windows 7 and norton antivirus 2013 is faster and smoother than with MS security essentials.
and there is lots of problems with windows 8 and windows defender if you use start is back/start8 or similar software to restore start button.. to populate start menu with entries takes long time when windows defender is on.. with other AV software its instant.


Hi there

We are talking about WINDOWS 8 / 8.1 here which has it's own in built AV system. Windows 7 is a different OS completely where you need to install AV software because it doesn't have any built in.

My experience in any case is that I've seen a load of PC's which after removing Norton always have run a lot better !!. I don't have "Chapter and Verse" but a lot of experience. I believe my findings are borne out by a lot of other people too. You also don't want to run more than ONE AV system on a computer at the same time - and as W8 has it's own built in system people adding other AV systems aren't often aware of that fact which causes the second system to really slow the machine down.

Norton slows a system down a lot too by excessive disk usages - and particularly on cheaper machines not using SSD's the HDD is always a poor performer and poor HDD's can KILL any system - even a top of the line one with an i7 processor installed.

I can't say about the latest releases of Norton - but on W8/8.1 all this stuff is unnecessary in the first place as I've pointed out as there already is an AV system built in - and don't run more than one AV product together.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I had the same problem which occurred immediately after upgrading from 8 to 8.1. I spent a lot of time following suggestions but what worked instantly for me was I came across a post which at first I thought was a company promotion saying that CCLEANER would solve the problem with their registry clean-up tool, and it's free. I downloaded the software and ran the registry cleaner three times (rebooting each time) and problem solved. My disk usage is running along at 5-10% and no more time wasted. I was just about to the point of buying a new computer but have to thank this company for saving me the time and money.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Back
Top