100% Disk Usage

[Morettina]

HP Pavilion 15t-cs200, 1 Tb drive, 16Gb memory, Windows 11 version 24H2

Out of the blue, today, this laptop came to a screeching halt with 100% disk usage. Looking at task manager, couldn't see anything obvious. I was running Firefox, MS Money, and Eudora email. Looking at the Processes screen, it said between 40-50% disk, but going into performance, the disk was at 100%.

I shutdown the computer completely, and restarted it, and it was ok for a little while, but then the same thing happened. I've run all sorts of scans for viruses, malware, etc. and run both Norton & HP hardware tests, and everything checks out okay.

It will periodically go back to running normally, but then the 100% disk usage comes back, which makes trying to work throughout the day pretty difficult.

The last Windows update was Sept 10, so that shouldn't be the problem.

What do I need to do to stop this?

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @Morettina,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.

I understand your HP Pavilion 15t-cs200 is experiencing 100% disk usage intermittently, which makes it difficult to work even though your hardware and antivirus scans show no issues. Let’s go through some steps to identify and resolve the cause.

1. Check Background Processes

Open Task Manager → Details → Disk column and sort by Disk usage.

Look for processes that spike the disk when usage reaches 100%.

Common culprits: Windows Search, Superfetch (SysMain), Windows Update, or certain antivirus scans.

2. Disable Windows Search (Temporary Test)

Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.

Find Windows Search, right-click → Properties → Stop.

Set Startup type to Disabled temporarily.

Monitor disk usage — if it stabilizes, Windows Search may be the cause.

3. Disable SysMain / Superfetch

Open services.msc.

Locate SysMain, right-click → Stop, then set Startup type → Disabled.

This service sometimes causes high disk usage on HDDs or slower drives.

4. Check Virtual Memory Settings

Go to Settings → System → About → Advanced System Settings → Performance → Advanced → Virtual Memory → Change.

Ensure Automatically manage paging file size is checked.

Sometimes manually setting a paging file can reduce disk spikes.

5. Run Disk Check

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

chkdsk /f /r

It may require a restart. This checks the disk for errors that could cause slowdowns.

6. Check for Firmware / Driver Updates

Update the storage controller drivers:

Open Device Manager → IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers → your controller → Update Driver.

Check for BIOS or firmware updates via HP Support.

I hope this helps.

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Best regards,