[SOLVED] 100% Disk Usage during startup/opening new programs

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NewMemberLooking4Help

Commendable
Nov 12, 2019
11
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1,510
Hello since quite a time im experiencing a huge performance loss on my MSI GE 62 Apache 6QF gaming Laptop running a 1TB HDD. I was searching in the web for some solutions what till now didn't help at all.
Windows 10 allowed me to see the cause of the sluggish behavior, as task manager reports 100% disk usage during startup. The problem is, no program in the list actually uses the disk activity, and idles around 0.3MB/sec. After startup, if left for a long while, it will eventually finish and drop to idle around 0%. But if I open a program for the first time like Spotify, various Games, Chrome etc. it spikes to 100%. For most programs, it will return to 0%, after some time. I am able to browse with no problem, but it will occasionally still spike to 100%, though this seems random. It is most noticeable when playing games, such as Witcher III. Lover graphic settings seam to help but it still hits 100%. If I play on max settings, it almost always stays at 100% although my laptop could easily handle max settings. Other games are similar, but the less complex the game is, the less spikes happen. Here is a list of things I have tried to fix the 100% disk usage:
  • Turned off cloud protection and real time protection for windows defender- no effect
  • Updated Nvidia drivers, and Geforce experience - no effect,
  • Increasing the RAM cache - no effect
  • turning off disk fragment scheduling
  • disabled Windows Search and few other local Services
  • disabled all startup programs - startup takes a lot less time, but disk usage is still 100% during startup
  • did a clean boot - also didn't help
  • disabled diagnostic tracking
  • tried resetting virtual memory
  • installed latest Win 10 updates
  • checked AHCI PCIe Config
  • disabled automatic Win updates
  • set disc running time from 20 to 0 in advanced options of my power profile
  • uninstalled the preinstalled skype app
  • Link State Power Management is OFF
I installed Windows myself which isn't a problem nowdays but one thing im worrying about is that i might not set up BIOS correctly. I just wan't to be sure that it is a Hardware issue before i start searching for a new SSD Drive.

Im running out of options, as I've tried nearly everything suggested by other people on various forums.
 
Last edited:
Solution
Yeah, buy an SSD (sorry, broken record, I know). Windows 10 is light but still runs a lot in the background. I almost forget how much until I am on a computer with a hard drive. Windows OSs are also notorious for getting slower as they age, adding fixes and fixing security holes.

NewMemberLooking4Help

Commendable
Nov 12, 2019
11
0
1,510
Doing defrag now,
Does fullscan with defender count or should i do a scan with malwarebytes?
Did the windows option through PC - Disc C - Properties - Tools - Check 4 issues. I didn't do a Health scan with a external program.
 
Launching a program will almost always push a hard drive to 100% for at least a few seconds, depending on the size of the program. If you have enough RAM, subsequent launches of the program will probably take less time. The BEST thing you can do for this laptop (since all other specifications are very good) is to swap out the hard drive for an SSD.
 

NewMemberLooking4Help

Commendable
Nov 12, 2019
11
0
1,510
Launching a program will almost always push a hard drive to 100% for at least a few seconds, depending on the size of the program. If you have enough RAM, subsequent launches of the program will probably take less time. The BEST thing you can do for this laptop (since all other specifications are very good) is to swap out the hard drive for an SSD.

The problem is, it still sometimes randomly hits 100% and if it does it significantly slowes down all running processes, the boot times are also not satisfying.

I know SSD is Faster but the thing is my HDD wasn't always that slow.
 

NewMemberLooking4Help

Commendable
Nov 12, 2019
11
0
1,510
Hey, sorry 4 the late response! I did the defrag and scanned the Notebook with Malwarebytes (no results, all clean). The PC is working faster but still hitting 100% disc usage after opening anything. This causes (as i mentioned before) a massive performance loss. Ideas?
 
Yeah, buy an SSD (sorry, broken record, I know). Windows 10 is light but still runs a lot in the background. I almost forget how much until I am on a computer with a hard drive. Windows OSs are also notorious for getting slower as they age, adding fixes and fixing security holes.
 
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