100% Disk Usage From Various Processes

[JamieBenoir]

I recently purchased a new computer and installed a fresh copy of windows. My disk frequently runs at 100% when doing basic tasks like opening a program, seearching through the file explorer, etc. It also spikes to 100% when running virus scans or installing a new program. Sometimes it will spike to 100% with nothing open other than task manager. Various Processes will be at the top of the list depending on what I have open.

My rig:
ASUS ROG GL552VW
Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor
Windows 10 Home
Intel® HM170 Chipset
DDR4 2133 MHz SDRAM
Integrated Intel® HD Graphics 530
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M with 2G GDDR5 VRAM

I have read through various threads for this issue and have not been able to resolve it. I have ran all the windows updates, disabled superfetch, ran sfc/ scannow which found nothing wrong, updated my drivers automatically using slimdrivers, ran full malware scans with malwarebytes, and have ran full virus scans with windows defender and the free version of panda. Please help me resolve this issue so I can finally enjoy my new computer instead of messing around with it.

Literally 100%:

Edit: Changed from CPU to disk. Troubleshooting in the small hours of the morning is probably a bad idea...

 

[Multipack]

That's your hard drive, not your CPU. What hard drive is it?

EDIT - It's a Seagate Spinpoint 1tb disk. And an old SATA II drive. I'd back everything up on it, and replace when you can.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Please help me resolve this issue so I can finally enjoy my new computer instead of messing around with it.

Open Resource Monitor - disk tab (order by total descending and with file names visible!)
and post screenshot.

 

[Multipack]

The OP's description is more consistent with I/O errors or possible bottleneck than any particular process.

 

[SkyNetRising]

The OP's description is more consistent with I/O errors or possible bottleneck than any particular process.

Could be ... or could be not.
There are several Windows processes, that can cause this:

• 
  Windows Defender
  Defragmenter
  Windows Search
  Windows Update

 

[JamieBenoir]

That's your hard drive, not your CPU. What hard drive is it?

EDIT - It's a Seagate Spinpoint 1tb disk. And an old SATA II drive. I'd back everything up on it, and replace when you can.

The computer is brand new, if it's the hard drive then it would be defective. Is there some way I can prove the hard drive is defective so I can justify a replacement?

 

[Multipack]

I searched the model number in your screenshot. To make sure, check CpuZ for your hard drive model to make sure it's definitely SATA II. SATA III is getting over-saturated these days with SSD's, so that's a slow HDD when matched with the system.

It may be that the hard drive is just too slow to keep up, but you could run some SMART tests on it by going to Seagates websites and downloading their hard drive diagnostic tools to check it for errors.

Did you build the PC yourself?

 

[JamieBenoir]

I searched the model number in your screenshot. To make sure, check CpuZ for your hard drive model to make sure it's definitely SATA II. SATA III is getting over-saturated these days with SSD's, so that's a slow HDD when matched with the system.

It may be that the hard drive is just too slow to keep up, but you could run some SMART tests on it by going to Seagates websites and downloading their hard drive diagnostic tools to check it for errors.

Did you build the PC yourself?

Thank you for your quick reply. I am a bit of a novice when it comes to computers, but I am trying to learn as much as I can. I have downloaded CPU-Z but I'm not sure what I'm looking at. I went through the tabs looking for storage or hard drive and can't find it. The model of the drive in device manager is St1000LM024 HN-M101MBB. I have been considering buying a SSD as my computer does have a slot for one, but I can't afford that at the moment. Furthermore, I do not want to do extra work to what may be a defective computer.

I will try running the seagate tests now. I did not build this computer, it's a stock ASUS ROG.

 

[JamieBenoir]

Please help me resolve this issue so I can finally enjoy my new computer instead of messing around with it.

Open Resource Monitor - disk tab (order by total descending and with file names visible!)
and post screenshot.

Thank you for trying to help, and sorry for the slow reply. Here is the requested screen shot.

A process that I frequently see at the top when spiking is Service Host: Local Service (Network Restricted) as well as Service Host: Local System, System, and the current offender, Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry.

 

[Multipack]

Are you syncing often to other devices or an online cloud? Those are system network usage processes, though the actual network is at 0%.

Try a malware scan and running ccleaner as well to clean things up https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

 

[JamieBenoir]

Are you syncing often to other devices or an online cloud? Those are system network usage processes, though the actual network is at 0%.

Try a malware scan and running ccleaner as well to clean things up https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

Well I have a Google Drive Sync folder, otherwise I do not believe I have anything being backed up. I have ran malware bytes, panda, Windows defender and CC cleaner multiple times.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Thank you for trying to help, and sorry for the slow reply. Here is the requested screen shot.

That is not screenshot from Resource Monitor (it's Task Manager).
I need

Resource Monitor - disk tab (order by total descending and with file names visible!)

 

[JamieBenoir]

Thank you for trying to help, and sorry for the slow reply. Here is the requested screen shot.

That is not screenshot from Resource Monitor (it's Task Manager).
I need

Resource Monitor - disk tab (order by total descending and with file names visible!)

Jeez, I'm sorry. Here is the screenshot when running a virus scan. Disk was acting normally (for a change) so I ran a virus scan to make it spike. Even when doing intensive proccesses, it should never be at 100%, right?

 

[SkyNetRising]

If you run antivirus scan, then it's normal to be at 100% disk activity.

 

[JamieBenoir]

Okay, that's good to know. Thank you.

I managed to get a screen shot when CPU usage jumped to 100% again. This time I am not installing anything or running any scans. I have a few chrome tabs open, NVIDIA GeForce Experience, Task Manager and Resource Monitor. The culprits seem to be "System, Service Host: Local System (Network Restricted), Service Host: Local System, and the worst is Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry.

Here is an instance where Service Host: Local System (Network Restricted) dominated disk usage:

I just missed a screen shot where telemetry was solely dominating disk usage, but I will try and get one.

 

[SkyNetRising]

If you expanded Disk Activity section of Resource Monitor, you could see file names that are being written/read also.
System process - could be Disk Defragmenter running;
svchost - is probably windows updates;
psanhost is your Panda antivirus;
SearchIndexer is windows search.
They all are capable of causing 100% disk activity.

It would improve situation significantly if you upgraded to SSD. 100% disk usage would be eliminated completely.