100% disk usage

[onecirrus]

Disk and CPU usage randomly spike to 100% when I do something as simple as open internet explorer. I've done everything. I've tried doing things like disabling super fetch and changing power settings but this did not resolve the problem. I've even factory reset so i think there must be a hardware issue and not because of any program or application. I've run diagnostics to check my hard drive and CPU and no problems were found. Could i need to replace the motherboard? If not what should be replaced?

Specs:
Intel core i5
16gigs of ram
Geforce gtx 650ti
win 8

 

[ak47jar3d]

Thats normal. When opening programs, HDD have to scan all files and will cause MOST drives to max out. The only thing you could do is possibly buying a fast ssd.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Welcome to the community, onecirrus!

@ak47jar3d is right, these spikes shouldn't concern you that much unless they influence the performance! You could try reinstalling any software that is making them more noticeable as well. Eithery way, you should make sure the 100% is not happening constantly and you should always backup your data somewhere off-site. The surest way to avoid potential data loss is to keep at least two copies of your files in different locations.

Best of luck!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[onecirrus]

Welcome to the community, onecirrus!

@ak47jar3d is right, these spikes shouldn't concern you that much unless they influence the performance! You could try reinstalling any software that is making them more noticeable as well. Eithery way, you should make sure the 100% is not happening constantly and you should always backup your data somewhere off-site. The surest way to avoid potential data loss is to keep at least two copies of your files in different locations.

Best of luck!
SuperSoph_WD

Sometimes i see these spikes occur on my task manager at random when i haven't opened any programs and just left my computer idle. I believe they do effect my performance such as when playing a game my computer slows significantly when they occur.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Sometimes i see these spikes occur on my task manager at random when i haven't opened any programs and just left my computer idle. I believe they do effect my performance such as when playing a game my computer slows significantly when they occur.

Hey there again, onecirrus!

I'd suggest you try swapping the SATA cable connecting the HDD with a different one and see how the performance will be afterwards. The spikes could be coming from a faulty or inefficient power supply to the drive. You might also want to try plugging it to a different SATA port on the motherboard.

Hope it helps.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[onecirrus]

Sometimes i see these spikes occur on my task manager at random when i haven't opened any programs and just left my computer idle. I believe they do effect my performance such as when playing a game my computer slows significantly when they occur.

Hey there again, onecirrus!

I'd suggest you try swapping the SATA cable connecting the HDD with a different one and see how the performance will be afterwards. The spikes could be coming from a faulty or inefficient power supply to the drive. You might also want to try plugging it to a different SATA port on the motherboard.

Hope it helps.
SuperSoph_WD

I'm not very knowledgeable about this. Can the SATA cable that the connects the Hard drive to the power supply be replaced? It seems to just disappear into the power supply. Do i have to screw open the power supply to replace it? Also plugging the SATA data cable into another port didn't make a difference.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

I'm not very knowledgeable about this. Can the SATA cable that the connects the Hard drive to the power supply be replaced? It seems to just disappear into the power supply. Do i have to screw open the power supply to replace it? Also plugging the SATA data cable into another port didn't make a difference.

Hey there again, onecirrus.

There are two cables connected to your hard drive. The one that you are talking about is the Molex cable that connects the HDD to the power supply unit. You shouldn't tamper with that one, You need to change the other cable that enables the communication between the hard drive and the motherboard a.k.a. the SATA cable. You can check an article from our knowledge base that can walk you through the step-by-steps of physically connecting your Hard drive.

Keep me posted if you have more questions.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[onecirrus]

I'm not very knowledgeable about this. Can the SATA cable that the connects the Hard drive to the power supply be replaced? It seems to just disappear into the power supply. Do i have to screw open the power supply to replace it? Also plugging the SATA data cable into another port didn't make a difference.

Hey there again, onecirrus.

There are two cables connected to your hard drive. The one that you are talking about is the Molex cable that connects the HDD to the power supply unit. You shouldn't tamper with that one, You need to change the other cable that enables the communication between the hard drive and the motherboard a.k.a. the SATA cable. You can check an article from our knowledge base that can walk you through the step-by-steps of physically connecting your Hard drive.

Keep me posted if you have more questions.
SuperSoph_WD

Thank you for your help. I no longer see random spikes and usage of my disk and CPU is always around 0-2% when my computer is idle.

 

[Ironman_255]

Hi,

Specs
Asrock Performance 970
FX-600, 8 GB RAM
Sata 1 Samsung SSD Evo (OS)
Sata 2 WD HDD 80GB (DATA)

I just want to say thank you to this thread, especially to SuperSoph_WD.

I Have had problem accessing my Sata 2 WD HDD 80GB (DATA) when trying to move data over, I was getting:
Event ID 153 (disk) and Event ID 129 (storahci) errors, I also notice that 100% disk active time for that drive.

While looking to solve my problem I noticed that changing sata port, like suggested by SuperSoph_WD solved the problem for a little while. When seeing this thread, I realised that the only thing that I haven't try is actually replace the sata cable. That was a 6 inches sata3 cable that I bought on ebay, I replaced it with sata cable provided by motherboard manufacturer. Since I was able to move bunch of files over and I haven't get any error messages and active time goes back to 0% when no activity.

hopping this can help other having same issue.

Thank you,
Ironman_255