Tommygilf Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 My computer is running really slow. I go on task manager and keep getting shown that my disk usage is 100%, feel like I've tried loads - made sure its up to date, restarted. Any help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 10 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: My computer is running really slow. I go on task manager and keep getting shown that my disk usage is 100%, feel like I've tried loads - made sure its up to date, restarted. Any help? Is this a permanent thing? My work laptop goes like that for about 10-15 minutes after start-up, then reverts to normal. A lot of it is down to OneDrive synchronising shared files and Windows running various start-up scans at the same time. I usually switch the thing on 30 minutes before I'm due to start work and let it do its thing. How much RAM do you have installed on your machine? Right-click on the Windows button and select 'System'. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 10 minutes ago, Futtocks said: Is this a permanent thing? My work laptop goes like that for about 10-15 minutes after start-up, then reverts to normal. A lot of it is down to OneDrive synchronising shared files and Windows running various start-up scans at the same time. I usually switch the thing on 30 minutes before I'm due to start work and let it do its thing. How much RAM do you have installed on your machine? Right-click on the Windows button and select 'System'. 8 GB of RAM when I've checked how you said. Likewise I think its a startup thing but it literally lasts for hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 26 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: 8 GB of RAM when I've checked how you said. Likewise I think its a startup thing but it literally lasts for hours Having lived with 4gB RAM for too long on my old machine, Id say 8 is the absolute bare-bones minimum you can get away with these days. Your motherboard probably has slots for more RAM chips to be added, which can be done in a few minutes by someone who knows what they are doing. The duration of the 100% disc usage is a bit worrying, though. When it's doing that, right-click on a blank part of the taskbar and select "Task Manager". If you're getting that much disc usage, it may take a while to open, and take a little longer before the information displayed becomes real-time (changing all the time). Then select "more details" (if it isn't showing multiple columns already) and you can click on each column header to sort and see what is using up CPU, Network, Disk, etc. resources the most. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonM Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 22 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: Likewise I think its a startup thing but it literally lasts for hours That's a useful starting point for working out what to do next. Is it permanently at 100%, or does it eventually get down to some lower level? Is this Windows 11 or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 7 minutes ago, JonM said: That's a useful starting point for working out what to do next. Is it permanently at 100%, or does it eventually get down to some lower level? Is this Windows 11 or something else? Windows 10, I turned it on at 6:30 and its still like this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 8 minutes ago, Futtocks said: Having lived with 4gB RAM for too long on my old machine, Id say 8 is the absolute bare-bones minimum you can get away with these days. Your motherboard probably has slots for more RAM chips to be added, which can be done in a few minutes by someone who knows what they are doing. The duration of the 100% disc usage is a bit worrying, though. When it's doing that, right-click on a blank part of the taskbar and select "Task Manager". If you're getting that much disc usage, it may take a while to open, and take a little longer before the information displayed becomes real-time (changing all the time). Then select "more details" (if it isn't showing multiple columns already) and you can click on each column header to sort and see what is using up CPU, Network, Disk, etc. resources the most. It seems to be "system", but the actual numbers are low 1.5 to 8 MBs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonM Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 8 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: It seems to be "system", but the actual numbers are low 1.5 to 8 MBs Anything over about 1 or 2 MBs for any length of time is a possible concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonM Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 A few things to try then. 1. Start > Settings > Updates and Security - just check that it actually updated and hasn't got stuck part way through an update. It should say "you're up to date" 2. Try disabling superfetch - press the Windows and R keys at the same time. Type in services.msc when it prompts with 'open'. Hit OK and then scroll down to superfetch (if you can't find it, look for sysmain instead). Under Startup type, click Disabled and then OK. Restart the PC and see if if helped If it didn't, turn Superfetch back on the same way, but choose Automatic instead of Disabled. 3. Try disabling windows search (Wsearch) - Same process as above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 For the longer term members <gurner mode> </gurner mode> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 2 hours ago, JonM said: Try disabling windows search (Wsearch) Also look into options regarding Windows search indexing, which can slow things down a lot on start-up. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 18 hours ago, Futtocks said: Also look into options regarding Windows search indexing, which can slow things down a lot on start-up. How does one do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 11 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: How does one do that? There's advice on halting it temporarily (until your next restart) here: https://eu.azcentral.com/story/money/business/tech/2021/03/29/can-search-indexing-slow-down-your-computer-heres-what-you-should-know/7003442002/ That way, you can see if it makes a difference. The last part may also be useful, which deals with permanently limiting what gets indexed. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.