When you turn on the computer, the disk is loaded at 100. The hard disk is fully loaded: causes and solutions. Problems with AHCI mode operation
In Windows 10, there are often problems with disk utilization at 100%. The computer starts to work slowly and when we go to the task manager, we notice that the disk is 100% loaded. What could be the reasons for this and what should be done in this case?
4 Reasons for Disk Boot to 100% in Windows
We reinstalled the system, the disk is in perfect order, only a basic set of programs is installed, everything seems to be fine, but not quite. But simply put, the hard drive is frozen, and in the task manager we can see that the disk load has increased to the maximum 100%.
Let's figure out why the disk is so heavily loaded and check whether this is a short-term situation caused by running programs or whether the problem is long-term and how to solve it. Increased disk utilization can be caused by many factors, so there is no single universal method to solve it.
Windows Search and File Indexing
In Windows 8, 8.1 or 10, the cause may be a situation where the search engine gets drawn into a loop, resulting in increased disk load when searching for files. Fortunately, it can be disabled manually by stopping the search.
To do this, right-click on the Start button and select “Command Prompt (Admin)”. Or enter the command “cmd” in the search bar of the Start menu, then click on it and select “Run as administrator.”
To temporarily stop the Windows search engine, type in the command prompt window:
NET STOP "Windows Search"
The Windows Search service will be stopped and the looped process will be closed. Now go to the task manager and check whether the load has decreased and how loaded it is. If this method worked and the problem does not appear on the next search, then there is nothing more you need to do.
However, the problem may recur after a while, especially if the computer has an old disk installed or the system has problems indexing files. Then you can completely disable indexing, despite the fact that this will to some extent slow down the process of searching for files in the system.
To disable indexing, press Win + R to open the Run window. Then enter the command:
services.msc
A services window will open, where you need to find “Windows Search” in the list. 
Double-click on it to change its launch options. If the service is running, stop it by clicking the Stop button, and then change the startup type from Auto to Disabled. 
Disabling this service will bring some benefit, especially for older computers where indexing greatly slows down the system.
SuperFetch Service
The disk may be heavily loaded by the SuperFetch service. Its influence on the operation of Windows is twofold. In most cases, SuperFetch has a positive effect on system performance, both in the latest versions of Windows 8.1 and 10, and in earlier Vista and Windows 7. But on some computers it causes problems, including excessive disk load.
SuperFetch can be completely disabled in the same way as file indexing, in the system services section, which is called using the services.msc command. 
In the list we find the “SuperFetch” service. Then open it by double-clicking the mouse, stop it with the “Stop” button and set the “Startup Type” to “Disabled”.
Antivirus scan
Often the hard drive is 100% loaded due to the computer being infected with malware. In Windows 8.1 or 10 Task Manager, you can sort the loaded processes in the disk usage column. To do this, simply click on "Disk" to sort the different processes.
If the disk is loaded at 100 by some unknown process, then you can try to disable it. If you know which program is responsible for this process, you can remove it. However, if it is an unknown EXE file and, especially, its process cannot be terminated due to “Access Denied”, you should scan your computer with an antivirus.
The reason may also be the antivirus program itself, which we install after installing Windows 10 - perhaps at this moment it scans the disk in the background. In this case, wait until it completes the scan and see how busy it is. If the antivirus constantly overloads the hard drive, then it should be replaced with another one.
Disk check chkdsk
Damaged files can cause heavy loading. If there are errors reading files and folders, this will most likely lead to the above-mentioned looping process during the search. What to do if you have damaged files?
You should scan the disk with the chkdsk command with additional parameters to not only identify problems, but also try to fix them. To do this, launch Command Prompt in Administrator mode and enter the following command:
chkdsk.exe /f /r
After scanning, reboot the computer and check what percentage of the drive is loaded.
The source of the problem may be the disk itself. If you are using an old hard drive that may be damaged, it can load up your Windows system and cause your computer to slow down. It should be checked for bad sectors, for example, by the Victoria or MHDD program, and then see how loaded it is. In case of multiple damages, you should consider buying a new one. Sometimes the problem is caused by a faulty SATA cable, so that should also be checked.
One of the most common problems when running Windows is disk problems. As a rule, this is due to errors in the operation of drivers or the system itself. Also one of the reasons may be the presence malicious software.
The occurrence of an error can lead to a noticeable slowdown of the operating system and the inability to perform any software tasks.
Determining the disk load
Despite the fact that this is not the most common cause of malfunctions of this kind, it is recommended to start looking for the source of the error from this point, since one of the launched and actively running programs can use all the disk capacity.
For this necessary:
Please note that it is possible that one of your own installed programs is causing disk load (i.e. it is first in the list). It could be any antivirus, which performs automatic scanning, torrent client, or simply wrong working software. If there are such programs, they need to be removed from startup mode and, if necessary, run them reinstallation, having previously canceled the autoload option.
A large load on the disk may be exerted by one of the running services Windows.
AHCI drivers are not working properly
Not all users who installed Windows themselves carry out any manipulations with SATA AHCI type drivers, and in most cases they have standard drivers. This is precisely what causes the presence of such problems.
If, for no apparent reason, there is a full load on the disk, then it is recommended to update this driver and replace it with another one developed manufacturer. As a rule, it is available on the manufacturer's official website.
How the update happens:
Unpacking and installing the zip archive:
Indexing files
If enabled indexing files, then this significantly affects the speed of the Windows OS, since this software utility was created in order to search faster distinguishing files within the OS by creating new paths in the database. Disabling a service will noticeably speed up your PC.
To disable the service you must:
SuperFetch Service
SuperFetch is a built-in intelligent service capable of speed up launching and processing of some programs using a special memorization algorithm. In many cases, this can help in loading a heavy game. But, if you move too many programs into processing, then this is noticeable will reduce productivity personal computer. In this case, you will need disable service using the command line, by entering team sc config SysMain start= disabled.
After, you need reboot computer.
Checking the antivirus
If the system is infected with malicious files, then this can not only slow down the operating system, but also create a similar problem. To solve it it is necessary run scanning with an antivirus and when detecting virus software, delete it or move it to quarantine (if system files are infected). 
Disk damage
Excessive workload can cause damaged system files that can be identified and fixed using the command chkdsk via the command line. After checking and correcting errors, you will need reboot PC. 
Very often, after installing the Windows 10 operating system, users notice that the computer begins to freeze. Moreover, even in the absence of any heavy applications running, it is almost impossible to work with the system. At the same time, in the task manager you can see that the disk load is 100 percent. This happens not only on a new, clean system, but sometimes on one that has been working properly for some time. In this case, the user rushes to reinstall the OS. Sometimes it helps, and sometimes it doesn't. How then can you find out why Windows 10 loads the disk at 100%? I will give the most private and common reasons.
1. What application scans the disk?
This is probably the most common occurrence on both a clean system and an old one. On the old thicket. For example, the culprit behind such high HDD load is the UTorrent torrent client:
The program begins to rescan already downloaded files. If they are under a hundred gigabytes, then this can seriously load a computer or laptop.
An actively working anti-virus scanner can cause the same effect. To exclude this option, try pausing the antivirus application:
This is usually not observed on modern powerful PCs, but on old hardware, and even with a small amount of RAM, it does happen!
2. Indexing the hard drive by system services
In itself, the system file indexing service is a useful thing. As a result of its work, special indexes are created, which make it much easier for the system to search for files on HDD partitions. But here’s the paradox: few people use the search service. And it’s unlikely that an ordinary user will shovel the entire screw with its help. But the indexing process itself may be the reason why Windows 10 loads the disk at 100%. To eliminate this, first disable indexing in the properties of each section.
On the “General” tab, uncheck “Allow the contents of files on this drive to be indexed in addition to properties.” Click on the “Apply” button.
Now go to the “Computer Management” system console and open the “Services” section. Find the Windows Search service and stop it:
We look in the device manager to see if something is still loading the disk at 100 percent. If yes, then try stopping the service as well.
The point of the SuperFetch technology is also to analyze and collect statistics about the programs used. For the most frequently used applications, a cache is used in RAM, where their modules and libraries are stored in loaded form. It seems to be a necessary and useful service. But not always. Unfortunately, it can also cause the hard drive to overload. Try turning it off and see the result.
3. File system errors and HDD failure
File errors that appear on a hard drive can also cause abnormal brakes on a computer or laptop, and disk loading up to 100 percent is a consequence of incorrect operation of the drive. In Windows 10, there is a special utility to check the HDD for logical errors and fix them CHKDSK. To use it, open a command prompt with Administrator rights. Next, to simply check the logical partition for errors, enter the CHKDSK command and specify the drive letter. If you want the utility to find damaged sectors and correct errors, then you need to add the /F and /R keys. Here is an example of such a check for the C:\ drive.
Unfortunately, the cause of the problem may also be a physical malfunction of the hard drive. Here, the capabilities of standard operating system programs will not be enough and you will have to use additional specialized applications such as MHDD or Victoria.
4. SSD and ACHI mode
Advanced Host Controller Interface - AHCI is a special interface that allows you to get the most out of your SSD. If the mode is disabled, then after installing Windows 10 you may encounter the fact that the computer will barely move, and the HDD load will jump to the maximum.
The way out of the situation is simple - you need to go to the BIOS and the operating system settings. However, after this there is a high chance that it will have to be reinstalled. But after this, normal operation of the computer will most likely be restored.
5. Other reasons
Now let's look at less common reasons, due to which a situation may also arise when Windows 10 loads the hard drive at 100 percent.
One of these is the page file when using an SSD drive. The fact is that if you have a solid-state drive installed, then for it no swap file needed. Moreover, its presence can lead to problems. Therefore, we disable it completely. To do this, open Windows 10 Performance Options. On the “Advanced” tab, find the “Virtual Memory” section and click on the “Change” button.
Here you need to uncheck the “Automatically select the size of the paging file” checkbox and for each of the logical partitions check the “Without paging file” checkbox. Apply the changes and reboot the computer.
The second reason is perhaps defragmentation started hard drive and it was because of this that its load jumped to 100%. Here you can either wait until it works completely, or try to reboot.
There have been cases where the disk was loaded at 100 percent due to the fact that the user was logged in under Microsoft account. I don’t know what is happening at this moment, but the hard drive is loaded to its fullest.
To exclude this scenario, try creating a local account and logging in under it.
If suddenly you notice that the hard drive is loaded at 100 while the Google Chrome browser or any other browser running on its engine is running, then the reason for this may be the plugin is not working correctly Flash player. By disabling it in the program settings, you will be able to work normally with your computer again.
The disk is constantly working, judging by the continuous glow of the indicator on the front panel of the computer, and in the task manager we see that the disk utilization is 100%. All programs launch slowly and you cannot determine what is loading your computer so much.
Excessive disk load is very common immediately after reinstalling the system. Services are launched that sort the data, index it, and optimize the disk. Unfortunately, sometimes the load is so high that it is impossible to use the computer. We offer several ways to cope with this problem.
Automatic disk defragmentation starts at some time and optimizes the hard drive. This process can significantly slow down your computer.
To turn off automatic disk defragmentation, go to the Windows 8 Start screen or the Windows 7 Start menu and type “defragmentation” in the search bar. The “Defragment and optimize your disks” feature should appear in the search results.
Click on the found entry. The disk optimization window will open. Click on “Customize schedule” in Windows 7 or “Change settings” in Windows 8.
In the window that opens, disable the “Run on a schedule (recommended)” option. If you disable this option, the system will not defragment without our knowledge and consent.
Disable file indexing
File indexing is probably the biggest drain on disk performance right after a system reinstall. What is indexing? The system scans the disk, building and putting in order a database of all files that are located in their partitions. Thanks to this, subsequent searches for files using a search engine are much faster.
Unfortunately, the indexing process itself can take a very long time and at the same time slow down the computer. Fortunately, it can be easily disabled. To do this, press the Win + R key combination. The “Run” window will open - enter the command in it services.msc and confirm its execution with Enter.
In the list of services on the right side you need to find the Windows Search service. Double-click on it and in the window that opens, click on “Stop”. Then set the “Startup Type” field to “Disabled”. Thanks to this, file indexing will not be enabled automatically.
Disable preloading of data into RAM (Prefetcher)
Preloading data into RAM is another system service whose purpose is to speed up the operating system and reduce program loading times, but in many cases it works the other way around.
To disable it, press the Win + R key combination. In the Run window that opens, enter the regedit command to enter the Windows Registry Editor.
In the editor, go to the following parameter:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > System > CurrentControlset > Control > Session Manager > Memory Management >.
Click on the PrefetchParameters parameter, the following entries will open on the right side:
- EnableSuperfetch;
- EnableBootTrace (can only be on Windows 7).
Double-click on each of the listed parameters and change their value to 0. Then exit the Registry Editor and restart the computer.
Turn off diagnostic and usage data (Windows 10)
Windows 10 has a built-in feature that collects and sends diagnostic data from the system to Microsoft. This is statistical data regarding Windows usage that is provided to help developers fix bugs and improve system quality. Many people have problems with this feature, claiming that it reduces user privacy. But, besides this problem, there are no less important technical ones, namely... disk loading.
After updating KB3201845, it turns out that the diagnostic and information collection function starts additional services related to Windows performance monitoring. In short, this update causes the so-called Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) service to launch, which collects tons of information about the computer. The action of this service leads to the fact that the hard drive is working all the time, and in the Task Manager we see 100% disk load. What to do about it?
First, you need to make sure that it is Windows Performance Recorder that is causing excessive disk load. To do this, right-click on Start and select “Command Prompt (Administrator)” from the drop-down menu.
In the Command Prompt window, enter the following command and confirm its execution by pressing Enter:
WPR-cancel
This command can delay the WPR (Windows Performance Recorder) service. If the message “There are no trace profiles running” appears on the screen, this means that WPR did not work, i.e. it was not the cause of the problem and the solution should be looked elsewhere.
However, if a message appeared confirming the delay of this feature and the disk load decreased after a while, then this means that WPR was actually running in the background and started every time the system was rebooted.
The solution is to limit data collection in Windows 10.
To do this, go through the Start button to Settings and select the “Privacy” section.
In the side menu, scroll down to Reviews and Diagnostics and find the Diagnostics and Usage Data option on the right. Set the Send device information to Microsoft field to Basic Information.
Now this service will be automatically disabled and will not start along with the operating system. Now the load on the disk should decrease to a lower level.
Conflict between Skype and Chrome programs in Windows 10
The next reason for high disk load is not only typical for older computers, but can also occur on new laptops with Windows 10. It turns out that the cause may be a combination of installed programs - Skype and Chrome.
We have already looked at how to solve high disk load problems by disabling unnecessary services. But it turns out that these solutions do not always help, since the problem can arise through the action of a certain set of reasons.
It turns out that users who purchased a new laptop with Windows 10 encounter 100% disk load. The system starts up and works quickly, but after about 5 minutes the computer slows down significantly. The problem occurs when installing two programs on a laptop with Windows 10 - Chrome and Skype. This situation is described on the official Microsoft forum and we have prepared a solution for you based on its reports.
These programs somehow conflict with each other, which leads to high disk load. To avoid this, you need to make changes to your Chrome and Skype settings.
Chrome
In the Chrome browser, you need to go to advanced settings. To do this, in the upper right corner of the window, click on the “Settings and Control” button (indicated by three vertical dots). Then in the drop-down menu go to the “Settings” item and at the very bottom we find the link “Show additional settings...”.
In the expanded list we find the “Personal Data” section. Here we find the item “Use hints to speed up page loading”.
You need to uncheck this item, since in some cases this option can cause problems with disk loading.
Skype
Now you need to make changes to Skype. First, you need to completely close it so that it does not work even in the background. We close it using the tray icon or by deleting the Skype.exe process itself in the Task Manager.
Now go to the folder in which Skype is installed. If you haven't changed anything, then the default path is:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone.
Here we find the Skype.exe file. Right-click on it and select “Properties”. Go to the Security tab and click on the "Edit" button.
Note that in the window that opens you can edit the access rights of individual groups. Select the “All application packages” group in the list. You can now manage permissions for this group using the bottom position.
In the “Allow” capital, check the “Write” field to allow the “ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES” group to record data. Save changes to OK. Now you can turn on Skype again and use the Chrome browser, the download to disk should be significantly reduced.
The stability of Windows and the programs with which the user interacts directly depends on the error-free operation of the hard drive. There is an issue in the Windows 10 operating system that has been carried over to the new Microsoft system from Windows 8.1. We are talking about loading the hard drive at 100% for no apparent reason while the computer is running.
In the “Task Manager” you can see to what extent various components of the computer are loaded, including the hard drive. If the hard drive is 100% loaded, the computer will begin to slow down greatly even when processing the interface. Every action will occur with a delay, and even simple work at the computer will become a real torture. In this case, a certain service may load the hard drive to its maximum, or the problem will arise for no apparent reason.
If the disk is 100% loaded, there are several ways to get rid of the problem. They will help solve a problem that occurs briefly or persists for a long time.
Disabling file indexing and stopping search in Windows
Most often, the problem with the hard drive loading 100% occurs due to the Windows environment looping the file search process. In such a situation, you need to disable search for one time, if the situation does not repeat each time you boot the computer, or completely disable file indexing.
To stop the looping search in Windows 10 and reduce the load on your hard drive you will need:
A message will appear on the screen indicating that the Windows Search service has stopped. At this point, you need to launch the Task Manager and check if the problem persists. If your hard drive is still at 100% capacity, you can try disabling file indexing completely.
To stop file indexing on Windows 10, do the following:
After this, indexing of files on the computer will be disabled even after a reboot. It is worth noting that disabling this option does not leave its mark, and searching for files on your computer will begin to take a little more time.
Disabling the SuperFetch service
Also often on Windows 10 the disk is loaded to 100% due to the SuperFetch service. It first appeared in the Windows 7 operating system, and its task is to increase the loading speed of folders, files and applications. When your computer is idle, SuperFetch minimizes resource consumption by programs that are not in use.
In practice, SuperFetch is of dubious benefit, especially on powerful computers. However, this service may cause problems loading your hard drive. To disable the SuperFetch feature:
Disabling MSI mode
If the operating system is installed on a solid-state hard drive (SSD), then there should be no problems loading it. Moreover, this situation occurs due to the MSI mode, which is initially enabled in the Windows 10 operating system. Some SSDs may not complete I/O commands on their own when MSI mode is enabled and must be disabled.