Member Avatar for cuivenion

All of a sudden Windows 8 is unresponsve upon entering the desktop and on bringing up the Task Manager Disc usage is showing 100% for 5-10mins then returns to normal. Really want to sort this as I need to use the Laptop for work:
HP Pavilion g6-2265sa
Windows 8 (Home) (64 bit)
Intel Core i3-2370M processor
4GB RAM
750GB hard drive (ST750LM022 HN-M750MBB)
Intel graphics
802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0

The only AV on it is windows defender, I've turned off file indexing and the task manager doesn't reveal much. The few programs using the disk don't seem to be very active yet usage is at a solid 100% for 10mins. Any help appreciated. I'm beginning to really really dislike windows 8.

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Dani AI

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High, sustained 100% disk at logon on an HP Pavilion g6 (4 GB + a mechanical 750 GB drive) almost always means a background service or scheduled task is saturating the platter while the UI waits. Task Manager’s top-line "System" or "Service Host" entries are summaries and can hide which files are being hammered. The thread already shows a drive-health check by and the svchost suspicion raised by ; the practical next step is to profile I/O at the file level and map that activity to the service or scheduled task.

Quick triage - identify the process, then the files it touches. Open Resource Monitor (Win+R -> resmon) and use the Disk tab to see the top processes and the exact file paths. Map a busy svchost PID to its services with the built-in command, then capture file-level behavior with Sysinternals Process Monitor (filter by PID and File Read/Write operations). Example commands:

resmon
tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe"

A short (30–60s) ProcMon capture filtered to the offender PID will usually show repetitive accesses (for example Windows Update temporary files under SoftwareDistribution, Defender activity, log files, or a third‑party app data folder). Also inspect Task Scheduler (Microsoft\Windows and third‑party entries) for jobs that run at logon.

Remedies depend on the finding: allow legitimate update/repair jobs to finish or reschedule them; tune Defender scheduled scans or add targeted exclusions; update storage/chipset drivers and the HP BIOS; increase RAM or move the OS to an SSD if paging is frequent. For temporary testing only, services can be stopped and restarted (example):

sc stop wuauserv
sc stop TrustedInstaller
sc start TrustedInstaller
sc start wuauserv

Caution: stopping update services is for diagnosis only and should be reversed afterwards.

Because disabling Superfetch (as noted) can mask rather than explain the problem, a data-first ProcMon + Resource Monitor approach usually reveals the true culprit and leads to a safe, targeted fix.

Recommended Answers

All 11 Replies

Member Avatar for cuivenion

the highest users are "system" and "Service Host:local Service (Network Restricted)(7)

Member Avatar for Rik_

The first thing you should do is check your hard drive for bad sectors. Hdtune is a good tool for this, get the free version. http://www.hdtune.com/download.html

Member Avatar for cuivenion

Hi, did a check, no bad sectors.

Member Avatar for Rik_

What security software do you use?

Member Avatar for Ketsuekiame

Has your machine crashed? Has it been forced to power off (battery flat)? Is it starting up from Sleep or Hibernate?

All these will cause a lot of disk usage as the machine boots back up. If your drive isn't particularly fast, this could take a while.

Member Avatar for cuivenion

Hi, I just use windows defender at the mo. The disk usage starts after normal start up, plugged in to mains. It also peaks at random times thereafter as well.

Member Avatar for CodeWeaver

I have the same problem as well. Defender also takes up a LOT of disk usage. Make sure you do not have a security scan starting at start up. Also, use task manager to stop unnecessary startup programs.
Hope I helped!
:>)

Member Avatar for cuivenion

Already did that, will check Windows Defender though.

Member Avatar for gerbil

"the highest users are "system" and "Service Host:local Service (Network Restricted)(7)" is what you see in TM. That's a restricted view. Download Process Explorer from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb795533, check in properties of that svchost which service is being run by it.

Member Avatar for cuivenion

Installed Windows 7. No more problems.

Member Avatar for Dimo D

Just stop Superfetch in Windows services.

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