100% Disk Usage on Windows 8.1

Sorry that it took so long to respond. I was expecting an email to let me know that there is a new posting.

I don't know about "shouldn't be". I only know about "is be".  My PC does turn Superfetch on while in use and after reboot. Will you check to make sure that your PC is not doing the same? I turned off "Fast Startup" also with the same result. 

During the time before windows turns Superfetch back on there is most definitely less disk usage because I can hear the HDD and see the HDD indicator light. Task Manager shows 100% usage for several minutes when enabled. With it disabled, there is only a brief peak at 100 %.

In the registry, I set "EnablePrefetcher" and "EnableSuperfetch" to zero (disable).  Again with the same results even when running the command prompt as an administrator. I tried to use 1, which is to run only for system files. No change.

Hopefully M/S can help us on this.

ok so you want to disable "superfetch" and "windows search" and i've done this and it does lower the 100% disk useage on windows 8.1.

1. move your mouse over to the top right of the screen and drag your mouse down
2. then click "search" and type in "run" 
3. then a box should appear in the bottom of your screen then u type in "services.msc"
4. scroll down until you find both windows search and superfetch
5. right click on the applications and click properties then where it says start up type change it to "disabled"
6. apply these setting then click ok

if you apply and click ok the applications shouldn't be coming back on its own 

and i don't know whats going on with windows they have these programs which are suppose to help windows run better but they cause the hard drive to run a lot, i believe that the new start menu has too many background applications to keep live feeds like news, weather, mail, etc.

i also didnt follow the advice of doing the command promp thing and etc the problem is too big, windows needs to get things in order they are too big of a company and have many shoes to fill but its a tall order considering Microsoft is in charge of a Computer company (Windows), running a gaming company (XBOX), and recently purchasing rights to Minecraft.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            if there's anything else ask :) and good luck bro

I am siding with Leo here. It is 8.1. My computer often ran very slow as if it were locked up. When this was happening I could hear the HDD continuously working. After way too much time, the HDD would go quiet and the computer would respond again. Task Manager shows 100% disk usage at certain times when disk activity is not expected like switching from one tab to another using Chrome or loading a YouTube video. When this happens it stays there for a long time. Same thing when using Internet Explorer

Per other finds in a search on the web, I disabled Superfetch and Windows Search in Services. The problem went away. The computer is fast and working as expected. One problem though is that Superfetch will turn switch back to automatic on its own.

I followed RajithR instructions but could not find "Select Columns". Maybe I don,t understand " columns headers". 

These tasks seem helpful and thinking that disabling was a work around, I wanted to see what Microsoft had to say about the problem. It seems that there is a learning curve for Superfetch to do what it was designed to do. This learning curve by far exceeds any benefit that could be gained

My questions to Microsoft are these:

Are these two services working as intended?

Is turning them off a workaround?

What is the downside of not using them?

If I leave them enabled, how long until I see the stated benefits?

Is there something in the registry that can be changed to prevent Superfetch from enabling itself? 

Using a Samsung NP365E5C

Thanks

Hi Michael,

Sorry to know that you are facing issues using Windows 81. We would need more information on the issue you are facing.

1. What is the make and model of the PC?
2. What are the troubleshooting steps that you have tried?

I would suggest you to increase this virtual memory and check if it helps.

We will try to increase this virtual memory. Make it equivalent to your RAM size for the initial size and twice of the initial size in maximum size and make sure you have the same amount of free space in your hard drive in each drive.

a. Press windows + R key from the keyboard.

b. Select the option Control Panel and All control panel items then System.

c. Click on Advanced system settings.

d. Underperformance, click on settings.

e. Go to Advanced tab, Under Virtual memory, click on Change.

f. UN-check "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" check box.

g. Select your windows drive (where OS is installed).

h. Click on Custom size radio button.

i. Set Initial size equivalent to your RAM size in MB.

j. Set Maximum size to twice of your RAM size in MB.

k. Click on Set.

l. Click on OK thrice.

m. Restart the system.

Let us know the result.