Fixing 100% disk usage in Windows 10 with Chrome and Skype running

Anonymous
2015-08-16T12:25:27+00:00

How to fix 100% disk usage in Windows 10

This is caused by a common combination of Skype as well Google Chrome. Similar issue with other programs could also cause 100% disk usage. To fix this do the following:

Google Chrome:

In Google Chrome, go to Settings > Show Advanced Settings ... > Privacy > Prefetch resources to load pages more quickly

and untick it. See Figure-1 below:

Figure-1

Skype:

Make sure you have exited Skype and it is not running in the taskbar (if it is running in the taskbar then quit it).

Open Windows Explorer and open the following folder:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone"

Now right click "Skype.exe" file and then click "Properties" and open the "Security" tab.

Click the "Edit" button and then highlight "ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES" and place a tick in the "Write" box.

Click "Apply" and then "OK" and then "OK" again. See Figures-2 to Figure-6 below:

This is it, now run Skype and check the Disk Usage in Task Manager and it will no longer show you 100% disk usage anymore:-

I hope this helps people. I spent a long time in finding a solution to this problem.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-11-22T22:54:03+00:00

    Julia,

    Sorry, looks like I lost something in the post.  In the search (or on the desktop) type in troubleshoot and run troubleshoot (not software or anything else that comes up), choose choose troubleshoot hardware --> let it run and then it will come to a screen showing Playing Audio, Recording Audio and hardware and devices, choose hardware and devices and let it run through the process.  It will should find any type of driver issues and such, mine came up and told me that to fix the issue it found was to put the IDE controller in Win8 compatibility mode.  I told it to fix it, restarted and I haven't had the problems since...well after a MS Update,  had to go back and run it again and put the driver in Win8 comp mode again.  I have turned off updates for now.  I would suggest to take a restore point before doing this..just in case :)   Hope it works for you as it did me.  I can have Chrome with 20+ tabs open, Outlook, Excel, Word opened at the same time without issue.

    Coop

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-11-22T19:50:26+00:00

    My experience with the 100% Disk problem (on Windows 10) seems to indicate that there are several causes, which relate to some processes running (programs installed). I had a program I has had installed, "Driver Detective", and my computer went into the 100% Disk mode for as long as the computer was on. After removal of the program, the computer became much more responsive and 100% Disk was rare to happen. However, when it does go to this state, I noticed another process, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, is running high. When it finishes whatever it is doing the Disk goes back to low percentages.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-11-22T19:38:31+00:00

    $500 + Black Friday Deals = Problem solved...buy HP.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-11-22T17:24:38+00:00

    What do you mean when you say "when you get to choose software to troubleshoot let it go" ?

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-11-20T14:27:23+00:00

    I tried the Skype fix, but it made no difference.  Disk is still pinned at 100% active time and the PC is crawling.

    I tried the Chrome fix but under Privacy there is no Prefetch option to be adjusted.

    Please help!

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