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
    2016-09-26T16:24:04+00:00

    Having tried this solution and many others suggested on various sites which worked in the short term but always reoccurred the next time computer was powered up. I found that changing Windows Update from starting automatically to manually solved this problem for me.

    Enter 'Services' in search bar and choose 'Services (Desktop app)'

    Scroll down to 'Windows Update' right click on the Windows Update line and choose the 'Properties' option

    In the 'General' tab go to the Startup type and in the drop down option box choose 'Manual'

    Click on 'Apply' followed by 'OK'

    Hope this helps.

    My computer already had it on MANUAL and still it shows Disk 100% anyway.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-09-26T16:17:57+00:00

    Hmm. Did not work for me. Actually, I have the Disk 100% (active time) even when I just boot up the computer with no Google Chrome or Skype running yet. What I have seen is that in the Task Manager the top processes (having the highest MB/sec rate) SugarSynk, Malwarebytes, and Avast Services alternately. I am running Sony Vaio i7 on Windows 10. Any additional suggestions?

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-09-21T21:00:01+00:00

    Having tried this solution and many others suggested on various sites which worked in the short term but always reoccurred the next time computer was powered up. I found that changing Windows Update from starting automatically to manually solved this problem for me.

    Enter 'Services' in search bar and choose 'Services (Desktop app)'

    Scroll down to 'Windows Update' right click on the Windows Update line and choose the 'Properties' option

    In the 'General' tab go to the Startup type and in the drop down option box choose 'Manual'

    Click on 'Apply' followed by 'OK'

    Hope this helps.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-09-20T20:27:24+00:00

    This would all be amusing if we weren't talking about crippled computers....

    Frankly, I have a hard time believing that a change of HDD or change to SSD is going to fix any more than a few of these problems. I've been around long enough to have started on the very first IBM PC's.....so I've used my share of hard drives both in professional (work) environments as well as my home office.

    I have NEVER once in all that time, had a hard drive fail....NEVER. This technology has stood the test of time beautifully. Sure, SSD will eventually be found in all computers....but it will be because of cost-effectiveness and space savings more than a failure of the HDD technology.

    My drive is 100% fine after getting rid of Defender by installing "Spybot Search and Destroy" as a substitute program. Almost a month now of happiness!!!

    Todd

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-09-20T16:05:09+00:00

    Such ego kicking in..

      Bottom line is this.. It is not the AntiV.. it is not the Disk..   What is it then you ask?    It is Win10, on occasion, failing to co-exist with any number of things.   How do I know it isn't the disk.. well I have 5 hard drives to test this on..  5 Computers that I have proven it with. (technically I stopped at the 3rd pc) My units are all(almost) identical for 3 of them.. the other 2 are Intel builds making the HDs not exactly swappable.  I have the exact same software on 3 units.

    2 of the 3 comps have never had an issue with 100% usage.  While one of them is on its 3rd HD, in under a year. I said almost identical. Well the one with the problem has double the RAM (yes all sticks are the same) and Double the gfx card..  I can take the HD from this unit and toss it into one on either side of it and boot them up to zero issues. Take their HD and toss it in this rig.. and it will run without issue for 2 weeks before it starts doing the same thing.

    Now, what that doesn't tell us is WHY? or WHEN? or WHAT?   What it does tell us is that the HD has nothing to do with it UNLESS it is due to Win10 and the HD sharing spit at some point and one of them doesn't like the taste of it all.

    If you take a drive thru the grave yard at Microsoft and search out a totally different problem (which is technically  what happens to an HD when win10 reacts in a different manner toward the same issue)  One will find that the devs at Microsoft are well aware that Windows as of late has been having some issues. What issues? No one, as of about 6 months ago, had worked out the Why, When, or What of it all.  They had worked out however, that is several cases, without respect of the brand name of your HD, is that your pc can be running normally until one day she has a prog lock her up and you are left with no option other than "the dead boot".   Normally that isn't much of a big deal, but when this happens with Windows 10...... Big Badda Boom...  You come back to a locked hard drive that you can not unlock. 

    I am of the opinion that when they find whatever the root cause is for either issue, they will later discover that they have found the root cause of both. 

    Bear in mind, anything written here is my opinion which was arrived at thru the annoying process of trial and error. Both of my other 2 computers may come down with "Hundreditis" making everything written here null and void and sending me back to the lab.   That being said, this post is an attempt by several people who were having the same issue to find a solution that worked for all...  I personally have no grand online ego to worry about so if you feel the need to toss insults about, "I'm your huckleberry".  

    One interesting thing to mention.. and this is as I understand it, I had/have another pc (gateway laptop) that was suffering from this same problem. I rolled that unit back to factory reset as soon as it capped out the HD 3 restarts in a row.  That rollback takes it to Win7 and after months of daily use she is still running ship shape and bristle fashion. Just something else to toss into the mix.

    Have a Great one All.. There have been some solid ideas in this mass of postings. 

    sorry all I can't resist.....

    Hey You.. yes you.. Yes, I mean you.. right there. YOU.   The answer to your barrage of questions you think will properly set you as the Alpha.       Obviously, any 5th grader would have thought of that an much more.  Now don't blink. Don't look away. REMEMBER don't Blink!  

    Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.

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