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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

491 answers

Sort by: Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2015-12-21T03:03:02+00:00

    Bless your soul.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-12-21T12:05:31+00:00

    Some of the earlier posts are stating that they are having the problem also with a SSD hard drive. 

    Theoretically, I would have thought that a SSD would solve the problem.  I do not have a SSD hard drive, and I do not have this problem, after 2 minutes my hard drive goes down to 5% or below.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2015-12-21T23:45:49+00:00

    I agree with the assumption that Windows 10, most times, may work seamlessly with a conventional (SATA) hard disk. Moreover, I have successfully upgraded two PC systems composed with old-versioned processors, memory modules and hard disk in opposite with a newer-versioned PC which emerged the disk usage problem. In last case I had to place a SSD in order to fix it.

    I really believe that the disk usage problem probably has to do with a conflict between some devices of the hardware (maybe some particular versions of SATA hard disks) and the specific features of the OS (Windows 8 and10). 

    In conclusion, I suggest that if somebody can't fix the disk usage problem with other measures, he/she finally  needs to intall a SSD. This step will permanently solve the problem without doubt.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2015-12-22T18:11:53+00:00

    This makes sense.  Windows 10 has been designed with SSD hard disks in mind.  If you want to use Windows 10 make sure you do not buy a clearance Laptop this Christmas with Windows 8.1 one it thinking that all you need to do is upgrade it to Windows 10.  Spend a bit more for a good laptop with Windows 10 on it, preferably with a SSD.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2015-12-22T21:35:24+00:00

    It's December, 2015 and I have had this problem on one of my desktops (now running build 10585) ever since Win-10 upgraded to build 10486(?).  It's only gotten worse since then!

    For the first 10 months of this year (ever since I installed build 9976(?) in January, Windows 10 RAN BEAUTUFULLY! And I recommended it to friends.

    Now-

    -I have set Superfetch to manual and stopped it.

    -  I DO NOT have CHROME running. It IS NOT installed.

    I DO NOT have Skype installed. It is neither Program Files nor Program Files(x32).

    • Skype is not in the list of Programs and Features.  BUT!

        A Skype(32) shows up in the task manager! Whenever I kill it, SkypeHost relaunches it!

      How can I possibly set a "Write" permission on a non-existent phantom program?

    I am now desperately attempting to upgrade to build 11082 on the problem machine. It has been doing this upgrade for the past two days, and is currently at 78%! Yes, I have BITS on, hoping that the upgrade will be taken from this machine as well as through the internet.

     See more of this nonsense at  My TECHNET query.  

    One final note:

    I dual-boot Win-10 and the latest Ubuntu-1510 on these machines.  You should see Ubuntu fly!

    It boots in about 15 seconds or less, versus the minute or so that Win-10 takes on THIS PC and the 5 to 10 minutes it takes on the "slow" PC!

     Hello, Microsoft? Are you listening?

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments