3 Fixes to 100% Disk Use on Windows 11 

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If you’re a Windows 11 user you have probably already faced a particularly annoying problem at least once. That’s right: getting a 100% disk usage error on your Windows 11 PC. Normally, this just means you have to manage your disk usage and maybe clean out some old programs you don’t need anymore. But on Windows 11, this notification is a whole other problem. You could be playing a high-intensity online game with an excellent ping on Cox internet plans. And suddenly the game crashes and the Disk Usage notification pops up. Sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? Here’s how you fix it. 

 Ways to Fix the 100% Disk Usage Error 

When Windows 11 came out, it brought a whole new user interface that wowed users everywhere. But underneath all the new features and functions, the platform seems to have trouble getting rid of a few bugs. These are usually minor but annoying ones. For example, users may not be getting any audio on their PC after installing Windows 11. But the 100% disk usage issue is one of the most annoying bugs to get past. Users experience sudden and inexplicable spikes in disk usage. This seems to happen even when a PC is idling without running and active programs.  

Why does this happen? Usually, because Windows 11 has additional native programs running passively in the background. Even if you’re not using them, or even aware of them, they still consume disk space. But there are ways to get around the problem. There are several ways to help you fix the 100% disk utilization issue. Here are 6 easy ones to begin with: 

Use System Properties to Reset Virtual Memory 

PCs typically use RAM for most functions. But when the RAM usage reaches its upper limit, a computer may also use hard disk memory. The RAM usage involves temporary parking running files and applications in hard disk memory.  

For minor usage, the additional hard disk space used does not pose a problem. But for intensive use, especially on Windows 11, the PC could start consuming too much disk space in addition to RAM. This will impair the user experience. Luckily, the Windows 11 OS lets you free up virtual memory space with ease. This makes sure the computer does not keep consuming hard disk space 24/7. Resetting the virtual memory is fairly easy. Here’s how:  

  1. Press Win+R to open the Run window.  

  1. Type “sysdm.cpl” to open Systems Properties through Run. 

  1. Look for the tab titled “Advanced”  

  1. Under this tab, look for Performance and click on “Settings”.  

  1. Click the “Advanced” tab in “Performance Options”.  

  1. Click “Change” and select the “Custom size” option.  

  1. Fill in the fields for Initial and Maximum size. 

The Maximum option should not be more than 1.5x of your existing RAM. Initial size of 1.9 GB or 1900 MB should work as well. You can also find the OS recommendations in the same window you’re selecting sizes in.  

Turn Off MSI Mode Through Device Manager  

No this is not your MSI GPU we are talking about. Some Windows 11 users may face hard disk issues due to incompatible firmware. This usually comes from AHCI PCIe controllers. When the firmware is incompatible, for example on certain device drivers, disk usage could spike. The MSI or Message Signal Interrupted mode helps regulate this, but it also consumes disk space on its own. Microsoft does say you can cut down disk space use simply but disabling MSI mode. Here’s how:  

  1. Open Windows Device Manager with Windows X.  

  1. From the list of devices, locate “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers”. 

  1. Expand the heading and select the entry’s Properties window.   

  1. Select “Driver” from the Properties window and head to “Driver Details”.  

  1. A StorAHCI.sys entry means you may have an incompatibility issue.  

  1. From “Details” select the “Device instance path” property and copy the path.  

The next steps are fairly simple.  

  • Open Windows Registry Editor and move to this path: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\ 

  • Look for the entry that matches the one you copied.  

  • Click on this entry to expand it and select Device Parameters.  

  • On the list, look for the words MessageSignaledIntrruptProperties.  

  • If the entry has an MSISupported status, open it and change it to 0.  

  • After closing Windows Registry Editor, restart your PC and check memory usage.  

Change Settings on Apps Launching at Startup 

Like any other OS, a few applications have a default setting to launch as soon as you turn on your computer. Many of these may not see active use. But they will still run programs in the background. And as we all know, running programs consume memory, whether RAM or disk space. These applications could be feeding on memory passively, while you struggle to run active programs. Disabling them, however, is very easy. Once you know what programs launch on startup, disable the ones you don’t really need by:  

  1. Open Task Manager on Windows 11.  

  1. Locate the tab titled “Startup”.  

  1. Look through the list of apps that launch on startup.  

  1. Right-click to disable auto-launch on startup.  

Once done, try rebooting your PC. You should see a sharp drop in disk space use. There may be several other alternatives to freeing up disk space on Windows 11. But these 3 often help you cut down disk space use considerably.  

 

 

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