100% disk usage, sound from hard drive

[Ollie L.]

Task Manager shows my disk usage constantly at 100%, I can barely get anything done because it's so slow.

I've tried various tricks, checking the system files, stopping the fetcher(?), various command prompts, I checked the controller iaStorA.sys (not the one that's bad apparently), updating drivers, nothing seems to make a difference (it's stuck on updating Windows Defender right now too).

I attached a sound recording of the hard drive, is this just the sound it makes because it's constantly being accessed or is it something else? (it won't let me attach a .m4a file)

It's a Lenovo X230, it's worked well for me for seven years but I'm getting to the point where I'm going to either: smash it against a wall, buy a new Lenovo and transfer everything to that, or download 20H2 and try to figure out how to do a clean install (any good sites to walk me through that?)

(It also recently started telling me on occasion that my battery is incompatible; it's the same battery I've had for years (44++).

The audio is often turned off, maybe because I disabled updatechecker.exe and NetLink install tool in the Startup?)

 

[Wolfie]

Hi Ollie,

I just did a recovery job for a friend whose SATA HDD was failing, it is quite possible that you have a damaged drive as you say other things are happening too. If you don't have an SSD drive, get one and replace the drive you have as you said the laptop is 7 years old!!!.

 

[clifford_cooley]

I just did a recovery job for a friend whose SATA HDD was failing

That and malware are the only two reasons, I have seen for unknown high disk usage.

 

[Walldoo99]

Download Crystal disk info and run it. This will tell you if there is an issue in the drive. It can cause the constant 100%. Have you just installed an update that is still trying to set up, it takes a while
The x230 if a perfectly good unit and it's build tough, so smashing it might be more of a job that you are ready for. You could pour a glass of water on the keyboard, but it will just run out through the drain holes and get the desk wet. You could try dropping it 5' on to concrete, but then again they are tough and that's how they were tested in the factory.
If the hard drive test good, run malwarebytes. But either way, a solid state drive is awesome in those units, even after doing updates it recover very fast. you can use TODOeaseus to clone the drive to an SSD and make sure to set to optimize for SSD I have the x230's uncle I guess, the T420 it's a year older and a 14", so your laptop isn't old, it's just getting broken in.
Also check what percentage of the drive is open and make sure you don't have old versions of windows after upgrading, run dick cleanup and select to clean system, with the drive at 100% this could take all day. Once you click the system button, walk away and check back from time to time. Before you start cleanup, make sure to plug in and set power to never sleep or turn off.

 

[sjoblom]

Check this link, might be a helpful "lifesaver" ;-)

Remove Viruses, Trojans and Malware from Windows (Free Guide)

This guide teaches you how to remove viruses, trojans, and other malware for free by following easy step-by-step instructions.

malwaretips.com

 

[Grizzly]

If your PC is already 7 years old, a failing HDD is not too far from the truth. I would get me a SSD and reinstall Windows 10 altogether. Since a drive change does not make your License invalid, you can simply go ahead and do a clean install. The laptop I am writing this from is from 2007 and still runs Windows 10, although with a SSD drive you get a drastic performance boost.

Your other issues might also go away with a clean install. However I would not use your current drive anymore until you have saved all your data.

 

[sjoblom]

Like "Grizzly" I also upgraded a 11 year old laptop. It was barely useable with the old disk, after replacing it with a standard SSD disk it was like magic, performance was back to normal again. And you don't need any fancy SSD disk. I bought a used 240G on a swedish trading site for less than $20.

 

[Walldoo99]

Like "Grizzly" I also upgraded a 11 year old laptop. It was barely useable with the old disk, after replacing it with a standard SSD disk it was like magic, performance was back to normal again. And you don't need any fancy SSD disk. I bought a used 240G on a swedish trading site for less than $20.

You're right, I get the cheapest 240Gb amazon has when they are on sale for about $35 and the beauty of a used ssd is, they have a long long life. Around here the used ones are more than the new ones for some reason. I think it like the guy selling an old PC on craigslist, it was $2500 new, asking 1500. But you bought it new in 1995 and it's a 133mmx cpu.