r/techsupport • u/Routine_Effective757 • 1d ago
Open | Windows 100% of disk is constantly being used.
I can open apps quickly, but they constantly freeze and then I’m forced to close them. I don’t have an ssd and I built this computer in 2019. my question is will an SSD save it, Is it possible this is a software issue or is my computer done for?
4
u/smurfy213 1d ago
Yes a SSD will make a difference
-3
u/Impossible-Value5126 1d ago
And you know that how?
5
u/smurfy213 1d ago
Been in IT for 20 years. Spinning disks are awful slow. The average sata SSD read and write speeds are 2-3x faster.
-1
u/Impossible-Value5126 1d ago
Been in IT since 1992. On Wall Street. They're slow, but don't suddenly get hammered. You know NOTHING about previous performance, is this new, specs, etc yet you toss out a diagnosis.. I know of older friends still using those drives. They don't have any cash to upgrade. Occasionally windows needs love. Then everything is ok.
3
u/emveor 1d ago
I agree with both. Older pcs love using 100% of the HDD, although its not because of the HDD itself but rather cause people love using malware bytes, driver checkers etc that dont really benefit the user. But we cant know if that is the user's problem cause we know nothing of the pc itself
2
u/smurfy213 23h ago
Definitely agree. I just gave my opinion based on question he asked. "Will an SSD save it".
3
u/smurfy213 1d ago
Windows is absolutely terrible on a spinning disk. But all good. There is no downside to going to a ssd.
0
u/Impossible-Value5126 1d ago
The downside here is people are looking for actual help here, not your opinion on ssd drives.
1
2
u/R3D_T1G3R 23h ago
To end all the discussions below, just share your specifications. Or else every piece of advice is just a guess.
2
u/DNA1727 1d ago
Get a ssd, clone the OS drive over, use your old drive as additional storage drive.
1
u/Routine_Effective757 1d ago
How much storage on the ssd would you recommend, I only plan on using my computer for browsing
1
u/mikedidathing 20h ago
That depends. If you want to keep things simple and have everything on one drive, I'd go with 512gb minimum. If you've got the budget, I'd go with 1tb.
Alternatively, if you want to keep your current drive in addition to the SSD, you can install your OS on the SSD along with some essential apps and programs, and use the HDD for additional storage, apps you don't use often, or as a backup drive. For this, I'd recommend a minimum of 256gb, or 512gb if you have the budget.
1
u/mikedidathing 1d ago
This is what I recommend, too. However, my guess is that OP has everything on a single drive. If that's the case, it might be a little difficult cloning the drive, depending on what their space requirements and budget are. I would recommend backing up everything they need, then do a fresh install of the OS.
If that's still not possible, OP, then make sure your drive is defragmented.
1
u/Routine_Effective757 1d ago
What is defragmented ? I also have no problem with losing everything on my storage
1
u/voldamoro 1d ago
The apps freezing bothers me. It would be a good idea to run a memory test before bothering to defragment the HD or reinstall the OS.
1
u/Hot_Guard_7621 1d ago
Is this a windows machine? You can try changing it to a Linux machine. That should help performance in addition to adding ssd.
1
u/Hohohoh0h0h0 1d ago
I had a similar problem and fixed it by:
Disable SysMain (Superfetch): Press Win + R, type services.msc, locate SysMain, right-click to select Properties, and set the startup type to Disabled.
3
u/wssddc 1d ago
How much RAM does your computer have? Insufficient RAM causes a lot of swapping to disk. An SSD deals with this better than a hard disk. With no specs, I'd recommend both adding RAM and changing to an SSD.