{"id":5946,"date":"2017-11-04T20:06:36","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T14:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=5946"},"modified":"2023-07-31T18:48:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T13:18:32","slug":"program-constantly-writing-hard-disk-io","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/program-constantly-writing-hard-disk-io\/","title":{"rendered":"Find Which Program is Constantly Reading or Writing to Disk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Does your hard drive LED in the computer&#8217;s chassis show non-stop disk input or output activity? If the I\/O operations occur at an alarming rate, sometimes even at 100% disk usage, find the process and stop it from running, especially if you&#8217;re using Solid State Drive. If you&#8217;re wondering which process is thrashing your hard drive continuously, here is how to find the offending program.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/pc-doctor-module-high-cpu-memory-and-disk-usage-and-slowdown\/\">\u201cPC-Doctor Module\u201d High CPU, Memory, Disk Usage and Slowdown<\/a><\/div>\n<h2>Find Which Program is Constantly Reading or Writing to Disk<\/h2>\n<p>The Windows Search Indexer will perform maximum Disk I\/O when building the index <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-rebuild-windows-search-index-fix-problems\/\">from scratch<\/a>. But for subsequent files, it won&#8217;t tax your system that much unless you add too many files every day and also configure Windows Search to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/search-contents-of-any-file-windows-search-indexing\/\">index file contents of additional file types<\/a>, which can cause a performance hit. Some third-party tweakers have options to disable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-rebuild-windows-search-index-fix-problems\/\">Windows Search<\/a> to reduce disk writes by the search indexer, and some users who have SSD drives turn off indexing.<\/p>\n<h3>Use Task Manager to Track Disk Read\/Write I\/O by Programs<\/h3>\n<p>The Search indexer may not always be the culprit, but a poorly coded program is probably taxing the drive. Let&#8217;s use Task Manager to find it out.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Open Task Manager and select the Details tab.<\/li>\n<li>Right-click on the column header (Name, PID, Status, etc.) and click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/configure-task-manager-to-display-full-path-of-running-processes\/\">Select Columns<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Enable the following checkboxes and click OK.\n<ul>\n<li>I\/O read bytes<\/li>\n<li>I\/O write bytes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5949\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/taskmgr-disk-io.png\" alt=\"taskmgr read bytes i\/o write bytes\" width=\"305\" height=\"321\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>I\/O read bytes<\/strong> is the number of bytes read in input\/output operations generated by a process, including file, network, and device I\/Os. Whereas <strong>I\/O write bytes<\/strong> is the number of bytes written in input\/output operations by a process, including file, network, and device I\/Os. I\/O Read Bytes &amp; I\/O Write Bytes directed to CONSOLE (console input object) handles are not counted.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Next, sort the listings by <strong>I\/O Read bytes<\/strong> and see which application is generating the maximum I\/O (in bytes\/sec). Similarly, sort by <strong>I\/O Write bytes<\/strong> to see which program is writing to the hard disk continuously.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5948\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/taskmgr-disk-io-sort.png\" alt=\"taskmgr read bytes i\/o write bytes\" width=\"700\" height=\"268\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"qt\">\n<p>You can track the file system and registry I\/O using the Process Explorer as well.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9412\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/procexp-disk-io.png\" alt=\"track disk io usage - process explorer\" width=\"737\" height=\"211\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Download Process Explorer from <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/sysinternals\/downloads\/process-explorer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Process Explorer &#8211; Windows Sysinternals<\/a> page.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Once you identify the program, decide if you need the program or not. Leave it as it is if the I\/O operations are justified. Else, remove the program or consult its documentation to tweak the settings, if any. For instance, one of your browser extensions may cause high disk or CPU usage. You need to isolate the extension, add-on, or the browser&#8217;s feature causing the trouble.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/google-chrome-high-disk-usage-100-percent\/\">Fix Google Chrome High Disk Usage (100%) Problem<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Use Resource Monitor to Track Disk Read\/Write I\/O by Programs<\/h3>\n<p>When tracking Disk I\/O using Task Manager, there are two limitations.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Task Manager shows the process name responsible for constant disk thrashing either by reads or writes. But it doesn&#8217;t show you the corresponding file name(s).<\/li>\n<li>You can sort by I\/O read or I\/O Writes, but no option to sort the results by Total I\/O (combined Read &amp; Write).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>To overcome Task Manager&#8217;s limitation, and to perform a thorough analysis, use the excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/resource-monitor-find-process-locked-file-windows-7\/\">Resource Monitor<\/a> (<code>resmon.exe<\/code>) utility, which is built-in to Windows.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Start Resource Monitor by running <strong>resmon.exe<\/strong>. Or click <strong>Open Resource Monitor<\/strong> in Task Manager&#8217;s Performance tab.<\/li>\n<li>In Resource Monitor, click the Disk tab. You can sort the items by <strong>Read I\/O<\/strong>, <strong>Write I\/O,<\/strong> and <strong>Total I\/O<\/strong> (bytes\/sec).<\/li>\n<li>See the Disk Activity section, which shows the list of processes &amp; the file name being written to\/read from, and the I\/O speed.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5947\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/resmon-disk-io-sort.png\" alt=\"resource monitor resmon.exe read bytes i\/o write bytes\" width=\"701\" height=\"683\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This gives you a clear picture of what is causing the continuous churning of your hard drive.<\/p>\n<div class=\"qt\">\n<h4>We&#8217;ve covered Resmon before: See its other uses.<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/find-process-locked-file-openfiles-utility\/\">Find Which Process Has Locked a File Without 3rd Party Tools<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/resource-monitor-find-process-locked-file-windows-7\/\">How to Use Resource Monitor to Find Which Process Has Locked a File?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/program-using-internet-resource-monitor\/\">Which Program is Using all of Your Internet Bandwidth? Use Resource Monitor to Find it<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Using Process Monitor<\/h3>\n<p>The excellent <strong>Process Monitor<\/strong> utility can be used to find which file is being written to, and by which process.<\/p>\n<p>In Process Monitor, to capture disk write I\/O configure the filter like this:<\/p>\n<pre>Category \u2192 Write \u2192 Include \u2192 Add \u2192 OK<\/pre>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9414\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/procmon-category-write.png\" alt=\"track disk io usage - process explorer\" width=\"508\" height=\"320\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And then enable the <strong>Show File System Activity<\/strong> button on the toolbar &#8212; disabling the other four buttons.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll see the list of disk\/file I\/O operations and the corresponding processes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9413\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/procmon-disk-write.png\" alt=\"track disk io usage - process explorer\" width=\"711\" height=\"256\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To capture Read operations, the filter would be:<\/p>\n<pre>Category \u2192 Read \u2192 Include \u2192 Add \u2192 OK<\/pre>\n<p>See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/process-monitor-track-events-generate-log-file\/\">How to Use Process Monitor to Track Registry and File System Changes<\/a> for a detailed guide.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Automatic Maintenance tasks?<\/h3>\n<p>If you notice constant hard disk chatter when your system is idle, Windows may be running the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/automatic-maintenance-disable-schedule-windows-8-10\/\">automatic maintenance tasks<\/a> (which is good, unless you&#8217;re running many Virtual Machines on a single host computer simultaneously).<\/p>\n<p>Automatic maintenance is a set of built-in (and 3rd party) scheduled tasks (such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/thumbnail-cache-automatically-deleted-windows-maintenance\/\">disk cleanup<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/stop-windows-store-apps-updating-automatically-windows-10\/\">Store Apps automatic update<\/a> etc.) that trigger when you leave the system idle for about 5 minutes or so. Unless you have a specific &amp; legitimate reason, don&#8217;t disable automatic updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does your hard drive LED in the computer&#8217;s chassis show non-stop disk input or output activity? If the I\/O operations occur at an alarming rate, sometimes even at 100% disk usage, find the process and stop it from running, especially if you&#8217;re using Solid State Drive. If you&#8217;re wondering which process is thrashing your hard &#8230; <a title=\"Find Which Program is Constantly Reading or Writing to Disk\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/program-constantly-writing-hard-disk-io\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Find Which Program is Constantly Reading or Writing to Disk\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[412,414,754,580],"class_list":["post-5946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-windows","tag-process-explorer","tag-process-monitor","tag-resource-monitor","tag-task-manager"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/track-disk-usage-windows.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18487,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/problem-ejecting-usb-mass-storage-device-currently-in-use\/","url_meta":{"origin":5946,"position":0},"title":"Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device Currently In Use","author":"Ramesh","date":"September 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"USB devices, including external USB hard drives, are meant to be hot-pluggable -- you can plug or unplug them when Windows is running. 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If you continue to receive this error, you can use the error code to search for help\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"0x80070091 directory not empty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/0x80070091_dir_not_empty.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18635,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/pc-doctor-module-high-cpu-memory-and-disk-usage-and-slowdown\/","url_meta":{"origin":5946,"position":2},"title":"&#8220;PC-Doctor Module&#8221; High CPU, Memory, Disk Usage and Slowdown","author":"Ramesh","date":"September 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Occasionally, your system may slow down to a crawl due to the PC-Doctor Module process that runs in the background. When this happens, it can take several seconds to open the Task Manager or any program. The Task Manager may show that a process named PC-Doctor Module is occupying 100%\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"dell pc-doctor module 100% cpu and memory usage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/dell-pc-doctor-high-cpu-7.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9086,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/what-is-system-volume-information-can-i-delete\/","url_meta":{"origin":5946,"position":3},"title":"What is System Volume Information and Can I Delete the Folder","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The System Volume Information folder is a hidden and protected folder located at the root of every drive or partition. It's even found on your SD card, USB pen drive, and external hard disk if you have connected them to your Windows computer earlier. 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