Windows 8 very slow and disk usage is 100%

[messi-m]

Windows 8 is working extremely slow on my system. When I checked in task manager I saw the cpu and fan usage simply popups upto 100%. It is not getting down at all. Each and every application is extremely slow in response and does not allow me to make any changes. The metro ui also takes a really long time to appear on the screen. I tried to remove some recent applications also but that also is not working. Can anyone help me to fix the issue. I am having Norton in my system as antivirus.

[Evoldo]

Just check whether background scan is running. Sometime antivirus scan is scheduled on the basis of prescribed time interval and it keeps on looking for new threats. Due to which the system works more slow. It is essential that you must turn off all the background services.

[Dayanidhi]

This can be due to lots of startup services .Windows 8 works well if you have atleast 4GB of ram and mid range gpu. The os is new but somehow it is loaded with tons of additional features that makes it bulky in terms of performance. And if you are trying to run the same on a low hardware config then surely your system output will be affected. Type msconfig is the search box. You can get that by pressing Ctrl + F or through the charm bar. In the search box type msconfig and hit enter. In the current window go to startup and first tick on hide all microsoft services. Then disable everything. Reboot your system and then test back. I think that will be a bit more better in giving you more proper output. This is a bit helpful in getting instant result when your system is working slow. The next thing you have do is to go in Control Panel > Uninstall a program and remove applications which you are not using. You can do this in safe mode. Under safe mode a few number of applications works which is the best place to troubleshoot windows errors.

[Phalguni88]

Just add a new ram. That might fix the issue. I was also dealing with the same kind of issue on my laptop which came with Windows 8. But when I added one more then it went back to normal. The performance much improved.

[Addison]

What you can see in task manager. Go in process and sort by cpu or ram. The top application will give you a bit help in finding out the problem behind slow performance. Like in my case I use Firefox as my default web browser. I had open multiple tabs with separate videos on each of them. Due to which ram consumption increases. But when I turn it off the system went back to normal as it was before. But if nothing works out then the only option left here is to install windows back again. Sometime unwanted updates also cause the same issue. Try to use a lighter version of antivirus here. Norton is good for high end system. It occupies a good space in the ram making your system work relatively slower. I do this always when there is nothing left. I had created a complete system image via Backup and Recovery. And restore it back whenever needed.

[Addison]

What you can see in task manager. Go in process and sort by cpu or ram. The top application will give you a bit help in finding out the problem behind slow performance. Like in my case I use firefox as my default web browser. I had open multiple tabs with separate videos on each of them. Due to which ram consumption increases. But when I turn it off the system went back to normal as it was before. But if nothing works out then the only option left here is to install windows back again. Sometime unwanted updates also cause the same issue. Try to use a lighter version of antivirus here. Norton is good for high end system. It occupies a good space in the ram making your system work relatively slower. I do this always when there is nothing left. I had created a complete system image via Backup and Recovery. And restore it back whenever needed.