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System and Compressed Memory High Disk Usage [Fix]

Disabling the Prefetch service often does the trick

7 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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If System and compressed memory cause high disk usage on your computer, look no further. In this article, we’ll show more than a couple of ways to solve this problem.

How can I fix System and Compressed Memory issues?

1. Check for memory leaks

We usually start our articles with easier solutions, but not this time. First, you should ensure there are no memoryleaksin your system that might cause System and Compressed Memory high disk usage.

Since this can be a complicated and lengthy process, we’ll save some space for this article.

So, make sure to check outour article about memory leaks, where the whole problem is explained in details, including solutions, of course.

2. Set the paging file size for all drives back to automatic

The paging file size for all drives inWindows 10is usually set to automatic. And that’s how it should be. However, there’s a chance that some external factor, like an update changes these settings. Or even you accidentally did.

If the paging file size is not set to automatic, that can lead to possiblememory leaksand, you guessed it, high disk usage.

So, the obvious solution, in this case, is to set the paging file size back to automatic.

If you’re not sure how to do that, follow these instructions:

3. Turn off “Show me tips about Windows”

Microsoft implemented a new feature intoWindows 10 that gives you tipsand mini-tutorials about the system as you use it.

Even though Microsoft imagined it to be a helpful guide for newWindows 10users, this feature is rather annoying and resource-consuming.

In fact, “Show me tips about Windows” can actually cause high disk or CPU usage, which for example is also the case withRuntime Broker error in Windows 10. And it could also be the main cause of our problem here.

So, in order to resolve the high disk usage issue, we’ll try disabling this feature.

And here’s how to do that:

After disabling this option, you won’t be getting these annoying messages anymore. And hopefully, your disk will be relieved of the heavy load.

4. Disable Desktop Notifications in Chrome

If you useGoogle Chromeas your primary browser, there’s a chance you have Chrome Desktop notifications enabled. While this might be useful to you, it’s surely resource-consuming.

So, if you’re dealing with high disk usage, disabling this feature is recommended.

Here’s how to do that:

5. Update Windows

There’s a chance an update you installed some time ago interferes with some system feature, which causes, you guess, high disk usage. So, it won’t hurt if you check for updates once again.

Maybe it’s a known issue, and Microsoft development team has already prepared the solution.

To update your system, simply go to Settings > Update & security, and check for updates.

6. Roll-back updates

If updating Windows doesn’t solve your problem, we’ll do the exact opposite. Maybe the latest update you installed is exactly the one that causes high disk usage.

In that case, your best bet is to delete the update, and wait for Microsoft to release the new one.

Here’s how to delete updates inWindows 10:

7. Repair Corrupt System Files

If none of the solutions from above solved the problem, we’re going to try running theSFC scan. This built-in tool is made for dealing with various system errors and interferences.

While it doesn’t necessarily mean the SFC scan will solve the problem, it certainly won’t hurt if we try.

In case you don’t know how to run SFC scan, follow these instructions:

8. Run DISM

If the SFC scan found no solutions for the problem, we’ll try with the Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool (DISM).

This tool basically does the same thing as the SFC but with higher accuracy and deepness.

Here’s how to run DISM:

9. Disable the Superfetch service

Superfetch and Prefetch services are there actually to improve your system’s speed and responding time. However, having these services enabled can also lead to high disk usage. So, maybe it would be better for you to disable at least one of them.

Disabling these services helped some users whowere facing high disk usage problemsbefore, and maybe it’ll be helpful in this case, as well.

Here’s how to disable the Superfetch service:

10. Disable the Prefetch service

You can also disable the Prefetch service. Disabling this service is a little more complicated, but it shouldn’t be a problem if you follow these instructions:

11. Kill the Speech Runtime Executable process

Speaking of services, there’s another service calledSpeech Runtime Executablethat can also cause the System and Compressed Memory high disk usage. So, we’re going to kill this process, and see if anything’s different. Here’s how to do that:

12. Limit CPU Usage

And if none of the solutions listed above managed to solve the problem, we’re going to try with limiting CPU usage. This solution helped some users who were facinghigh CPU usage caused by MsMpEng.exe, and maybe it’ll be also helpful in this case

Here’s what you need to do:

That’s about it. We certainly hope at least one of these solutions helped you resolve the System and Compressed Memory high disk usage problem.

If not, maybe it’s time to reinstall your system or check if everything’s okay with yourcomputer’s hardware.

You might also be interested in reading our guide onhow to enable or disable Memory Compressionon Windows 11.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comment section below.

System and Compressed Memory High Disk Usage [Fix]#

How can I fix System and Compressed Memory issues?#

1. Check for memory leaks#

2. Set the paging file size for all drives back to automatic#

3. Turn off “Show me tips about Windows”#

4. Disable Desktop Notifications in Chrome#

5. Update Windows#

6. Roll-back updates#

7. Repair Corrupt System Files#

8. Run DISM#

9. Disable the Superfetch service#

10. Disable the Prefetch service#

11. Kill the Speech Runtime Executable process#

12. Limit CPU Usage#