The system and compressed memory are responsible for managing and compressing the files on your system. Apart from this, it is also responsible for RAM management.
It usually takes up little space on your processor and disk. But in some cases it can take up a lot of space.
This eventually results in a large disk usage error by the system and compressed memory. This error causes slow system speed and other issues.
This problem can be difficult to solve if you don’t know about it. Hence, here we have collected all the information about the system large disk usage and compressed memory error.
Why is there high system and compressed memory disk usage?
Before moving on to the fixes for the “High System Disk Usage and Compressed Memory” error, you should be well aware of why this problem exists in the first place. The following are some of the main reasons leading to high system and compressed memory disk usage:
- Corrupted system file.
- Incorrect virtual memory settings.
- Incorrect system and compressed memory permissions.
- Fast boot and hibernation interference.
- The presence of faulty computer memory.
- The presence of viruses and malware.
- Hardware drivers are not updated.
So, now you understand what things lead to the problem. And the next step is to fix this problem.
15 Best Fixes for System and Compressed Memory High Disk Usage Problem
Below are the best fixes for high system disk usage and compressed memory issue.
- Restart your computer
- Scan for possible viruses/malware
- Automatically manage paging file size
- Disable system process and compressed memory in general
- Disable Superfetch Service
- Terminate an executable Speech Runtime process
- Optimize your computer’s visuals for better performance
- Check if your computer’s RAM is failing or not
- Repair corrupted system files
- Disable fast startup
- Reconfigure Google Chrome and Skype
- Disable Windows Notifications
- Remove rarely used apps
- Update your drivers
- Perform a clean boot
1. Restart your computer
Back then, restarting the PC was an effective solution to several problems. Why not try this one too. Steps for this:
- Click the Start icon.
- Navigate to the power icon (gear icon).
- Click Reload.
2. Scan for possible viruses/malware
Much of the presence of viruses or malware can result in high system disk usage and compressed memory. This can be easily resolved by contacting Windows Defender or third party antivirus software.
Below is an example using Norton:
- Download Norton Power Eraser and launch it.
- Click the Scan for Risks icon in Norton Power Eraser.
- Wait for the process to complete.
- Once the process is complete, click on the “Finish”button.
3. Automatically manage swap file size
In your Windows 10, the page size of all drivers is set by default. You can manage it by setting Windows to Automatic.
But this action of yours can create problems with memory compression. And this will finally result in 100% System disk usage and high compressed memory disk usage.
Therefore, if you have also configured this setting in the past and are now experiencing this issue, follow these steps:
- Click “Settings”after opening the start menu.
- Performance search.
- Click “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows”.
- Navigate to advanced options in the performance options window.
- In the “Virtual Memory”section, select “Change”.
- Ensure that the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives option is enabled. To do this, put all the checkboxes in front of the option.
- Click OK.
- Click Apply and OK on the Performance Options window.
4. Completely disable the system and the compressed memory process.
If automatic swap file size management for all drivers has already been enabled, then the previous fix is useless.
And it’s 100% that the problem is not in the drivers. In this case, you might be able to fix the problem by disabling the System and Compressed Memory process.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Press the Windows and X keys together.
- Select Control Panel.
- Go to administration tools and select Task Scheduler.
- Expand the contents of the Task Scheduler Library in the left pane by double-clicking on it.
- In the left pane, double-click Microsoft.
- In the left pane, double-click Windows.
- In the left pane, click MemoryDiagnostic to display its contents.
- In the right pane on the right, click on the “Perform a complete memory diagnostic”task, locating it.
- In the context menu, click Disable.
- Restart your computer after closing the task schedulers
Check if the issue is resolved or not.
5. Disable the Superfetch service.
Before you run this fix, you should know that Superfetch has been renamed to Sysmain in Windows 10. Superfetch or Sysmain is responsible for maintaining and improving system performance over time.
But being part of the Windows operating system, it can also damage your Windows computer.
For example, this can be the cause of the problem with high system disk usage and compressed memory. And if this is the case with you, all you have to do is disable the Superfetch service.
This can be done in two ways:
- Disable Superfetch/Sysmain Service from Service Manager
- Press the Windows and R keys to open Run.
- In the Run dialog box, type services. Moscow time
- Press the enter key.
- Navigate Sysmain by scrolling down the service windows. Double click on it.
- Press the “Stop”button.
- Change the startup type of the Sysmain/Superfetch service to Disable.
- Click the “Apply”button.
- Click OK.
- Reboot the system after closing services.
- Disable Superfetch Service Using Registry Editor
- Open the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows and R keys.
- In the Run dialog box, type Regedit and press enter.
- In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following in the left pane.
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
- Go to System.
- Navigate to the current set of controls.
- Go to management.
- Go to session manager.
- Go to memory management.
- In the memory management section, click PerfectParameters.
- Change the “Enable Superfetch”setting by double-clicking it in the right pane of the Registry Editor.
- Replace the value data field with 0 in the enabled Superfetch registry values.
- Click OK.
- Reboot the system after closing the Registry Editor.
Wait for your computer to complete the voting process. And after that, check if the problem with high system disk usage and compressed memory is fixed.
6. Kill the Speech Runtime Process
Users noticed that the Speech Runtime Executable process was causing an issue with high system disk usage and compressed memory. The good part is that you can quickly fix the problem by killing the speech runtime executable process.
This will reduce the consumption of the system and compressed memory processes to the nominal level. To end the speech runtime executable process, do the following:
- Launch Task Manager by pressing the Ctrl, Shift and Esc keys.
- Click on the Speech Runtime Executable process by finding it in the Processes tab.
- Click the “End Task”button.
The Speech Runtime Executable executable can be constantly restarted. In this case, repeat the steps above.
And if the Speech Runtime executable was causing the problem, after following the steps mentioned above, the problem will be fixed.
7. Optimize Your Computer’s Visuals for Better Performance
This fix is also effective in resolving the issue. To optimize your computer’s visuals for the best performance, do this.
- Open the WinX menu by right-clicking the start menu.
- Click System.
- Click “Advanced system settings”. Provide credentials if required.
- Go to Advanced.
- In the Performance section, click Settings.
- Select Adjust for best performance.
- Click Apply.
- Click OK.
- In the system properties, click the Apply and Ok buttons.
- Restart the system after closing all windows.
8. Check if your computer’s RAM is failing.
There is a high chance that the problem in your system is caused by a faulty RAM. If so, replace the existing RAM with the new one.
But if you have more than one stick of RAM installed on your PC, chances are that only one of them is causing the problem. Then simply replace the flash drive one by one and check if the problem persists after each replacement.
The stick, in the absence of which the problem disappears in your system, is the cause of the problem.
RAM in most cases does not fail, but still there is such a possibility. Therefore, you must know how to fix it.
9. Repair corrupted system files
Follow these steps to repair corrupted system files:
- Open a command prompt by searching for cmd and pressing the Enter key.
- Type the following command and press enter.
- sfc/scannow
- sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows (If the above doesn’t help, try this)
- Wait for the process to complete.
- Reboot the system.
- Open cmd again and enter the following commands.
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /restorehealth
- Press the enter key
- Wait for the DISM command to run and complete.
- If the above command does not work, enter this command. Dism/Image:C:\offline/Cleanup-Image/restorehealth/Source:c:\test\mount\windows
- Dism/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth/Source:c:\test\mount\windows/LimitAccess
- Save your changes by restarting your PC.
Check if the problem that occurred on your computer is fixed or not.
10. Disable Fast Startup
- Open Run by pressing the Windows + R keys.
- Enter Manage in the field.
- Press the enter key.
- The control panel will open on your screen.
- Select the “Hardware and Sound”option.
- Click Power Options.
- Select, then choose what the power buttons do in the left pane of the window.
- Click on the edit options that are currently unavailable.
- Uncheck the box next to Enable Fast Startup.
- Click the save changes button.
- Restart your computer.
11. Reconfigure Google Chrome and Skype
For Google Chrome:
- Proceed to the following sections in chrome.
- Go to settings.
- Go to advanced settings.
- Click Privacy.
- Choose to use a prediction service for faster page loading.
- Turn off the toggle next to the above option.
For Skype:
- Please check if you are signed out of Skype before proceeding with the steps.
- If you haven’t done so, go to Task Manager for Skype and end the task.
- Press the Windows and R keys.
- Enter this C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\ and click OK.
- Select properties by right-clicking the Skype.exe file.
- Click the security tab.
- Click on the edit button.
- Select All app packages under usernames or groups.
- Check the box next to the recording option under Allow.
- Click the Apply button.
- Click OK.
12. Turn off Windows notifications
- Open Settings by pressing Windows and I keys.
- Select System.
- Click Notifications & actions.
- Clear the checkbox before getting tips, tricks, and suggestions when using the Windows option.
13. Remove rarely used apps
If you have multiple applications installed on your system, this can also lead to high disk usage issues. Hence, it is always advised to uninstall apps that you don’t use often in order to fix this issue.
You can create a system restore point so you don’t delete important apps. So you can restore that important app that you deleted by mistake during the process.
14. Update your drivers
If you haven’t updated your hardware drivers, this can lead to several problems. So you need to keep them updated. First, you need to upgrade your video adapter and other hardware.
These steps can do it:
- In the search box, type Device Manager.
- Open Device Manager.
- Select Drives.
- Select one of the drives in your system.
- Select “Update Driver”by right-clicking the drives.
- Select Automatically search for drivers in new windows.
- Close windows if this disc is the newest.
- Select all other hardware one by one and make sure it is up to date.
- Reboot the system.
15. Perform a clean boot
Follow the steps below to clean boot your system.
- Press the Windows and R keys.
- Type msconfig in the Run dialog box.
- Press the enter key.
- Go to the “Services”tab.
- Select Hide all Microsoft services.
- Click the Disable All button.
- Go to the “Startup”tab.
- Click on the “Open Task Manager”option.
- Click the “Disable”button on the “Startup”tab.
- Close Task Manager.
- Go to the “Startup”tab and click “OK”.
Tips and Tricks to Avoid High System Disk Usage and Compressed Memory
Above, we have mentioned all the fixes that can be used to resolve this issue. But what if we can avoid this problem altogether? Yes, you read it right. We have tips and tricks on how to avoid excessive disk usage by the system and compressed memory. This:
- Add more RAM: If you add more RAM to your system, it might just make it less likely to be heavily used. This is due to the fact that this problem is directly related to the operation of RAM.
- Uninstall apps: As more apps are installed, more disk space will be required. Therefore, uninstall an application that you no longer need. This can be done using the control panel.
- Close unnecessary apps/windows/tabs: Close any apps or tabs you have been using that are no longer needed.
- Update all drivers: Some freezing issues can be easily avoided by keeping your drivers up to date.
Conclusion
Hence, you should be able to fix this problem. And after each fix, you should check if the issue is resolved before moving on to the next fix. We hope we have been of service to you throughout this journey.
If you use your system for hard work on a daily basis, these types of problems can create a lot of chaos. Therefore, it becomes necessary to refer to them.
And this, too, can be avoided by the above methods. Otherwise, if you can’t fix the problem after trying everything, you’ll need the help of a technician or professional.