CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201)Hardware and Network TroubleshootingMedium
A user reports that their laptop is running extremely slowly, and applications frequently crash. The technician opens Task Manager and observes that the disk utilization is consistently at 100%, even when no major applications are running. The system has 8GB of RAM. What is the MOST likely cause of this performance issue?
- AAn overheating CPU throttling performance.
- BA failing hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD).
- CA lack of sufficient free space on the primary partition.
- DCorrupted operating system files requiring reinstallation.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. A failing hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD).
Consistent 100% disk utilization, especially without heavy application use, is a strong indicator of a failing hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD). The drive struggles to read/write data, causing the system to wait and leading to extreme slowdowns and application crashes.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Overheating CPU typically manifests as system shutdowns, reboots, or general slowdowns, but not specifically 100% disk utilization.
- C. Lack of free space can slow down a system, especially if the OS needs to use swap files, but it doesn't typically cause persistent 100% disk utilization without active data transfers.
- D. Corrupted OS files would likely cause boot issues, blue screens, or specific application failures, but not consistently high disk utilization unless the corruption is causing constant disk access in an attempt to repair or read bad sectors.
100% Disk Utilization
A system state where the storage drive (HDD or SSD) is constantly operating at maximum capacity, leading to severe performance bottlenecks.
- Often indicates a failing drive, struggling with read/write operations.
- Can be caused by background processes, malware, or driver issues.
- Leads to extreme system slowdowns, application crashes, and unresponsiveness.
Memory trick: When the disk is always busy at 100%, it's likely struggling to keep up, or even failing.