Superfetch is a standard Windows feature that preloads the apps you use most frequently. By loading these programs in advance, Service Host Superfetch aims to speed up your PC. Superfetch is part of Windows 10, and has come built-in with all versions of Windows since Windows Vista in 2007.What is Superfetch?
Superfetch can extend startup times by preloading programs before Windows can get itself up and running. Though Superfetch is usually helpful, sometimes it can slow down your PC. As a background service, Superfetch constantly uses some CPU and RAM resources. Try disabling Superfetch if you encounter these issues.
How to disable Superfetch in Windows 10
You may notice that Superfetch is slowing down your PC, rather than speeding it up. If that’s the case, here’s how to turn off Superfetch in Windows 10, in two different ways:
Turn off Superfetch in Windows 10 with services.msc
Right-click the Windows button in the lower-left corner of your desktop, then click Run. Type services.msc and click OK to open the Windows Service Manager.
In the Windows Service Manager, locate the Sysmain entry. Double-click it and set the Startup type status to Disabled.
Click OK, then reboot your system. Service Host Superfetch will be disabled.
Turn off Superfetch with the Windows 10 Command Prompt
Open the Start menu and type cmd. Select Run as administrator. Click Yes when prompted.
Paste the following command into the Command Prompt, then press Enter:
sc stop “SysMain” & sc config “SysMain” start=disabled
Restart your computer to use Windows with Superfetch turned off.
At times, Superfetch can eat up a lot of CPU resources and RAM, which may drive your disk usage up to 100%, raise CPU temperatures, and decrease your computer’s speed. If these problems persist even with Superfetch turned off, go ahead and turn it back on — your performance issues aren’t being caused by Superfetch.
How to enable Superfetch in Windows 10
Turning on Superfetch may help improve performance. Here’s how to turn on Superfetch in Windows 10:
Turn on Superfetch in Windows 10 with services.msc
Right-click the Windows button in the lower-left corner of your desktop, then click Run. Type services.msc and press Enter.
Scroll down and double-click Sysmain, then choose Automatic (Delayed Start).
Click OK, then restart your computer. Superfetch will now be enabled in Windows 10.
(Video) How to disable Superfetch/Sysmain, What is it & Why it can cause high disk usage - Windows Tutorial
Turn on Superfetch with the Windows 10 Command Prompt
Type cmd in the Start menu, click Run as administrator, and choose Yes when prompted.
Enter the command below into the Command Prompt, then press the Enter key.
sc config “SysMain” start=auto & sc start “SysMain”
Restart your computer to enable Superfetch.
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How does Service Host Superfetch work?
Service Host Superfetch predicts which programs you’ll use at which times, then preloads those apps into your RAM (short-term memory). Here’s a detailed look at how Service Host Superfetch works:
Superfetch preloads apps (and boot files) into your RAM when it thinks you’re going to use them. This is designed to prevent Windows from needing to dip into the slower hard disk as frequently as it otherwise would.
By analyzing your behavior, Superfetch’s algorithm will anticipate which apps you’ll use and when. Superfetch is able to predict up to three apps at any time.
Superfetch knows to prioritize active programs over background tasks, such as defragging your hard drive. Windows Service Host Superfetch will run these tasks when your computer is idle.
Superfetch learns as you continue to use your computer. As your habits change and you use different programs more or less frequently, Superfetch adapts to your needs.
How to monitor Superfetch’s disk usage
If your computer feels slower than it should be, you can check to see if Superfetch is causing high disk usage. Here’s how to monitor Superfetch in Windows 10:
Right-click the Taskbar and choose Task Manager.
In the Task Manager, find an item called Service Host: SysMain — also known as Service Host Superfetch.
Superfetch’s disk usage should be minimal at most — if you see a high CPU usage percentage or double-digit MB/s disk usage for more than a few minutes, turn Superfetch off. Should this persist, you may note high CPU temperatures as a result.
Should I disable Superfetch?
You should disable Superfetch if you notice that it’s increasing CPU usage, eating up RAM, or throwing your hard disk into overdrive. With Superfetch overusing disk resources, it could cause a noticeable drop in your computer’s speed and performance. This can happen even if you’re using an SSD instead of an older HDD.
Slowdowns caused by Superfetch typically result from Superfetch preloading too many apps, or guessing wrong and loading apps that you aren’t going to use. When you choose to open a different program, your RAM isn’t ready for it. Turn off Superfetch and see if your SSD or HDD works any faster. Learn more about how to check your RAM.
Why do we need Superfetch in Windows 10?
Most of the time, Superfetch improves the performance of Windows PCs. The more Superfetch learns about your habits, the more accurately it can predict when you’ll use a certain app and preload it.
When you install new apps, the Superfetch queue is cleared to ensure there’s enough RAM. As you use these new apps, Superfetch analyzes when and how often. Microsoft’s Michael Fortin has spoken at length about the Superfetch design process and how it can improve your PC’s performance.
But sometimes, Superfetch can actually cause more problems than it fixes, and turning off Superfetch may help.
Is Service Host Superfetch necessary for gaming?
By preloading your game when you’re about to play, Superfetch should help optimize your PC for gaming. But some gamers report Superfetch taking up disk resources — even after a gaming session is over.
Game files can be very large, sometimes exceeding 100 GB. If Superfetch detects that you regularly play a game, it may get a bit too excited and attempt to preload the game’s files into your RAM — this is where things can go wrong. Superfetch will struggle to deal with these massive file sizes, and you may want to disable Superfetch to see if performance improves.
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FAQs
What is Superfetch and should I disable it? ›
Superfetch can extend startup times by preloading programs before Windows can get itself up and running. Though Superfetch is usually helpful, sometimes it can slow down your PC. As a background service, Superfetch constantly uses some CPU and RAM resources. Try disabling Superfetch if you encounter these issues.
How do I disable Superfetch command? ›Method #3: Disable Superfetch with Command Prompt
Click Windows Start > search for Command Prompt. In the Command Prompt, type net.exe stop Superfetch > then press Enter. If the PC says the command above isn't valid, type net.exe stop sysmain instead > and press Enter.
- Click the Start button or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
- Search for cmd or Windows Terminal.
- Click the Run as Administrator option on the right.
- In the prompt, run the following command: sc stop "SysMain" & sc config "SysMain" start=disabled.
#1) Click on the Windows button, search for Command Prompt, and click on “Run as administrator“, as displayed in the image below. #2) Type “sc stop “SysMain” and press Enter and then type “Scconfig “SysMain” start=disabled”, and press Enter again. Your SysMain service will be disabled.
What is causing my hard drive to run at 100? ›Running lots of applications at once may cause 100% disk usage in Windows 10. Uninstalling these programs often isn't possible, because you may need them. Manually pausing the background apps is only a short-term solution, as many will restart upon bootup or run quietly in the background.
Why is my hard drive always 100 Windows 10? ›Virtual memory treats your disk as if it is RAM and uses it to swap out temporary files when it runs out of actual RAM. Errors in the pagefile. sys can cause 100% disk usage on your Windows 10 machine. The remedy to this problem is to reset your virtual memory settings.
Can I safely disable Superfetch? ›Is it Safe to Disable Superfetch? Yes! There are no side effects if you decide to turn it off. If your system is running well, leave it on.
How do I disable Superfetch 100 disk usage Windows 10? ›Disable the SuperFetch Feature
To disable it, launch the Command Prompt as Admin and type: net.exe stop superfetch and hit Enter. Give it a few minutes and see if that improves the disk usage percentage in Task Manager.
Defenders shouldn't disable PowerShell, a scripting language, because it is a useful command-line interface for Windows that can help with forensics, incident response and automating desktop tasks, according to joint advice from the US spy service the National Security Agency (NSA), the US Cybersecurity and ...
What is Windows 10 Superfetch? ›Improve Article. Save Article. Windows Vista introduced the Superfetch (SysMain) capability, which is still a part of the Windows operating system. It is a built-in service designed to speed up startup times and enhance performance by preloading frequently used apps in RAM.
How do I disable Superfetch service in Windows 11? ›
To turn off Windows' Superfetch service graphically, use the Services window on your PC. On the “Services” window, in the right pane, find the entry named “SysMain.” Then right-click this entry and choose “Stop.”
Does turning off SysMain increase performance? ›While keeping SysMain enabled should be acceptable, you might want to turn it off to determine whether your PC is running slowly. Speeds and boot times can be increased by disabling it.
What Windows services can I disable? ›- Disable Windows Defender. ...
- Windows Mobile Hotspot Service. ...
- Print Spooler. ...
- Fax Service. ...
- Downloaded Maps Manager. ...
- Windows 10 Security Center. ...
- Certificate Propagation Service. ...
- Universal Telemetry Client (UTC)
SysMain is a certified Windows 10 process. It aims to analyze your computer usage and improve it by using the collected data. For example, it's able to speed up app launch times and performance. Unfortunately, having SysMain enabled may cause more harm than good.
What are signs that a computer hard drive is failing? ›Common signs for a failing hard drive include sluggish performance, unusual noises (clicking or loud component sounds), and an increase number of corrupted files. These are textbook symptoms for the inevitably of a failing hard drive and action should be taken quickly to save your files from being lost.
How do you know if your computer has a hard drive problem? ›- Overheating.
- Strange sounds.
- Corrupted data, files, and folders.
- Major slowdowns.
- Stuck spindle motor.
- Frequent error messages.
- System crashes.
- Blue Screen of Death.
However, hard drives do need empty space for virtual memory. When your RAM becomes full, it creates a file on your hard drive for the overflow tasks. If you do not have space available for this, the computer may slow down drastically.
How do I clean my computer boot? ›- Press thei "Windows + R" key to open a Run box.
- Type msconfig and click OK.
- On the General tab, click Selective startup.
- Clear the Load startup items check box.
- Click the Services tab.
- Select the Hide all Microsoft services check box (at the bottom).
- Click Disable all.
- Click the Startup tab.
Why is my memory usage so high in Windows 10? One reason could be a big program or game that takes high system RAM. The other reason could be malware that caused your device high memory usage.
How do I run a chkdsk scan? ›- Type cmd (Command Prompt) in the Start menu search bar, then click Run as administrator.
- Type chkdsk and hit Enter. CHKDSK will scan for drive errors and let you know if it found any you should repair, but it won't try to fix them without a command.
Does Superfetch slow down computer? ›
Superfetch doesn't cause problems just for games: Even on normal work machines Superfetch can cause high CPU usage, drain your memory (RAM), and thrash your hard disk, massively impacting your computer's speed and overall performance.
How do I reduce hard drive usage in Windows 10? ›- Open the Start menu and select Settings > System > Storage . Open Storage settings.
- Select Configure Storage Sense or run it now, and under Temporary Files, select when you want each type of files deleted. Note: To delete unnecessary files manually instead, scroll down and under Free up space now, select Clean now.
- Go to the Start Menu and click on Settings.
- Type performance.
- Choose Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.
- In the new window, go to the Advanced tab and under the Virtual memory section, click on Change.
- 1. Make sure you have the latest updates for Windows and device drivers. ...
- Restart your PC and open only the apps you need. ...
- Use ReadyBoost to help improve performance. ...
- 4. Make sure the system is managing the page file size. ...
- Check for low disk space and free up space.
Click Start > All Programs > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance > Settings > Advanced > Virtual Memory. Click Change. In the Maximum size field, set the value to the recommended value shown at the bottom of the window.
Why is Superfetch using so much disk? ›Superfetch is like drive caching. It copies all your commonly used files to RAM. This allows programs to boot faster. However, if your system doesn't have the latest hardware, Service Host Superfetch can easily cause high disk usage.
What is causing 100 disk Usage Windows 11? ›Leftover temporary files could be causing extra disk load, and deleting the files can fix 100 percent disk usage on Windows 11. To delete temp files from Windows 11: Use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog. In Run, type %temp% and click OK.
Why is service host using so much disk? ›The issue service host local system high disk may be caused by corrupted system files. So if you come across the issue service host local system high CPU, you can try to run System File Checker to check and repair the corrupted system files.
What happens if you turn off Windows PowerShell? ›PowerShell runs as a user-mode application, which means it can only do what the user himself can do. If you disable PowerShell, a user can still accomplish the same actions; he will just use another method to accomplish tasks, such as the command prompt, tools, scripts, and so on.
Why do people use PowerShell? ›As a scripting language, PowerShell is commonly used for automating the management of systems. It is also used to build, test, and deploy solutions, often in CI/CD environments. PowerShell is built on the . NET Common Language Runtime (CLR).
How do I know if my system files are corrupted? ›
In the command prompt window, type SFC /scannow and press Enter . System file checker utility checks the integrity of Windows system files and repairs them if required. After the process is complete, reboot the computer.
Is it OK to disable Windows Search? ›The Windows Search Indexer is only required if you search your directories and files. In other words, if you don't use Windows search to locate specific files or media, you can definitely disable it. In addition, disabling the Windows Search Indexer will result in a noticeable performance improvement.
Is Superfetch disabled for SSD? ›Yes, for most systems with SSDs. If the system disk is an SSD, and the SSD performs adequately on random reads and doesn't have glaring performance issues with random writes or flushes, then Superfetch, boot prefetching, application launch prefetching, ReadyBoost and ReadDrive will all be disabled.
What should I disable in Windows 11 for better performance? ›- Restart, Update.
- Disable Startup Programs/Apps.
- Debloat Windows 11.
- Change Power Mode.
- Defragment Hard Disk.
- Add More Memory on Windows 11 (RAM/SSD Upgrade)
- Disable Restartable Apps.
- Uninstall Unwanted Software/Bloatware.
- Tip 1: Manage autostart programs.
- Tip 2: Clear memory via disk cleanup.
- Tip 3: Uninstall obsolete programs.
- Tip 4: Turn off visual effects.
- Tip 5: Turn off background apps.
- Tip 6: Turn off app notifications.
- Tip 7: Update Windows.
- Tip 8: Defragmentation.
- Disable MSI Mode for the Default AHCI Driver. ...
- Disable the SysMain (Superfetch) Service. ...
- Disable Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Service. ...
- Clean Up Startup Apps. ...
- Rebuild Search Index. ...
- Disable Windows Search.
On Windows XP it was known as Prefetch. Superfetch was introduced in Windows Vista, and on the latest versions of Windows 10 it's now known as Sysmain.
What happens if you end SysMain? ›It analyzes your computer usage patterns and optimizes app launching and programs on your computer. If you end this tasks this process will stop and there may not be any noticeable difference for your performance.In many of the cases it lags the performance by causing high disk usage.
Does disabling Windows services improve performance? ›Windows 10 services are important components to maintain the smooth running of your computer. However, not all of them are necessary for you. You can disable unnecessary service in Windows 10 to improve your computer performance.
What are the unnecessary processes in Windows 10? ›- Some Common Sense Advice First.
- The Print Spooler.
- Windows Image Acquisition.
- Fax Services.
- Bluetooth.
- Windows Search.
- Windows Error Reporting.
- Windows Insider Service.
What Windows features should be turned off Windows 10? ›
- Print to PDF.
- Net Framework 3.5.
- Windows PowerShell 2.0.
- Windows Media Player.
- DirectPlay.
- XPS Document Writer.
- TFTP Client.
- Turn off the Print Spooler. When was the last time you printed something directly from your computer? ...
- Shut down fax services. ...
- Turn off Bluetooth. ...
- End remote desktop services. ...
- Touch keyboard & handwriting panel services.
Running lots of applications at once may cause 100% disk usage in Windows 10. Uninstalling these programs often isn't possible, because you may need them. Manually pausing the background apps is only a short-term solution, as many will restart upon bootup or run quietly in the background.
Should I disable SysMain on an SSD? ›In Microsoft Windows 8 and newer, Superfetch functions differently than in previous versions of Windows and should not be disabled for the SSD.
Why is Superfetch using 100 disk? ›Superfetch is like drive caching. It copies all your commonly used files to RAM. This allows programs to boot faster. However, if your system doesn't have the latest hardware, Service Host Superfetch can easily cause high disk usage.
Is Superfetch good for SSD? ›SuperFetch predicts which applications you will run next and preloads all of the necessary data into memory. It also does that with boot files. And for every three days it sends a Defragmentation command to the OS drive which will cause issues in the SSD drives.
How do I disable Superfetch 100 disk usage? ›Disable the SuperFetch Feature
To disable it, launch the Command Prompt as Admin and type: net.exe stop superfetch and hit Enter. Give it a few minutes and see if that improves the disk usage percentage in Task Manager.
There is no reason for Windows 10's disk load to be anything close to 100%, under normal usage. A slow computer is one with a problem, and if you cannot fix it by disabling a browser plugin, stopping services, or running your antivirus software, then the problem may well be hardware related.
What is Superfetch called now? ›On Windows XP it was known as Prefetch. Superfetch was introduced in Windows Vista, and on the latest versions of Windows 10 it's now known as Sysmain.
Does 100 disk usage slow down a computer? ›Your disk working at or near 100 percent causes your computer to slow down and become laggy and unresponsive. As a result, your PC cannot perform its tasks properly. Thus, if you see the '100 percent disk usage' notification, you should find the culprit causing the issue and take immediate action.
What should you not use an SSD for? ›
- Don't Defragment Your SSD. Unlike magnetic drives, fragmentation isn't going to hurt your SSD's speed. ...
- Do Check That Auto-Defrag is Disabled. Defragging your SSD is not only unnecessary, but it could shorten the life of your SSD. ...
- Don't Use for Archived Files. ...
- Do Enable TRIM. ...
- Don't Use Old Operating Systems.
- IDE vs AHCI Mode. ...
- Confirm TRIM is Running. ...
- Avoid and Disable Disk Defragmenter. ...
- Disable Indexing Service/Windows Search. ...
- Enable Write Caching for SSDs. ...
- Update Drivers and Firmware for Your SSD. ...
- Optimize or Disable Page File for SSDs. ...
- Turn Off System Restore.
- Method 1: Disable Startup Programs. ...
- Method 2: Disable Fast Startup. ...
- Method 3: Confirm TRIM Is Enabled. ...
- Method 4: Make Sure the SSD Firmware Is Up to Date. ...
- Method 5: Enable Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) Mode. ...
- Method 6: Turn on Write Caching.
SSDs require a capacitor and power supplies, which are vulnerable to malfunctions—especially in the case of a power surge or power failure. In fact, in the case of a power failure, SSDs have been known to corrupt existing data, too, even if the drive itself hasn't failed completely.
Do you need to run chkdsk on SSD? ›Trying to defrag an SSD is unnecessary because SSDs are currently much smarter than their HDD counterparts. They have onboard wear-leveling and error correction built right into the controller and the NAND. That being said, running CHKDSK is typically not a necessary operation for SSDs.
How do I know if Superfetch is on? ›To check whether that's the case, right-click on your desktop taskbar and select Task-Manager. Scroll down until you see the entry “Service Host: SysMain.” This is Superfetch.
How do I stop startup disk usage? ›- Restart Your PC. When you restart your PC, many temporary settings get reset. ...
- Disable Startup Programs. ...
- Perform a Clean Boot of Your PC. ...
- Update Your PC. ...
- Disable Scheduled Disk Defragmentation. ...
- Delete Temporary Files. ...
- Repair Corrupt Files. ...
- Run a Security Scan.
Windows 10 – Start – Quick Access Menu – Open Computer ManagementOn the left side open “Services and Applications” and there “Services”. Select “SysMain” in the services list and click on “Stop the service”. This will deactivate Superfetch. Afterwards you can evaluate if your system works any better.