How to Disable Superfetch on Windows 10

Windows

Updated September 18, 2019

The Windows 10 Superfetch service is supposed to guess which applications you may opt to use, then load their corresponding data and necessary files into memory beforehand, but it can end up slowing your PC to a crawl instead. If you believe your PC is sluggish and not reacting as quickly as you’d expect, disabling Superfetch could help speed things up.

How to Disable Superfetch via Windows Services

The Superfetch feature can be toggled on and off through the Windows Services interface.

Press Windows key + R.
The Windows Run dialog should now be visible, usually located in the lower left-hand corner of your screen. Type "services.msc" in the field provided, then select OK.
The Services interface should appear, overlaying your desktop and open application windows. Locate Superfetch, found on the right-hand side of the window within the alphabetized services list.
Right-click Superfetch, then select Stop.
A Service Control dialog containing a progress bar will now appear as Windows attempts to stop the Superfetch service. This may take a while, so be patient.
Right-click Superfetch, then select Properties.
Select the Startup type drop-down menu and select Disabled.
Select Apply, then select OK.
Superfetch is now disabled. To re-enable it at any time, repeat the steps above, but choose Automatic as the Startup type value.

How to Disable Superfetch Through the Registry

You can also disable SuperFetch in the Windows 10 registry by modifying the EnableSuperfetch value.

Press the following keyboard shortcut combination: Windows key + R
The Windows Run dialog should now be visible, usually located in the lower left-hand corner of your screen. Type the following text in the field provided and then click OK: regedit
A User Account Control dialog should now be displayed, asking if you want to allow the Registry Editor app to make changes to your device. Select Yes.
The Windows Registry Editor should now be displayed. Click the arrow next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, located in the left menu pane, to expand its contents.
Do the same for the following folders and options, in this order: SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Session Manager > MemoryManagement.
Select PrefetchParameters.
A list of values and their corresponding settings should now be displayed on the right-hand side of the Registry Editor interface. Double-click EnableSuperfetch.
Enter 0 in the Value data field.

Superfetch can be re-enabled at any point by changing this value to 3.
Select OK.
Select File > Exit from the Registry Editor menu. Superfetch should now be disabled.

Other Ways to Fix High Disk Usage Problems

If you’ve disabled Superfetch but are still experiencing slowness issues caused by high disk usage or other resource-related problems, one or more of the following can be the culprit.

Diagnostics tracking: This built-in feature collects data about your PC's configuration as well as any issues Windows may encounter, sending it all to Microsoft to help improve future versions of the operating system.
Search indexing: All files and folders stored on your hard drive are indexed by Windows, making it easier and quicker to search for a specific title, type, or even for individual contents within a file.
Windows Tips: You may notice that tips or suggestions appear at different points while using Windows. While helpful, these originate from an application that is constantly running in the background and could utilize valuable resources.
Malware: A common cause of PC slowness and crashes, viruses and other types of malware can wreak havoc on disk usage, CPU cycles and more.