• 0

[uTorrent] Disk overloaded 100%.. ?


Question

So I'm trying to download a torrent here and I couldn't help but notice that my dl speed was running at 10Kb/s instead of the usual 2MB/s.

Now, when I re-start uTorrent my dl speeds steadily climbs but then dwindles back down to 10KB/s.

I thought perhaps my ISP is throttling me but then I noticed something at the bottom in the status bar which reads "Disk overloaded 100%".

Also uTorrent is consuming a steady 50% of CPU usage and doesn't terminate when I close uTorrent.

Any ideas?

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1025040-utorrent-disk-overloaded-100/
Share on other sites

20 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

So I'm trying to download a torrent here and I couldn't help but notice that my dl speed was running at 10Kb/s instead of the usual 2MB/s.

Now, when I re-start uTorrent my dl speeds steadily climbs but then dwindles back down to 10KB/s.

I thought perhaps my ISP is throttling me but then I noticed something at the bottom in the status bar which reads "Disk overloaded 100%".

Also uTorrent is consuming a steady 50% of CPU usage and doesn't terminate when I close uTorrent.

Any ideas?

Google is your friend:

http://banglagamer.com/showthread.php?6211-Disk-Overload-100-Fix-for-uTorrent-Guide

  • 0

Have you tried reducing the amount of connections uTorrent has?

For each torrent and overall?

Try setting a speed which is half of your total download internet connection.

Ensure nothing else is running on the internet.

Ensure nothing else is running from the hard drive to which you are downloading.

These are my only pointers I can think of.

The 100% overload is exactly that. I get this when uTorrent finds a seeder which is seeding at a speed that my PC can't really keep up.

  • 0

Happened to me, tried all the fixes and nothing worked. So changed to a different client and all is working again.

Using qBitorrent at the moment.

I think I'm going to give qBittorrent a try....I have been having a recent problem (didn't have it a week ago) where uTorrent will hang for 30-90 seconds, completely unresponsive, then suddenly come back to life like nothing ever happened. I have tried reinstalling uTorrent both with manually removing settings and leaving settings there, as well as with no torrents at all. It has happened when I attempt to open uTorrent from the system tray, attempted to add a torrent, delete a torrent, change the options, etc.....pretty much any action (and even no action at all) can cause it to hang for awhile. No clue what happened but uTorrent doesn't seem to be worth a crap anymore.

My personal suggestion if the normal (google) results do not fix your issue is to look for another torrent client, uTorrent IMO is nothing like it was a year ago, it is still a good client, but its not worth a crap when it doesn't work right for you.

  • 0

How many completed files are you sharing ?

I have to pause other files to get the fastest download for the file I want.

Did you set bandwidth to high priority ?

I sometimes get a boost when I right-click and hit Update Tracker.

And if I Exit BitTorrent, I usually have to disconnect the Net connection to get the program to stop uploading.

  • 0

Why would you disable disk cache? You want cache if your disk is overloading...

Anyways, under those same options you can try disabling "Write out finished pieces immediately". This way pieces will write periodically to the HDD rather than all at once if you are downloading too fast for your HDD to keep up.

I've moved onto qbittorrent tho, as others have mentioned I'd recommend you do the same.

  • 0

It's normal for this to happen when you first start a download, as files are being allocated to the hdd at a speed that saturates its buffer (typically 32-64 MB for 3.5"). You can manually override the disk cache to some value that can keep up with your downstream till a point ( it doesn't help when maxing out a 100 Mbit connection)

Give it 3 minutes max and your speed will come up again.

  • 0

In uTorrent go to Options in the top menubar. Then select Preferences. Down in the bottom left of the Preferences menu expand the bit that says Advanced and then click on Disk Cache.

In here click the box that says "Override automatic cache size and specify the size manually (MB):"

In the box write in 1/4th of your RAM amount. So if you have 4GB of RAM, put in 1024. If you have 2GB of RAM put in 512.

Also tick these boxes:

Reduce Memory usage when the cache is not needed

Enable caching of disk writes

- Write out finishes pieces immediately

Enable caching of disk reads

- Remove old blocks from the cache

- Increase automatic cache size when cache thrashing

Disable Windows caching of disk writes

Disable windows caching of disk reads

This should stop your Disk 100% issues.

  • 0

Have you tried reducing the amount of connections uTorrent has? Yep. I have this in-place as per personal preference anyway.

For each torrent and overall? Only got this one torrent running.

Try setting a speed which is half of your total download internet connection. Tried that.. speed goes up then back down

Ensure nothing else is running on the internet. Check.

Ensure nothing else is running from the hard drive to which you are downloading. Check.

These are my only pointers I can think of.

The 100% overload is exactly that. I get this when uTorrent finds a seeder which is seeding at a speed that my PC can't really keep up.

How many completed files are you sharing ? I've only got this one torrent running which is set to download only one file (which is naturally incomplete).

I have to pause other files to get the fastest download for the file I want. Yeah I try to run one torrent at a time.

Did you set bandwidth to high priority ? Not tried this, although it feels like a shot in the dark.

I sometimes get a boost when I right-click and hit Update Tracker. Tried that and didn't help.

And if I Exit BitTorrent, I usually have to disconnect the Net connection to get the program to stop uploading.

Why would you disable disk cache? You want cache if your disk is overloading... That's what I thought.. didn't really like the answers Google came up with so came here...

Anyways, under those same options you can try disabling "Write out finished pieces immediately". This way pieces will write periodically to the HDD rather than all at once if you are downloading too fast for your HDD to keep up. I find it hard to believe that a 2MB/s (Megabytes per second) is 'too fast'.

I've moved onto qbittorrent tho, as others have mentioned I'd recommend you do the same. Think I will change my client. Really not a fan of 3.0

Do you have it set to pre-allocate files? If so, it's trying to create everything at once and slowing down the actual write operations as it tries to create the "imaginary' space.

I do have that option on. I'll experiment with that.

It's normal for this to happen when you first start a download, as files are being allocated to the hdd at a speed that saturates its buffer (typically 32-64 MB for 3.5"). You can manually override the disk cache to some value that can keep up with your downstream till a point ( it doesn't help when maxing out a 100 Mbit connection)

Give it 3 minutes max and your speed will come up again.

I'm aware of this and I've had the torrent running for a fair amount of time.

And finally:

@Vice: I'll check that out shortly.

Currently I'm running a defrag (default W7 defragger). It said it was 1% fragmented and it's currently taking time on Pass 7: Consolidation.

Thanks for all the lovely replies Neowin! I'll check out the suggestions once this defrag is complete.

  • 0

In uTorrent go to Options in the top menubar. Then select Preferences. Down in the bottom left of the Preferences menu expand the bit that says Advanced and then click on Disk Cache.

In here click the box that says "Override automatic cache size and specify the size manually (MB):"

In the box write in 1/4th of your RAM amount. So if you have 4GB of RAM, put in 1024. If you have 2GB of RAM put in 512.

Also tick these boxes:

Reduce Memory usage when the cache is not needed

Enable caching of disk writes

- Write out finishes pieces immediately

Enable caching of disk reads

- Remove old blocks from the cache

- Increase automatic cache size when cache thrashing

Disable Windows caching of disk writes

Disable windows caching of disk reads

This should stop your Disk 100% issues.

This seems to have resolved my issue, nice one!

Still gonna look into a different client though... 50% usage constantly just isn't on (even when it's just idling with no torrent running...).

  • 0

This seems to have resolved my issue, nice one!

Guess I spoke too soon.

Also, some strange stats:

In the downloaded column, it says it's done 790MB.

Yet on the info tab, it says it's done 514MB.

And also on the info tab it says I have 0 pieces and indeed there is no file created. In the folder there's a uTorrent part .dat file which is 280KB.

Proper confusing...

  • 0

In the downloaded column, it says it's done 790MB.

Yet on the info tab, it says it's done 514MB.

And also on the info tab it says I have 0 pieces and indeed there is no file created. In the folder there's a uTorrent part .dat file which is 280KB.

uTorrent may have downloaded 790Mb but 279Mb of that is junk / corrupt so only 514Mb is actually complete.

The uTorrent.dat file is just a file which uTorrent uses. When the file has completed downloading, if you right-click on it and choose "Remove > Delete .torrent file" then that .dat file will disappear while the files will remain.

  • 0

Okay, so the solution has been to use uTorrent 2.2. Good work uTorrent 3.0.. NOT.

Thanks Neowin. Peace.

Apologies for bumping this, but after googling for ages and trying to figure out what was going on...this was the only thing that would work for me too. Stupid uTorrent 3.0!

  • 0

Not to be anti-constructive in my comments, but alot of this is due in part to how windows manages memory and old torrent lib programming in uTorrent . I have 16GB of memory and hard drives plenty capable of up to 100mb's. I found when I had large torrents 20gb+ windows just couldn't keep up. I finally just started doing all my torrents in a VMWare under Ubuntu using Deluge. Haven't had a problem since.

Either way, id drop uTorrent and try another program on windows. Deluge would be my obvious first recommendation. I could never fix it when using uTorrent.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Go for a Echo Dot or Pop instead. These Echo shows just advertise to you.
    • NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 by Razvan Serea NetSpeedTray is a lightweight, open-source Windows network monitor that shows live upload and download speeds directly on the Taskbar. Designed for efficiency, it quietly sits in the system tray, conserving CPU and battery with dynamic updates. It blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11, adapts to light/dark themes, and auto-positions to avoid overlaps. Features include accurate interface detection, customizable display, optional mini-graph, color coding, granular font and unit control, detailed per-interface history graphs, safe data management, and easy CSV export—bringing the network monitoring Windows forgot. NetSpeedTray key features: Lightweight & Efficient Runs quietly in your system tray without consuming resources. Features a "Dynamic Update Rate" that lowers refresh frequency when the network is idle to save CPU and battery life. Native Look & Feel Blends seamlessly with Windows 10/11 UI. Smart detection for light and dark taskbar themes ensures text is always visible. Intelligent & Adaptive Positioning Automatically finds empty space next to your system tray and shifts to make room for new icons, preventing overlaps. Seamless OS Integration Behaves like a native Windows component. Hides instantly with auto-hiding taskbar Hides when a fullscreen app is active Smart Network Monitoring Accurate by Default: Auto mode identifies your main internet connection and ignores noise from VPNs or virtual adapters. Easy Interface Selection: Switch effortlessly between Auto, All, or Selected network interfaces via intuitive radio buttons. Total Visual Customization Free Move Mode: Unlock and place the widget anywhere on your screen. Optional Mini-Graph: Real-time graph of recent network activity with adjustable opacity. Color Coding: Customize colors and speed thresholds to quickly see network status. Granular Display Control Text & Font: Adjust font family, size, weight, and alignment. Units: Automatic (B/s, KB/s, MB/s) or fixed Mbps display. Precision: Set decimal places and always show them for uniform appearance. Detailed & Intelligent History Graph Smart Scale: Logarithmic scale shows low-level traffic and large spikes clearly. Per-Interface Filtering: View speed history for specific adapters (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN). Safe & Efficient Data Management: Adjustable retention, automatic cleanup, optimized database. Easy Data Export: Export raw data to .csv or save high-quality graphs for reports. NetSpeedTray v1.3.3: The Updater Fix A stabilization release that repairs a critical regression in v1.3.2: the app shipped without OpenSSL, which silently broke every HTTPS request — including the built-in update checker (the "Could not check for updates" error many of you hit). This release restores it, hardens the build so it can't happen again, and fixes a startup crash plus four other reported bugs. Changes: Fixed update checking — Resolved a critical issue that prevented the app from checking for updates ("Could not check for updates"). Fixed startup crash with Auto-Cycling — The app no longer crashes on launch after enabling Cycle display mode. Fixed incorrect network speeds on 10GbE adapters — Multi-gigabit network cards now display speeds correctly instead of being stuck at 0. Improved color coding — Default color is shown when idle, and color/threshold changes now apply immediately without restarting. Fullscreen visibility fix — The widget now correctly stays visible over fullscreen apps when Keep Visible is enabled. Improved AMD Ryzen temperature detection — More reliable CPU temperature monitoring for Ryzen processors. Cleaner upgrades — Installer now removes outdated application files during upgrades, preventing DLL/version conflicts while preserving user settings. Improved stability — Fixed potential DLL loading issues by excluding critical OpenSSL and NumPy components from UPX compression. Better settings window — Scrollbars removed and layout improved for a cleaner experience. Localization improvements — Updated translations and completed missing UI text across all supported languages. More reliable releases — Added regression tests covering recent critical fixes, bringing the test suite to 196 passing tests. [full release notes] Download: NetSpeedTray 1.3.3 | 87.9 MB (Open Source) Download: NetSpeedTray Portable | 101.0 MB View: NetSpeedTray Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Why Delta Chat is the best decentralized messenger you have probably never tried by Paul Hill There is no shortage of messaging apps out there; we have WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, just to name a few. While Meta has taken steps to incorporate encryption into Messenger and WhatsApp, they still leave a lot to be desired. If you are in the market for a messaging app that promotes security, privacy, and optional anonymity, you'll want to read what I have to say about Delta Chat. For those not familiar with Delta Chat, rather than relying on centralized servers as you do with Facebook Messenger, it relies on email. Essentially, it is a chat interface that feels like a messaging app, but secretly in the background, it is firing off emails. In the past, you used to have to sign in with your email account. When you sent messages to people, it would just be sending encrypted messages to their inbox, which their Delta Chat client would decrypt. When I first learned about Delta Chat, it required users to sign in with an email account, but I was pleasantly surprised upon trying it in 2026 that this is no longer a requirement, or the preferred method was to use the app. Recently, I’ve tried UAD-ng on my old Nokia 3.4 to disable most of the Google apps because the bootloader is locked, and this is the next best option. While finding replacement apps in F-Droid, I came across Delta Chat again, and it has undergone quite a big change since I last used it, with its new chatmail relays, which no longer require you to sign in to your own email account, providing anonymity, and they offer greater security. Android and Desktop Delta Chat apps. Not only does it run on my de-googled phone, but it also works on desktop computers and iOS, making it truly ubiquitous. For me, Delta Chat is a wonderful alternative messenger because it gives you more control. It supports switching between different profiles, which you can set up super quickly; you don’t register a username, you don’t register a password. The only thing you do have is a random string email address on a chatmail relay (which you don’t have to memorize). To maintain access to your profile, you just need to add a second device to your account via QR code or make a backup of your account, which you can restore later. Fail to do these, your account is gone - as it should be if you don’t want to leave accounts that could get hacked later on. My decision to block Google stuff on my Nokia was done for practical reasons; the device sucked when it launched, and it sucks even more now. The nice thing about F-Droid and the apps within is that they’re usually lightweight, free of bloat, and work well on that device. What was inconvenient for me was that it was hard to send messages from that device, say if I wanted to copy a code over to my main phone or send family members a link from that device. That’s when I decided to look at the available chat apps and saw Delta Chat. Another nice thing about Delta Chat is its notifications. Some messaging apps rely on Google’s ecosystem for notification transport on Android; however, with Delta Chat, it can use Google’s solutions if you have Play Services or MicroG installed. Otherwise, it is able to keep a background connection to the chatmail relay server so that you can get notified when you receive a message. As free software, the code of Delta Chat is open for all who want to take it and build upon it. In the future, if the developers of Delta Chat make a catastrophically bad decision and take the app in an undesirable direction, users can take the code and fork the project. This contrasts with closed-source apps from corporations that can take their products in any direction they like. By relying on free software instead of closed-source programs, you actually control your computing. I’ve spoken at length about how running this type of software is like owning your own home rather than renting it. The same applies here; if you use Delta Chat, you don’t need to worry about it going away in the future. Whether it is Telegram, WhatsApp, or Messenger, you are required to register a username and password to use these services. A major flaw in this design is that anyone can try various passwords and potentially break into your account with your complete chat history intact. Sure, there is encryption in Messenger, where you need a second PIN and two-factor authentication in Telegram, but breaches happen all the time. Unlike before, when you used to sign in to your email account to send and receive messages, the primary way to do it now is to create an account on a chatmail relay. The resulting email address is a random string followed by the name of the relay you pick. This means you can start and begin adding contacts Without a username and password, you either need to ensure you have a backup or at least one device running your Delta Chat profile. The primary way to log in on another device is to go to the settings and add a second device. Then, you’ll just scan a QR code with your new device, and it’ll log in to your account and sync all your chat history and contacts. To end users, Delta Chat just looks like any instant messenger; however, it is really sending your messages as encrypted emails to your contact. This is pretty cool from a censorship perspective, as it makes the service more difficult to block. Previously, the main way to use the app was by logging in with email, but nowadays, it’s recommended that you use chatmail relays. Chatmail relays temporarily hold messages in case your device is offline. They are cheap, simple servers that don’t store data as group states. Other information, like your name and avatar, only exists on your device and the devices of those you share your contact information with. The relays are also decentralized and operated by various groups and individuals. It is even possible to set up your own chatmail relay, but most people will want to use one hosted elsewhere. To keep your messages secure, Delta Chat uses a secure subset of the OpenPGP standard that gives you automatic end-to-end encryption. It also uses Secure-Join to exchange encryption setup information through QR-code scanning or invite links. Autocrypt is also used to automatically establish end-to-end encryption between contacts and all members of group chat, but sometime this year Autocrypt v2 will be rolled out, bringing post-quantum resistant encryption and forward secrecy. The Delta Chat FAQ is an interesting read that explains many more details about the app. Credit: Pexels Delta Chat is unique among messaging apps because it is built on email, a technology that’s decades old and isn’t going anywhere soon. What’s more is that email is not centralized either, so it’s far more difficult for any authoritarian regime to disrupt the Delta Chat app. I haven’t spoken too much about features yet, so I will do that now. Delta Chat allows you to do one-on-one chats, group chats, and create channels. It also supports file sharing and making audio and video calls when chatting one-to-one, but it’s not available for group chats right now. At the time of writing, the calling functionality is disabled and can be enabled in Settings > Advanced > Debug Calls. I have used the video calling feature, and the quality is excellent. It works over WebRTC, another open standard. The app also lets you send voice notes, enables disappearing messages, and has its own app ecosystem. I did try playing chess one time there, but it was a bit spotty; though, we did manage to complete the game with a victory for me. To add people to Delta Chat, you can either give them your Delta Chat link or your QR code to scan. These are the only ways to add users, so you won't have any spam bots bothering you. If the people you want to chat with don't have the app yet, just send them your link, and it will take them to a webpage where they can install the app and then add you. It's really quick for them to install it and get started, which is nice. Credit: Microsoft. The Majorana 2 quantum chip unveiled in 2026. I do not think quantum computers are too far out now, and I do hope that Delta Chat is able to push out Autocrypt v2 sooner, rather than later, so bad actors do not attempt to collect encrypted communications and then decrypt them in the future using quantum computers. By getting people’s messages post-quantum-safe now, users won’t have to worry when quantum computers start cracking legacy encryption. Overall, I would recommend this app to people who are already past WhatsApp and Messenger and have perhaps begun using apps like Telegram or Session. It shares a lot of characteristics with these apps and goes a lot further than Telegram in terms of security. By being based on email, it is also resistant to censorship, and the lack of a username and password makes you anonymous (if you want to be) and safe from brute force password cracking attempts. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried Delta Chat recently. Do you think it's a good bulwark against governments that are tightening their grip on the internet?
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      tuben earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      474
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      220
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      156
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!