If you’re on the latest update for Windows 10, you would have noticed that your disk usage is often close to a 100%, even if your PC is idle. Sometimes, this can be a big issue, especially if your PC has a slow HDD.

If you try to terminate this process from the task manager, you’ll get an error message saying that Windows will become unstable or might even crash. So what is this SysMain? What does it do? Why does it eat so much of your disk, and how to deactivate it?

Read on to find out.

Also read: The new Windows Terminal: Functionality, Customisability and How to get it.

What is Service Host SysMain in Windows?

SysMain, formerly SuperFetch, is a legitimate Windows 10 background service. It analyses the user’s system usage patterns and efficiently manages the system accordingly, and can speed up app loading times and, in some cases, even boot times.

Ironically, this service can also cause system slowdowns quite often. Running this service on PCs with older or weaker hardware can easily use up system resources. This can cause problems like system slowdowns and even extreme crashes.

So can you turn it off to save up system resources? Well, of course, you can. Yes, you’ll have to wait a bit longer before starting a new process, but at least you’ll have a more stable system.

Also read: Master Boot Record (MBR) vs GUID Partition Table (GPT)

How to disable Service Host SysMain (Superfetch)?

Disabling SysMain is quite a simple task

Step 1: Go to Run (Windows key + R) and type services.msc. Click Ok.

What is service host sysmain? Can i disable the service?

Step 2: A ‘Services’ dialogue box will pop up. Scroll down until you find SysMain.

Step 3: Right-click on SysMain and click on ‘Properties.’

Step 4: Under ‘Startup type’, select Disabled. Then click ‘Apply’.

And that’s how you get rid of SysMain.

How to fix your PC without disabling SysMain?

As mentioned before, disabling SysMain will make launching apps a bit slower. In addition, the effect increases if you’re running older hardware. Here are a couple of things you can try to fix the lag caused by SysMain without disabling it.

Update Windows: Sounds a bit obvious, but Microsoft keeps fixing its service in every update it releases. You never know which one might fix the problem for you.
Update Device drivers/software: Another obvious solution, but developers keep fixing minor issues with their software constantly. Try updating everything to rule out the problem-causing potentials.
Reset Windows: Sometimes, faulty configurations can cause SysMain to act up. Resetting Windows can help you start from scratch. It might as well fix the issue.

Also read: How to restore USB drive after making it bootable?