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. This can be a big issue sometimes, 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 disable it?

Read on to find out.

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

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What is Service Host SysMain in Windows?

SysMain, formerly known as 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 a lot of times. On PCs with older or weaker hardware, running this service can use up system resources quite easily. This can cause a whole lot of problems like system slowdowns and even crashes in extreme cases.

So can you disable it to save up system resources? Well, of course, you can. Yes, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer anytime you start a new process, but at least you’ll have a more stable system.

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

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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.

Step 2: You’ll see a ‘Services’ dialogue box 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.

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How to fix your PC without disabling SysMain?

Aforementioned, 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 again, developers keep fixing minor issues with their software all the time. Try updating everything to rule out the problem causing potentials.
• Reset Windows: Sometimes, faulty configurations can also 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?