[How to Fix]: Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry High Disk Usage on Windows

If your Windows 10 computer’s disk utilization has reached its peak i.e 100%, then it can be due to an in-built service known as Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry. You can view this service on the Windows Task Manager. Here, you will get information regarding this application and how to fix Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry high disk usage problem.

What is Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry and CompatTelRunner.exe?

The Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is a service built in the Windows Operating System that has technical data regarding the functionalities of all the drivers and their associated applications. This service then sends all the technical data to Microsoft periodically, in order to increase the user experience and fix any potential errors.

The CompatTelRunner.exe is an in-built software for the Windows Operating System. This file is known as the Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser which you can get in the ‘System32’ folder which is under the ‘Windows’ directory. The ‘Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry’ service is the service of the ‘CompatTelRunner.exe’ file. This file scans the applications present within the computer and checks their compatibility with the Windows OS, and along with that, it also collects and transfers telemetry to the servers of Microsoft.

Know more about CompatTelRunner.exe and How to Disable It

However, even if Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry service does not utilize the CPU, it can take up the hard disk completely for a long period of time. Thus, the performance of the computer can slow down heavily.

[Step-by-Step] Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Service High Disk Usage

Here you will get various methods that will help you to resolve the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry services high disk usage.

1: Remove the CompatTelRunner.exe File

To solve the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry high disk problem what you can do is remove the “CompatTelRunner.exe” file from the computer. The steps to do so are as follows.

• First, to launch the search area, press the ‘Windows + S’ keys simultaneously.
• Next, within that area, type ‘compattelrunner’ and then from the results page locate the file ‘CompatTelRunner.exe’ and right-click on the same.
• After that, from the popup menu that appears, select the ‘Open File Location’ option. This action will take you to the folder, where the executable file is present.
• Now, right-click on the ‘CompatTelRunner’ file and then select the ‘Properties’ option from the popup list. As soon as you click on that option, a new ‘CompatTelRunner.exe Properties’ dialog box will come up. 
• Within that dialog box, navigate to the ‘Security’ tab and then choose the ‘Advanced’ button at the bottom. Now, a new window will appear with advanced settings for the said file.

Additional Steps for Method 1

Follow the steps below to complete the process of removing the ‘CompatTelRunner’ file.

• In the window that opens, locate the ‘Owner’ field and then click on ‘Change’ link. When a ‘Select User or Group’ dialog box shows up, hit the ‘Advanced…’ button. 
• Now, in another dialog box with advanced settings for ‘Select User or Group’ click on the ‘Find Now’ button. This will show the owner’s list of the computer. From that list, select the account with which the system is logged in and hit ‘OK’.
• Click ‘OK’ to close all the tables. To close the Advanced Security Settings table click on ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ consecutively.
• Once again open the ‘Properties’ window of the ‘CompatTelRunner.exe’ file. Then, choose – “Security -> Advanced -> Choose a user -> Edit”.
• A new ‘Permission Entry for CompatTelRunner.exe’ window will appear. In it, select the ‘Allow’ option for the ‘Type’ field, then under ‘Basic permissions’ put a checkmark on the ‘Full control’ option. Choose, ‘OK’, Apply’ and ‘OK’  consecutively.
• At last, go to the ‘CompatTelRunner.exe’ file location then select it and hit the ‘Delete’ button.

If you do not want to delete the ‘CompatTelRunner.exe’ directly, then follow the method given below to disable it.

2: Deactivate the ‘CompatTelRunner.exe’ file From Task Scheduler

You can disable the ‘CompatTelRunner.exe’ file from the Task Scheduler. Follow these steps.

• First, hit the combination of ‘Windows + R’ keys together to launch the ‘Run’ dialog box.
• Write the following text ‘taskschd.msc’ on the empty space beside the label ‘Open:’ and then hit the ‘OK’ button.
• This will open a new ‘Task Scheduler’ window. Within that window, go to the left pane and move to – “Task Scheduler Library -> Microsoft -> Windows”.
• Once you get the contents within the Windows folder then look for a subfolder ‘Application Experience’ and click on it. 
• Now, move to the middle pane then locate an item ‘Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser’ and right-click on the same. After that, click on ‘Disable’ from the popup menu.
• Finally, restart the computer and see if the disk utilization is normal and not constantly high.

3: Deactivate the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Using Registry Editor

 

Here, you will get steps on how to disable/turnoff Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry service using the Registry Editor.

• Click on the ‘Windows’ start button to launch the default search pane on Windows 10.
• On the blank space, type ‘regedit’ and then from the results pane above the search area, select the ‘regedit’ option.
• Once the ‘User Account Control’ window appears, next, click on the ‘Yes’ button. This action will open a new ‘Registry Editor’ window.
• Inside that window, move to the left pane and double-click on the following folders to reveal their contents – “Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows”.
• Within the ‘Windows’ folder look for the ‘DataCollection’ subfolder and then right-click on it. After that, from the popup menu, highlight ‘New’ and then choose the ‘DWORD (32-bit) Value’ option.
• Now, move to the right pane and then rename the REG_DWORD as “Allow Telemetry”. Now, double-click on the ‘Allow Telemetry’ to open a dialog box with the title ‘Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value’.
• In this dialog box, alter the number within the ‘Value data:’ field to ‘Zero’ and tap on ‘OK’ to save it.
• At last, close the Registry Editor window and then reboot the machine and check if the high disk usage problem is there or not.

4: Make Telemetry Service Inactive Using Group Policy Editor

  

To turn off the  Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry on Windows 10 use the Group Policy Editor application. Here are steps on how you can do it.

• Go to the second method and follow the first step to open the Run dialog box.
• In that dialog box enter the text ‘gpedit.msc’ and then hit the ‘Enter’ button. This will open the ‘Local Group Policy Editor’ window.
• Within that window, go to the left pane and double-click on the following folders “Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Data Collection and Preview Builds”
• Now, move to the right side and double-click on the ‘Allow Telemetry’ setting. After that, from the new window that comes up, click on the ‘Disabled’ radio button.
• Lastly, click on the ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ buttons and restart the computer.

5: Utilize the Command Prompt to Stop the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry

The last resort to deactivate the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry service is by using the Command Prompt application. In order to do it, follow these steps below.

• First, go to the first method here and follow the initial step to open the default search area.
• In that area, type ‘command prompt’ and then from the results section locate the ‘Command Prompt’ option and right-click on it.
• Now, from the popup menu that appears, choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option. Next, a ‘User Account Control’ will appear, in it, choose the ‘Yes’ button.
• This action will launch the ‘Command Prompt’ window with white text and black background.
• Inside that window, type the following command “sc delete DiagTrack sc delete dmwappushservice echo “” > C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Diagnosis\ETLLogs\AutoLogger\AutoLogger-Diagtrack-Listener.etl reg add “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection” /v AllowTelemetry /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f”. Then, press the ‘Enter’ key to run the command.
• Once the execution of the command is complete, next, close all the windows and boot the computer.
• Finally, check if the 100 percent disk usage is still present or not.

Frequently Asked Questions on Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry

What Type of Data Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Collects?

The following types of data are collected and sent to the development team by the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry services. 

• It can collect the type of hardware the computer uses.
• This service also collects the details regarding all the device drivers.
• It sends the full conversation you had with Microsoft’s personal assistant (Cortana).
• This tool sends the initial 35 MB of data from the webcam to the developer team when you utilize it for the first time.

Why is Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Included in Windows 10?

The Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry service is included in the Windows 10 OS because of the following reasons.

• Due to this service, there is an improvement in the performance of the system. Along with that, it makes it much safer from any kind of threat.
• Data that this service collects is utilized to improve the security of the computer.