How to monitor disk I/O performance in Windows

Analyzing disk I/O in Windows is crucial for diagnosing performance and maintaining stable storage operations. This metric reflects how data is read from or written to disks and can reveal hardware or software bottlenecks. Excessive disk activity leads to application slowdowns, impacts overall system responsiveness, and may indicate larger issues.

Monitoring I/O metrics like read/write speeds, latency, and queue length helps identify inefficient processes and manage resource allocation. Persistent latencies or long queue lengths can point to hardware faults or misconfigurations. Early detection reduces the risk of data corruption, performance degradation, or system instability.

Regular observation of disk performance supports proactive maintenance, capacity planning, and informed troubleshooting. Administrators can track throughput trends to prevent outages and data loss. An organized approach to disk analysis safeguards system health and ensures smooth operations.

1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

   The Performance tab provides real-time disk usage data, including active time and read/write speeds.

2. Click on the Performance tab.
3. Select the Disk section to view current disk activity.
4. Open Resource Monitor from the Performance tab.
5. Click the Disk tab to see detailed disk I/O by process.

   The Resource Monitor breaks down I/O by process, showing detailed statistics like read/write bytes per second.

6. Open Performance Monitor by typing perfmon in the Run dialog Win + R.

   Performance Monitor allows for custom tracking of disk metrics over time.

7. Add counters like Disk Read Bytes/sec or Disk Write Bytes/sec under the Physical Disk section.
8. Use PowerShell with the Get-Counter cmdlet to track disk transfer rates.

   Get-Counter -Counter "\PhysicalDisk(*)\Disk Transfers/sec" -SampleInterval 1 -MaxSamples 10

   This command captures the number of disk transfers per second for all disks, with a sampling interval and maximum sample count.

9. Optionally, use third-party tools like Process Explorer for more detailed monitoring.

   Third-party tools often provide granular control over real-time I/O data and offer additional visualizations.