My laptop storage got full, after I freed up a lot of storage, my laptop has been lagging ever since.

Understanding and Troubleshooting Post-Storage Capacity Issues on Your ASUS TUF Gaming A15 Laptop

Introduction

Experiencing lag and performance issues after managing storage space can be frustrating, especially when the initial problem seemingly resolves but the problems persist. If you own an ASUS TUF Gaming A15 with an AMD Ryzen 5 4600H processor and Windows 11, and you’re facing lagging issues after freeing up storage, this guide aims to help you understand the potential causes and solutions.

Scenario Overview

You’ve recently encountered storage capacity notifications on your Windows 11 laptop, prompting you to free up space on your C and D drives. After deleting approximately 15% of space from both drives—mainly by removing large game files—your system’s performance has degraded, with task manager indicating 100% disk usage on Drive D. Despite cleaning space and updating Windows, the lag persists, which suggests underlying issues beyond simple storage capacity concerns.

Key Details

• Device: ASUS TUF Gaming A15
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 4600H (3.00 GHz)
• RAM: 8 GB (approximately 7.42 GB usable)
• Operating System: Windows 11
• Duration of Use: 5 years
• Recent Change: Significant free-up of storage space on C and D drives after deleting large game files

Potential Causes and Diagnostics

1. High Disk Usage Persisting Post-Cleanup

Constant 100% disk utilization is often a sign of underlying system processes or hardware issues. Common causes include:

• Background processes or applications causing high disk I/O.
• Windows Management Diagnostic Tools, such as Windows Search or Superfetch, running intensive tasks.
• Drive fragmentation or corrupted files.

• Hardware degradation of the SSD or HDD.

• System Reset or Triggered Processes

Your system may have triggered certain processes when the disk was nearly full, leading to issues that persist even after cleanup. For example:

• Windows indexing might be rebuilding or rescanning.
• Virtual memory (Pagefile) settings might have been altered or affected.

• Startup processes placed a high load on the disk.

• Insufficient RAM and Swap Usage

While 8 GB RAM is typical, heavy applications or background processes can cause Windows to rely heavily on disk swapping, putting strain on the drive.

Diagnostic Steps

To troubleshoot further, consider the following:

• Check Task Manager: Identify processes consuming high disk, CPU, or memory resources.
• Use Resource Monitor: Get detailed insights