Are you having issues with Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry hogging resources in your Task Manager?

Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry process sometimes can consume much of your disk space or CPU resources. However, this issue is relatively easy to solve.

Before we look at the solutions let’s look at what Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry actually is.

What is Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry?

This is an automatic service in Windows 10. Its purpose is to collect data from your computer and send it to the Windows development team.

So why does the Windows development team wants this data?

Collecting data from Windows users helps the development team boost the operating system’s performance by finding solutions to known bugs.

Now you may be wondering: “But what if Microsoft uses this data on users like me?”

This is a valid question, but Microsoft has categorically guaranteed that all data collected by this service is used for only one purpose — and that’s development.

Nevertheless, if you are still not convinced and are not comfortable having the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry service collect your data, you can easily remove it. We recommend you first thoroughly read the tutorial and follow the steps as they are listed.

What sort of data does this tool collect?

According to Microsoft, the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry service collects the following types of data for development purposes:

• It collects and sends text you type from the keyboard every 30 mins
• It collects and sends whatever you say to the Microsoft Windows Live Assistant — Cortana. Additionally, it sends full transcription of the conversation you have with this software to Microsoft Windows developer team
• It sends Microsoft a list of all multimedia files
• It collects information regarding hardware that you’re using
• It collects details regarding device drivers
• When you use the Webcam for the first time, the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry service collects the first 35MB of data

Because the tool sends the data across to the development team at Microsoft, it stores the collected data on your hard drive.

This is the main reason why a number of Windows 10 users are worried about the high disk usage caused by Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry.

What sort of data Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry doesn’t collect?

Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry doesn’t collect the following types of data:

• Search history from Bing
• Your geographical data
• Your windows 10 wallpaper

Why is this tool included in Windows 10?

Microsoft cites the following reasons for introducing Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry in Windows 10:

• The collected data helps Microsoft to improve the security of your system
• It beefs up system security and also boost its performance
• Allows Microsoft to upgrade their operating system according to the user’s preferences

While this tool is helpful, users can choose to turn it off and refuse to share any data with Microsoft.

As the tool collects various sorts of data, it can at times eat up a significant amount of hard disk space. You may want to get rid of it to free up important disk space.

Also, some users are concerned about Microsoft monitoring their activity. And that’s the main reason why they want to get rid of this data-collecting tool.

Whatever your reasons are, you can remove Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry easily. To get started, just follow any of the solutions shared in this post.

Solution 1 – Disable the tool using CMD

You can get rid of Microsoft Telemetry Compatibility high disk usage issue by following these steps:

• Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously
• In the run dialog box, type cmd but don’t press Enter as we want to run command prompt as administrator. So press Ctrl + Shift + Enter at the same time
• Now type the following command in command prompt and press the Enter key after every command

Solution 2 – Disable Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry by Removing CompatTellRunner.exe with owner rights

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Log into your Windows computer with a user account that has administrative privileges
2. Next press Windows + R keys simultaneously to launch the run dialog box
3. Type C:Windows\System32 and then press the Enter key
4. In the window that opens on your screen, locate the file named CompatTelRunner
5. Right CompatTelRunner and click properties

1. Click the Security tab in the Properties dialog box, and then click Advanced settings
2. In the new window that opens on your screen, click the Owner tab (third from left) and then click the Edit button

1. Next, in the Edit window, click Administrators and then click Apply. Finally, click the OK button
2. You might be prompted to close all properties window. If so, click the OK button
3. You will have to change permission for this file before you can delete it. To do so, right click Capattelrunner.exe in the System32 folder (step 4)
4. Click Properties and then click the Advanced tab. Choose Permissions tab and select your administrator account
5. Click the Allow column next to Full control. Doing this will give you full control over this specific file. That’s exactly what you need to remove this file permanently.
6. Go to the System32 folder, right click CompatTelRunner.exe to disable compatibility telemetry  
7. Right click the recycle bin icon on your desktop and click Empty the Recycle Bin.

Now that you have deleted CompatTelRunner.exe successfully, the issue that you were having with Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry should be fixed.

You can try the next solution in case you can’t use this method for some reason.

Solution 3 – Disable Compattelrunner.exe from Task Scheduler

This method allows you disable compattelrunner.exe, the executable file that runs Windows Compatibility Telemetry. Once that is disabled, you will no longer encounter high disk or high CPU usage issues.

Here are the steps to follow:

• Press Windows + R keys simultaneously
• In the Run dialog box, type taskchd.msc and then press Enter
• In the Task Scheduler window, click Task Scheduler Library to expand its view. Now click the folder called Microsoft to expand it
• Next, locate and click Application Experience folder
• In the new window that opens right-click the task called Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser and then click Disable

• Now compatibility telemetry will be disabled

Restart Windows and check if the issue is fixed.

Solution 4 –Using group policy editor

Here are the steps to follow:

• Press Windows + R keys simultaneously
• In the run dialog box, type gpedit.msc and then click OK
• Click Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Data Collection and Preview Builds
• Double click Allow Telemetry
• Click Disabled. Next, click the Apply button and then click OK

Now the service will be disabled.

However, in case you don’t want to disable Windows Compatibility Telemetry but want to get rid of its high disk usage issue, we recommend you update your device drivers.

Outdated drives can cause all sorts of issue, including Windows Compatibility Telemetry high disk usage. While you can update drivers manually, the process is not only time consuming but also tedious.

For this reason, we recommend you use an advanced driver tool to update all your required drivers.

Step 1
Click here to Install and launch the app

Step 2
Scan all devices

Step 3
Install or update drivers automatically

Start Download

Final Words

Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is a genuine program. It is also a self-working one. However, it collects your data and transmits it to Microsoft.

Since it is not an essential service, you can safely remove it if you are worried about your privacy. This way the tool won’t collect your data and pass it on to Microsoft, and you will also free up a lot of disk space.