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General discussion

window task manager

May 29, 2004 12:16PM PDT

what are all the items that are in the processes tab on the windows task manager ?. things like osa.exe, svchost.exe ctsvccda. exe, alg.exe. how do all of these get on this tab, do some slow down your computer and if so what can you take off, thanks

Discussion is locked

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Sory the answer is NO
May 29, 2004 7:53PM PDT

All in there are part of Windows System with a few exceptions, such as McAfee and if you on Broadband you don't want to stop that either.
However the Prg. that slows your computer down more that the others is Mcsheild.
Sorry for the negative news
However Taskmanager is good to have always on your Taskbar because sometimes you wonder what your computer is doing and has it hung. Look at the activity of the Taskmanager and you can see if it is working or not

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Donc29, Lindburgh's Not Entirely Correct...
May 30, 2004 9:03AM PDT

First, to answer "donc29's" questions, the "processes" listed in "Task Manager" are programs that load at start up and they are placed there during the installation of those programs and Wican be relatndows. "Processes" are not "services" but are certainly inter-connected. For example, the "svchost.exe" process mentioned in Donc29's question, loads at start up, and checks the services part of the registry to construct a list of services that it must load. Your antivirus needs to have a program listed in the "processes" tab, as do all other programs that are required to be running in the background during start up. Not all of the ones listed there are required. The program names you have listed are of that type:

osa.exe= Microsoft Office start up program, which for most users is unnecessary at start up and can easily be disabled and it will help avoid resource or conflict issues.

svchost.exe= The Service Host Process in Windows XP or Win2000, commonly seen in WinXP multiple times. Application that works as a host process for services that run from dynamic link libraries. Normally this is a valid Windows network connection host program, but it can be related to a number of viruses/trojans which will place the "svchost.exe" file in something other than the correct "C\Windows\System32" folder on WinXP. Naturually, if it's of the virus variety, you want to get rid of it.

ctsvccda= Background task for CD-ROM access that gets installed by the Windows 95, 98, or ME drivers of some Creative SoundBlaster soundcards. It also sometimes gets installed on Windows 2000 by non-driver related Creative software suites, such as Creative Jukebox.

alg.exe= Part of Internet Connection Sharing application and Internet Connection Firewall for Windows XP. This service provides support for third party protocol plug-ins for the Internet Connection Sharing application and Internet Connection Firewall. If you're not using the ICF or ICS in XP, this won't show up and can be disabled. It's not running on my home Win XP !
__________________

Depending on the computer, especially name brands, there may be a number of "processes" listed in the "Task Manager" that can be disabled at start up. It is correct to say that "many" of the processes are Windows System programs, but indicating that "Mcshield" is the one that slows down your computer may be totally incorrect. In fact, (and maybe I missed it here) did Donc29 tell us that McAfee Virus Scan was installed on his/her computer?

The sites mentioned by Cursorcowboy and RobertS will help donc29 identify those that are necessary, and those that are not. In addition to the other good responses, the link below should help you shut down some of those unnecessary start up programs:

How To Shut Down Unnecessary Start Up Programs
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6121-0.html?forumID=45&threadID=22053&messageID=238474

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Re:window task manager
May 29, 2004 9:53PM PDT

1. Please note that just above the text editor (where you enter a question on the forum) is the following paragraph, and if certain information is not present in your question, our reply may not be of much help:

Tip: If you are asking for help to troubleshoot a computer-related problem, please be sure to include all the necessary information (ie: operating system, model number, hardware, software, etc) that will help others identify your problem for a speedy resolution.

2. "Startup Cop", PC Magazine's utility, version 1.01, provides a pretty comprehensive path to where items reside, highly recommended, and can be downloaded. The following sites give a pretty conclusive view of what items are and you can use their recommendations at your own risk:

a. "3FeetUnder.com"

b. "Whidbey.com"

c. "AnswersThatWork"

d. "Pacs-Porta"

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Re:window task manager
May 30, 2004 12:20AM PDT

Many of these processes are services that are for normal computer operations. To streamline you system go to
www.blackviper.com. They have info on services you may not need running on your system.