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mp[_2_] February 4th 12 09:45 PM

How many Processes needed to do nothing ?
 
Windows xp pro sp3
Dell laptop Precision M60 workstation
1.6GHz,PM-M
Graphics,128MB, NV31GL
(yeah I know, a dinosaur)

When I first log on to windows and have no apps running, using task man I
see 50+/- processes...
Do I really need 50 processes to do nothing???
Any chance I could get rid of some of them if they're left over from old
apps or
something I'm not currently using? Or does Windows need that many just to
run?

For example there are many copies of svchost.exe running....
User name is System on several, Network Service on a couple, Local service
on several,
Is that normal?

My system seems so slow,
I've confirmed no malware or viruses, defrag regularly, turned off all
windows junk
that slows system down(menus, fade, etc etc), set for performance rather
than visual eye candy
(whatever that setting is actually called?) and done everything I can think
of to
speed up system. Doubled ram from 1g to 2g recently and that had no
appreciable effect.

Just wondering if there's possibly some of those processes that i could
dispose of?
Thanks
Mark



Barry Schwarz[_2_] February 5th 12 07:57 PM

How many Processes needed to do nothing ?
 
On Sat, 4 Feb 2012 14:45:14 -0600, "mp" wrote:

Windows xp pro sp3
Dell laptop Precision M60 workstation
1.6GHz,PM-M
Graphics,128MB, NV31GL
(yeah I know, a dinosaur)

When I first log on to windows and have no apps running, using task man I
see 50+/- processes...


Did you notice the CPU percentage for most of the processes? Almost
by definition, eliminating a 0% process cannot improve things very
much.

When the System Idle Process is above 0%, your CPU is not being fully
utilized. Eliminating any active process will only serve to increase
the idle percentage, not improve the speed of what you are doing.

Do I really need 50 processes to do nothing???


Do you think the mouse moves by magic? What about the updates to the
Task Manager display you are looking at? The fact that a task is at
0% while you are staring at the monitor gives you no clue about how
that task supports whatever real work you are about to do.

In recent years, I have worked with Unix, Windows, and z/OS. All have
numerous system/overhead processes which appear to do nothing. Some
company spent a lot of time developing the process and usually for a
reason other than to annoy you.

You may not understand or even agree with the decision to launch a
particular process automatically but you cancel it at your risk. If
you are lucky, you will need to re-boot immediately. If you are
unlucky, it will obey Murphy's law and cause a problem at the most
inconvenient time significantly later..

Any chance I could get rid of some of them if they're left over from old
apps or
something I'm not currently using? Or does Windows need that many just to
run?


If you know the process is related to an obsolete/deleted app, by all
means kill it. Furthermore, find out how/why it starts in the first
place and kill that to. And then find it on disk and delete it. It
is true that some removal tools don't clean up as much as they should.

For example there are many copies of svchost.exe running....
User name is System on several, Network Service on a couple, Local service
on several,
Is that normal?

My system seems so slow,


You have already acknowledged you have an old slow processor. It's
even older than mine. This is your trade off. Is the performance
improvement inherent in a new system worth the cost AND the hassles
(learning and configuring a new OS, reinstalling or buying updated
apps, finding drivers for old peripherals, transferring data, etc)?

I've confirmed no malware or viruses, defrag regularly, turned off all
windows junk
that slows system down(menus, fade, etc etc), set for performance rather
than visual eye candy
(whatever that setting is actually called?) and done everything I can think
of to
speed up system. Doubled ram from 1g to 2g recently and that had no
appreciable effect.


Unless your system was paging excessively (thrashing), the improvement
from added memory is normally not noticeable.

Just wondering if there's possibly some of those processes that i could
dispose of?


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