PC took 30 mins before usable because of service.exe, why?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sue A
  • Start date Start date
S

Sue A

Windows XP Pro Version 2002 SP3 on Dell Optiplex GX280 with 3GB RAM, 80 GB
hard drive, tons of free space. This has been happening to me too frequently
but I'll report the latest. On 13 Jan 2010 when I signed off, I got "Install
Updates and Shut Down" which I selected and then left. Came back the next
morning, turned my PC on, it booted but it was incredibly slow. In Task
Manager, My Computer (the one thing I attempted) was not responding so I did
a cold boot. Same thing happened again. I opened just Task Manager and
sorted the columns based on CPU usage. Service.exe was using 98-99% of my
CPU. It took about a half an hour for service.exe to finish and for me to
have a PC I could use. Does anyone know what service.exe is, what it does,
is it necessary? Can this problem be fixed? Thanks.
 
the program is not a windows
system file because it is an
executable.

and we have no idea what you
have installed by way of third
party programs.

however, my first guess is that
it is an auto run program that
is trying to launch/execute at
boot time.

that program may need to be
updated from its home site or
it may require reinstallation.

---------------

what you can do is to click on
start>run>msconfig

then under the startup tab you will
likely find an item that has
service.exe and its parent folder
embedded in the line.

either you can disable that line
item by unchecking it or you
can uninstall that program
via add/remove programs.

--
db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Sue said:
Windows XP Pro Version 2002 SP3 on Dell Optiplex GX280 with 3GB RAM,
80 GB hard drive, tons of free space. This has been happening to me
too frequently but I'll report the latest. On 13 Jan 2010 when I
signed off, I got "Install Updates and Shut Down" which I selected
and then left. Came back the next morning, turned my PC on, it
booted but it was incredibly slow. In Task Manager, My Computer (the
one thing I attempted) was not responding so I did a cold boot. Same
thing happened again. I opened just Task Manager and sorted the
columns based on CPU usage. Service.exe was using 98-99% of my CPU.
It took about a half an hour for service.exe to finish and for me to
have a PC I could use. Does anyone know what service.exe is, what it
does, is it necessary? Can this problem be fixed? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Clarification, please. What is the *exact* name of the process:

service.exe

or

services.exe
 
Sue

Windows errors related to service.exe?
service.exe is a process belonging to the Dell Solution Center which
offers worldwide technical support and training for it's products. This
program is important for the stable and secure running of your computer
and should not be terminated. This process is also installed alongside
Adaptec SCSI cards, and again should not be terminated unless causing
problems.
Source:
http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/service/

The Uniblue link is provided as as the source of information. Do NOT run
any registry scans as recommended elsewhere in the link.

"Install Updates and Shut Down" -What updates? The monthly updates for
Windows XP this month should not take half an hour! I am not sure there
is an association between Services.exe and Windows Update? If you
repeat the process do you get the same result?


--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Thanks for the link.
"Install Updates and Shut Down" -What updates? The monthly updates for
Windows XP this month should not take half an hour! I am not sure there
is an association between Services.exe and Windows Update? If you
repeat the process do you get the same result?
Click to expand...

The usual Microsoft updates. When you go to log off or restart or shut
down, if Microsoft has updates, the prompt will default to install updates
and shut down.

I'm not sure what association service.exe (singular) has with any program,
thus my predicament. I don't even know where to begin but your link provides
a start. Thanks.

Can't get the same results because, in this instance, Microsoft had updates.
I don't know if there is any relation between the two since I've had this
service.exe problem quite a few times before without the updates.
 
Thanks for the link.


The usual Microsoft updates.  When you go to log off or restart or shut
down, if Microsoft has updates, the prompt will default to install updates
and shut down.

I'm not sure what association service.exe (singular) has with any program,
thus my predicament.  I don't even know where to begin but your link provides
a start.  Thanks.

Can't get the same results because, in this instance, Microsoft had updates.
 I don't know if there is any relation between the two since I've had this
service.exe problem quite a few times before without the updates.
Click to expand...

Malicious software can disguise itself to look like legitimate XP
applications.

If it was my system, for my own peace of mind I would:

Perform some scans for malicious software:

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware
detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

Then I would find this service.exe file on your system and see if it
is where the Dell Solution Center software is installed - if you even
have it installed. I would also check the msconfig startup sections
to see if it is being launched automatically and make sure what you
see makes sense.

Do you have a SCSI adapter in your Dell Optiplex? It doesn't come
that way.

I don't remember how the Dell Solution Center software works, but if
you don't have it installed, I don't think there should be anything
called service.exe in TM. If I ever saw it, I would figure it out.
Services.exe and svchost.exe, yes. It will show up on some Dell
systems as a startup item in msconfig, so you can look there to be
sure and not guess what it might be.

If you go to some sites to look up service.exe, they will encourage
you to run a free scan on your system for a fee to relieve your
situation and they all say the same thing about service.exe (copy/
paste).

service.exe is a process belonging to the Dell Solution Center which
offers worldwide technical support and training for it's products.
This program is important for the stable and secure running of your
computer and should not be terminated. This process is also installed
alongside Adaptec SCSI cards, and again should not be terminated
unless causing problems.

Then I would upload the service.exe file to both of these WWW sites
where it will be scanned by more than a dozen reputable scanning
engines and give you a short report:

http://virusscan.jotti.org/en
http://www.virustotal.com/

Finally, I would run Internet Explorer and perform a manual Windows
update to see what Windows thinks about your current situation (are
you up to date or not) and make appropriate choices if offered.
 
In that case, make sure you have a look at Jose's post; it covers all
your bases.

Although service.exe is associated with both the Dell Solution Center
and Adaptec SCSI cards, there is also malware assocaited with this
particular file name. See:

http://www.superantispyware.com/malwarefiles/SERVICE.EXE.html

I also recommend scanning with the *free* versions of SUPERAntiSpyware
(SAS) and MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware (MBAM):

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/
 
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