What are the Processes running ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Apr
  • Start date Start date
A

Apr

I would like to find out more about the process running under Windows Task
Manager. Can you please recommend the best and simple method other than
manually searching the net for wht each process if for.

One of the he reasons I want to do this is that on startup the CPU can be
pretty high (I think this relates to Nortons auto update process most of the
time) and the other for information purposes

Thank you
 
I would like to find out more about the process running under Windows Task
Manager. Can you please recommend the best and simple method other than
manually searching the net for wht each process if for.

One of the he reasons I want to do this is that on startup the CPU can be
pretty high (I think this relates to Nortons auto update process most of the
time) and the other for information purposes

Thank you
Click to expand...

It's not unusual for there to be a huge CPU load at startup. Even on a
"clean system" with little or no extra software added, the operating system
is busy loading and initializing its components and services. Personally, I
let loading finish and then, if concerned, start looking for processes that
may be out of line and address them individually.

There are two nice sites that explain all the different XP services: one is
http://www.theeldergeek.com/ and the other is http://www.blackviper.com/
The sites make some recommendations about turning services on/off. I'm not
giving a wholesale endorsement to their recommendations but I do think the
sites are very useful for learning in about what each XP service does and
they do that using "plain English" instead of techno-babble.

For a general all around site that compiles info about non-Windows startup
items (applications added by the user to their Windows system), you might
try this site (It's a HUGE list and arranged alpha-numerically):
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

NOTE: Compilation sites strive for accuracy but they can contain outdated
or wrong information. If you run into a process that doesn't seem to match
what these sites are telling you, you'll need to search on them manually
and individually.
 
I tried both sites recommended but when I search for eg. lucallback.exe I
could find basic information ,...

Please can you advise me
Thank you
 
Apr said:
I would like to find out more about the process running under Windows
Task Manager. Can you please recommend the best and simple method
other than manually searching the net for wht each process if for.

One of the he reasons I want to do this is that on startup the CPU
can be pretty high
Click to expand...


That's actually common. As long as the CPU usage goes down to a normal level
once startup is finished, and you have no other performance issues, there's
no problem that needs to be addressed.

Here's my standard post on this subject:

My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long it takes
to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is otherwise
satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most people start their
computers once a day or even less frequently. In the overall scheme of
things, even a few minutes to start up isn't very important. Personally I
power on my computer when I get up in the morning, then go get my coffee.
When I come back, it's done booting. I don't know how long it took to boot
and I don't care.

However if you do want to address it, it may be because of what programs
start automatically, and you may want to stop some of them from starting
that way. On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its
Options to see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you actually
choose the option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon" option). Many
can easily and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't work, run MSCONFIG
from the Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the programs you
don't want to start automatically.

However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of running
the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell you, you
should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs you run, but
*which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but others have no
effect on performance.

Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do is
determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what the cost
in performance is of its running all the time. You can get more information
about these at http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html. If you can't find it
there, try google searches and ask about specifics here.

Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
 
Thanks for your reply.


Ken Blake said:
That's actually common. As long as the CPU usage goes down to a normal
level once startup is finished, and you have no other performance issues,
there's no problem that needs to be addressed.

Here's my standard post on this subject:

My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long it
takes to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is
otherwise satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most people
start their computers once a day or even less frequently. In the overall
scheme of things, even a few minutes to start up isn't very important.
Personally I power on my computer when I get up in the morning, then go
get my coffee. When I come back, it's done booting. I don't know how long
it took to boot and I don't care.

However if you do want to address it, it may be because of what programs
start automatically, and you may want to stop some of them from starting
that way. On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its
Options to see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you actually
choose the option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon" option).
Many can easily and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't work, run
MSCONFIG from the Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the
programs you don't want to start automatically.

However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of running
the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell you, you
should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs you run, but
*which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but others have no
effect on performance.

Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do is
determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what the
cost in performance is of its running all the time. You can get more
information about these at http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html. If you
can't find it there, try google searches and ask about specifics here.

Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
Click to expand...
 
Apr said:
I tried both sites recommended but when I search for eg. lucallback.exe I
could find basic information ,...

Please can you advise me
Thank you
Click to expand...
"lucallback.exe" doesn't ring a bell here. Perhaps one reason for you not
being able to find anything about this particular name is that it isn't an
XP application.
Jim
 
A source I appreciate is: Answers That Work.com. Click on the button named
Task Library, and they provide a list of jillions of such items, and tell you
what they do. Even tell you if they are a virus. The service is free.
 
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