Another computer question for the smart people here... (re windows task manager)

[poohandwendy]

How many processes should be running on my PC at one time and how do I find out which ones shouldn't be running?

Mine is running 55 processes and I have heard that is more than recommended. I noticed because I have not been running any AOL and there were aol processes running for some reason.

My CPU goes between 5% and 80%, is that normal?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Not a 'smart people' here, but I currently have 79 running. I will run between 2% and maybe 60% (if anything intensive), generally quite low though (2 gig memory). If you are not using AOL, uninstall it (though probably tough to do). You can also highlight the process and 'end' it.

 

[Sparx]

I've got thirty. Most are behind the scenes process. But others are Mozilla and Windows Messenger, and stuff that like that. I am currently going from 2-4% I do occasional run some very intensive programs where I can get up to 80%. But mine usually stays aroung 2-4.

Like dan said, you can end the processes, too.

 

[Michelina]

I have 67 running and CPU is around 25-33 percent, this is how it almost alwys is, I don't have any applications running right now except Mozilla and some widgets. I never really thought about it before. Is there a "too many" number? I will ask my DH, he is a programmer.

 

[sleepyone]

ETA: Make a restore point before you do anything to your computer in case you mess up!

I've had the same issue before along with a spyware program that would start up. Tech support gave me these instructions, I hope they help you:

• Click Start
• Click Run
• Type: msconfig
• Under the General tab chose Selective Startup
• Make sure check marks under all options but use ModifiedBoot.INI
• Next, click the Startup tab
• Click to take check marks off of programs you don't need at start up.
• If you're not sure, leave it checked.
• Click OK

 

[GoofyDad869]

Or you can right-click and 'end process tree'. That gets rid of the other associated programs running alongside or heirarchically. I would NOT stop processes unless I know exactly what they're doing if I were you.

For example, we have a Kodak digital camera, and it has 4 or 5 associated processes going behind the scenes. We're rarely downloading photos from the camera or using any of the Kodak software, so most of the time I have it turned off. When I do need to use it, I'll reboot.

For what it's worth, right now I have 63 processes running, using about 2-3% resources. I've got Adobe Creative Suite loaded and McAfee running, so that accounts for about 12-15 of 'em right there. We downloaded some photos earlier today so that's another 4 processes. Each open window/program will have its own 'svchost' process. Print drivers, wireless network drivers - it all adds up pretty quick.

 

[GoofyDad869]

I've had the same issue before along with a spyware program that would start up. Tech support gave me these instructions, I hope they help you:


Click Start
Click Run
Type: msconfig
Under the General tab chose Selective Startup
Make sure check marks under all options but use ModifiedBoot.INI
Next, click the Startup tab
Click to take check marks off of programs you don't need at start up.
If you're not sure, leave it checked.
Click OK

Before I'd do something that invasive, I'd run something like AdAware to try to remove unwanted stuff. You can really "mess up" pretty quick nosing around Registry, especially if you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing.

Oops, just read what I quoted there. I just read the .INI and saw red. This is good advice. A Restore point is always a good policy before you start.

 

[poohandwendy]

Thanks for the responses, I am not going to just go in and change anything...too scary. But, how do I know what these processes are? I don't recognize many of them.

 

[sleepyone]

Around these parts, there are lots of roaming computer gurus to call. It doesn't really cost all that much for one to come to my house for something as simple as this. The first time, I called my guru, he tried to help me over the phone without charging me anything... I was trying to change out a hard drive and set up RAID configuration. Just another thought.

 

[Art Vandalay]

There's no magic number for how many processes should be running. It depends on what's installed, what's in your startup, system tray, etc. But in my experience, most people have a lot of things running that are either unnecessary or harmful (adware, spyware, viruses).

 

[GoofyDad869]

But in my experience, most people have a lot of things running that are either unnecessary or harmful (adware, spyware, viruses).

Yep. Start with the least invasive solution. Proceed to more & more drastic steps. Never try to change too many things at once. Treat it like a science experiment - change one variable at a time. That way if it screws up, you can backtrack and isolate what's going on.

When I have a weird system process, I'll do a Google search on the process name. That usually gives clues as to what the process is for, and whether or not it's bogus.