What are these background processes?

Ilikepiedoyou

Senior member
Jan 10, 2006
685
0
0
In an effort to increase my computers performance and stability, I am tring to eliminate unessesary processes, but I am not sure what they do. I have typed many into google and different websites give different results, some explaining this process as spyware while others claiming it should not be touched. Are there any reliable resources that will tell me what each one is responsible for? Also is this a good route to take to get more performance and stability?
 

MrChad

Lifer
Aug 22, 2001
13,507
3
81
You could list some of the processes in question here. Run HijackThis and post your log.

But the more important question is what performance and stability issues are you having? Killing processes that you shouldn't be touching will have little to no effect on your performance and may cause you more problems down the road.
 

Noema

Platinum Member
Feb 15, 2005
2,974
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The 20-30MB you can get by eliminating processes is not worth the risk of borking an OS for, in my opinion.

If performance is an issue, getting more RAM is usually the best, cheapest option, and one that can have the best and most noticeable results.
 

jlbenedict

Banned
Jul 10, 2005
3,724
0
0
What OS are you running? XP??

If XP, open up a command prompt window and type the following: tasklist /svc

Here are other switches for the tasklist command:
------------------------------------------------------

/s Computer : Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer (do not use backslashes). The default is the local computer.

/u Domain\User : Runs the command with the account permissions of the user specified by User or Domain\User. The default is the permissions of the current logged on user on the computer issuing the command.

/p Password : Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u parameter.

/fo {TABLE|LIST|CSV} : Specifies the format to use for the output. Valid values are TABLE, LIST, and CSV. The default format for output is TABLE.

/nh : Suppresses column headers in the output. Valid when the /fo parameter is set to TABLE or CSV.

/fi FilterName : Specifies the types of process(es) to include in or exclude from the query. The following table lists valid filter names, operators, and values.

/m [ModuleName] : Specifies to show module information for each process. When a module is specified, all the processes using that module are shown. When a module is not specified, all the processes for all the modules are shown. Cannot be used with the /svc or the /v parameter.

/svc : Lists all the service information for each process without truncation. Valid when the /fo parameter is set to TABLE. Cannot be used with the /m or the /v parameter.

/v : Specifies that verbose task information be displayed in the output. Cannot be used with the /svc or the /m parameter.

/?: Displays help at the command prompt.
 

letdown427

Golden Member
Jan 3, 2006
1,594
1
0
Often bad processes will have the names of important processes, but be running from the wrong folder.

Process Explorer can tell you where things are running from.

Don't be afraid, it's not really an MS product, they just bought/hired Mark Russinovich and the other guy at SysInternals.

As for any performance improvements, you won't really see anything.

Overclocking would be more rewarding.

What performance issues are you concerned about? I only ask because if it's just taking too long to boot then any possible remedies will differ to if it's not playing FEAR fast enough or something.
 

Ilikepiedoyou

Senior member
Jan 10, 2006
685
0
0
Well, sometimes my computer will get very slow after maybe an hour of use. Also I want to learn more about what is going on with my computer behind the scenes that I don't know about. here is my Hijack this:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 8:07:38 AM, on 12/20/2006
Platform: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2600.0000)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Service\AdskScSrv.exe
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3dsMax8\mentalray\satellite\raysat_3dsmax8server.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wuauclt.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\Winamp\winamp.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Honda\Local Settings\Temp\Temporary Directory 1 for hijackthis-1.zip\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = about:blank
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = res://C:\DOCUME~1\Honda\LOCALS~1\Temp\se.dll/spage.html
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = about:blank
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = about:blank
R3 - URLSearchHook: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {43D5181F-A3E0-4DA8-8F67-5CB96F613CDE} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\dico.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: AcroIEToolbarHelper Class - {AE7CD045-E861-484f-8273-0445EE161910} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert link target to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert link target to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selected links to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECaptureSelLinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selected links to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppendSelLinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selection to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selection to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\bin\ssv.dll
O16 - DPF: {928626A3-6B98-11CF-90B4-00AA00A4011F} (SurroundVideoCtrl Object) - http://autos.msn.com/components/ocx/survid/MSSurVid.cab
O16 - DPF: {AE563720-B4F5-11D4-A415-00108302FDFD} (NOXLATE-BANR) - file://C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002\InstBanr.ocx
O16 - DPF: {BB47CA33-8B4D-11D0-9511-00C04FD9152D} (ExteriorSurround Object) - http://autos.msn.com/components/ocx/exterior/Outside.cab
O16 - DPF: {C6637286-300D-11D4-AE0A-0010830243BD} (InstaFred) - file://C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002\InstFred.ocx
O23 - Service: Adobe LM Service - Adobe Systems - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe Systems Shared\Service\Adobelmsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Autodesk Licensing Service - Autodesk - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Service\AdskScSrv.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Computer, Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: RaySat_3dsmax8 Server (mi-raysat_3dsmax8) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3dsMax8\mentalray\satellite\raysat_3dsmax8server.exe


 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
1
0
It looks like your system is badly out-of-date on its patching. WinXP with no service packs = scary. Take it to Microsoft Update several times until it's fully patched up.

Also get some antivirus software on there and check your system for viruses. The Consolidated Security Thread over in Software has lots of resources listed.
 

Ilikepiedoyou

Senior member
Jan 10, 2006
685
0
0
Will do mechBgon, thanks. How were you able to tell I have no service packs? What other interesting things can you tell from above?
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
1
0
Originally posted by: Ilikepiedoyou
Will do mechBgon, thanks. How were you able to tell I have no service packs?
Easy... I'm spying on you through your optical mouse. Also, I pasted your HJT log into http://hijackthis.de for analysis, and it says right there :D

What other interesting things can you tell from above?
Among other things, I can tell that you probably would benefit from using Secunia's handy online software-checkup tool, because it looks like you have some third-party software that probably needs security patches (Adobe, Sun Java, iTunes/QuickTime, and of course Microsoft Office software). AND you have 3DS Max! :jealousy;

 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
1
0
Originally posted by: Ilikepiedoyou
Hey thanks again, do these patchs really affect stability?
They primarily affect security. And that could affect stability as an end result. There are some patches that are intended to fix performance problems too, although I don't have a list of every WinXP patch over the last 6 years and what it's for.
 

ForumMaster

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2005
7,792
1
0
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Originally posted by: Ilikepiedoyou
Hey thanks again, do these patchs really affect stability?
They primarily affect security. And that could affect stability as an end result. There are some patches that are intended to fix performance problems too, although I don't have a list of every WinXP patch over the last 6 years and what it's for.

well in case anyone needs it, here it is: :D

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=86450

you don't have any unsafe process but you might do well from a reinstall of windows. does good every once in a while.