Processes on a laptop

[kaylad4]

So... I got this laptop for Christmas from my parents, and my boyfriend says that they download a bunch of stuff on there that you dont really need, which makes it so that there are a bunch of processes running, which bogs the computer down. Right now i have 60 processes running, compared to the 28 on my desktop.
My question is, how many processes do i really need? would it be stupid to reinstall windows on the computer? how do i tell which processes are really important, and which ones are junk? If i reinstall windows XP, will the touch pad and everything still be supported without extra drivers?
thanks a lot!

 

[alcalde]

It's not the number of processes per se as it is the number of needed processes. Before reinstalling Windows, what I would do would be to go through the control panel's add/delete programs option (what you use to uninstall programs) and see what programs are listed there. If there are things there that you don't want or need, uninstall them, then check to see the process count. Also note that while there may be a lot of processes running, they might not be actively running or taking much memory - check the cpu usage and memory information for processes in the the task manager window.

After you've done that, if you still see a lot of unidentified processes, particularly ones that are hogging the CPU or memory, post again and I can post links to some software and websites that help identify running processes.

As to whether all the laptop hardware will run after a Windows re-install, that really depends on the age of the laptop and whether Windows has default drivers for them. Usually the manufacturer of the laptop will have drivers available on its website for download; if not, it is often possible to identify the manufacturer of the part (chipset, GPU, touchpad, etc.) and find drivers on their websites. It's something that should be checked first before re-installing Windows from scratch.

 

[thirtythree]

What brand and model is it?

 

[kaylad4]

OKay.. I hope I'm looking in the right spot...
Looks like it's a Toshiba Satellite with an Intel Celeron M as a CPU.
And my OS is Window XP, if that helps at all.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: kaylad4
OKay.. I hope I'm looking in the right spot...
Looks like it's a Toshiba Satellite with an Intel Celeron M as a CPU.
And my OS is Window XP, if that helps at all.

There are several Toshiba Satellite models, but, for what it's worth, you should have gotten a Toshiba recovery DVD with your laptop, and if you install Windows from that, there shouldn't be as much crap. You can install the specific drivers you need from the DVD as well. I have a Toshiba Satellite, and the only laptop-specific process I have set for startup are tpsmain.exe, thotkey.exe, and the Toshiba Application Service.

 

[nordloewelabs]

you can use a small utility called Autoruns 8 to check what is loading with your Windows. as said before, the number of useful processes cant be determined by anyone. it will be diff for each system.

i have been able to cut the number of processes to 25 in my both my Win2000 and my WinXP, but that required weeks of some trial and error. uninstall the progs you know and dont need and if you want to go further on the cutting, search for the process on Google (aol.exe, mobsync.exe, qt.exe, services.exe, etc) and see what ppl say about it. again, do stop them from starting up with Windows you will need Autoruns.

 

[law9933]

Stop unnessecary XP processes from starting automatically by using Black Viper I used the Safe list. Les

http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Black_Vipers_Registry_Tweaks_d5381.html read Editor's Note

 

[wanderer27]

60 - Wow.

That's a lot of processes.

I have a Corporate Laptop, and with all the crap they load on it I still 'only' have about 50. I usually go in and kill off a few more when I start it up. Even so, it still bogs down alot.

 

[MedicBob]

Originally posted by: law9933
Stop unnessecary XP processes from starting automatically by using Black Viper I used the Safe list. Les

http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Black_Vipers_Registry_Tweaks_d5381.html read Editor's Note

Agree here, I used Black Vipers list before and it seems to help.

 

[crm114]

you dont sound all that technical, thats not a bad thing but i would hold off trying to tweak your registry like some people are saying. thats a bit extreme. (btdubs i just checked and i have 71 running processes)

this is what i would do: like alcalde said, go thru the control panal> add/remove programs and get rid of anything you dont need.
you will need an antivirus so if you have norton (which im almost positive came with it, with like a free 30 day trial or some crap?) dont uninstall yet. my gf has a toshiba and they do include ALLOT of proprietary crap that is unnecessary.

some time before now and when norton expires (assuming you have that) you will want to uninstall it and install avg anti-virus and spyware cause its just as good as norton and free
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5

After you have unistalled anything you dont really want. (and if your not sure about something, better to leave it) after that reboot, go to your task manager (ctrl+alt+del), click on performance and look at the "CPU Usage" stare at that for a min and average it in your head roughly. Is it jumping from zero to maybe 35%? or maybe even 50%? then your ok, dont stress. Use your new laptop for a few months then maybe go back and decide about some of the programs you wernt sure of. And if you cant remeber the Add/Remove utility will tell you when the last time you used a program was.

But for goodness sake you do not need to reinstall windows or tweak your registry, that is like using an ax to swat a fly off your forehead!

let us know what your cpu usage is and what programs (if any) you trashed.

 

[law9933]

Norton can really bog down a PC & also can be hard to remove unless you use the removal tool that Symatic supplies at their website. AVG is a good free antivirus, as is Avast, as long as you keep them updated. AVG antispyware free is a good scanning tool but gives no real time protection. Les

 

[Xsorovan]

To answer the question, on the laptop's I've worked on and owned I try to keep the processes down to somewhere between 39 and 45 processes. (Depending on what is really needed) 60 seems a bit extreme.

A handy tool to use to try turning off some of those things is msconfig. (type msconfig into the run box) There will be 2 tabs at the end. "Services" and "Startup". Services will show you what services run at startup (check the "hide microsoft services" to see what else is running). You can uncheck those hit ok and reboot and see what "breaks" and what doesn't work. The same with the "startup" directory. Uncheck things, google the names of the files and see what they do. If something breaks just recheck the box and reboot.

One big hint is that things like Quicktime, Adobe products, picture viewers, music players, etc don't really need to be running until you need them to be. Yes something might have a "quickloader" so the program starts faster, but it's using memory that could be used for something you are actually using right now, vs something you might (or might not) use in the future.

Hope that helps!

 

[kaylad4]

Hey thanks everyone!
I'm actually using McAfee antivirus stuff right now (yeah I know its supposed to be horrible, but its too late, I already bought it.).
We've run through the msconfig business and managed to get it down to fifty-one processes last night. Adding and removing stuff from the control panel did pretty much nothing, but then again, I wasnt sure what I needed and didn't need.
Thanks a lot for your posts!