Tweaking backround programs

[JamesMW]

Hi

I am looking at task manger right know on an old P4 laptop and and there are a zillion processes running that I seriously doubt I need. Ad-Watch for example is using 190,344K. Seeing as there are only 2 GB of RAM in this thing it seems like an awful lot. I can't really mess around with this as its my parents laptop, but I am planning an i7 build and I want to know which processes are or are not necessary. I am a relative newebie so if this is a noob question (as I expect it is) please bear with me. I am not sure if this is in the right sub forum so if it isn't will a mod please move it.

The laptop is an Inspiron 9100 with 2GB of RAM but I doubt that matters.

Thanks

 

[yzmxer608]

You can usually tell by the process name what program it is for. If you go through the list and find programs that are running that you KNOW you don't need, you can end those. Only end the ones you are 100% sure you don't need, since if you stop one that is important, your computer might stop functioning right. A lot of them might be programs that start on boot up. If you open the command prompt, type msconfig and press enter, then go to the startup tab you will find a list of programs that start when you start your computer. It is normally safe to disable all of them except for your anti-virus program and the OS but you should do the same thing as with the processes and carefully go through the list and only disable the ones you know you don't need.

 

[MrCoffee]

With laptops you usually have a load of little programs and drivers that the manufacturer has put on there, most aren't needed and some will only do things like give you an on screen graphic for the volume change buttons etc. other things will be important like the driver for the touch pad or whatever. its very hard to know off the bat what you do and don't need. As per the above post you can experiment with msconfig.

 

[Slaymate]

Even on a desktop you have to be careful about what you turn-off and/or disable. But that doesn't mean you can't try turning things off in Task Manager, worst come to worse the system shuts down or restarts (using Task Manager). When I 1st started trying to tweak my system (years ago) I wrote down everything I did so I could undo it. Once you determine that something running isn't needed you can uninstall the program that loads it or you can turn off the Service that starts it.

Here's a decent little database of what processes you might see in Task Manager.
Task List Programs - AnswersThatWork's famous Database of Windows Task Manager Processes, Windows Startup Items, XP Services, Vista Services, Process List