Running Processes - Too Many?

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atmosphere

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Hello,

I recently got a new computer from Dell, and with a 3.2 gig processer and 2 gigs of RAM, I'm really not that worried about it slowing down too much. But I just noticed that I'm running over 46 processes even just after startup. That sounds like a lot.

I am fairly sure that this number of processes is slowing down my computer, but I may be incorrect. Does anyone know how I can get rid of these processes safely without killing the ones I need? How do I know which ones to kill, and how can I kill them and not have them come back every time I start up?

Thanks!
 
Is it the Dell pre-installed version of Windows XP? They usually have all this garbage installed that just wastes resources. I'd format the hard drive and do a clean install of Windows.
 
uninstall any uneeded programs...if you still have a lot go to...START...RUN...type MSCONFIG...click the start-up tab and uncheck any UNEEDED items.
 
Re: Processes running?

wallace said:
Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't the amount of processes you have running be determined by the configuration of each computer. Namely what you have installed, and what you let run? Suggest you download the following small program, it helped me enormously. I agree, 57 is far too many.

http://www.processlibrary.com/quickaccess/.

I think my 29 processes is very healthly but i still downloaded this and when i went onto the processes tab on task manager it was still the same, apparently i should have got some icons by the names to click on so that it tells me exactly what they are? but i got nothing. :confused:
 
Re:

I have 46 processes...

Specs of my system are in my sig. System runs fine. But like someone has already said, it depends on what type of user you are and what your requirements are.

I suppose, it's not just the amount of processes you have running on Windows XP...but more importantly whether they are crucial and beneficial...

For example, sure a fresh installation is going to have very few processes at first...but a fresh Operating System doesn't have any security software installed, like Antivirus software, which account to the amount of processes running on Windows XP.

Avast! Antivirus alone has at least 5 processes running when all shields are activated...and these processes are vital to the protection of the system.

Then there may be spyware shields installed, adding to the number of processes.

You may also have more hardware than others which require specific proceses.

The amount of system resources each process takes up is also important. It's not just how many processes you have running which you should be worrying about...

...For example, just because you have say, only 20 processes running in Windows XP, and your friend's PC has 40 processes running...it doesn't mean that his machine is worse off. Sure he has alot of processes (twice the amount) but each may only be taking up very small amounts of the system's resources, whereas each of the 20 processes running on your machine may be hogging alot of system resources compared to your friends, meaning you are worse off.
 
Wow! Thanks for the load of replies!

I just dowloaded quick access, and it looks like a great program for keeping me informed on what is running. Previous to that I had to type in and google each process individually to see what it was.

My system startup time from nothing to 46 processes running is about 35 seconds, and I am highly satisifed with that, and not worried about it, the thing I saw that was strange to me was the high amount of processses.

To answer a question that came up earlier, yes I am running the version of windows that came with dell. I am a bit hesitant to format my HD though, as I already have many things on here that I want to keep.

Thanks to ECTech for giving me the MSConfig command, as that's one of the things I was looking for on this. And thanks for all the referrals for the various programs. I'll see what I can do with them.
 
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