Disabling Startup Programs


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A startup program or a process that stops responding can cause delays or prevent you from logging on to Windows XP Professional. A process is an instance of an application, including the set of system resources that run an application. By using Task Manager, you can view and selectively end applications and processes, allowing the startup process to continue.

When you are in normal or safe mode, you can also use Task Manager to gather system information, such as CPU and memory statistics.

To start Task Manager

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL, and then click Task Manager.

As Figure 28.2 shows, you can select the Applications, Processes, Performance, and Networking tabs. The Applications and Processes tabs provide a list of active applications and processes, some of which run in the background and might not show activity. You can use the End Process button to end most of the items listed. Save all data before ending any process because this action can cause the system to stop responding.

Figure 28.2 Task Manager

You can also customize Task Manager to display more information on the Processes tab.

To display more information on the Processes tab

Open Task Manager, and then click the Processes tab.
On the View menu, click Select Columns.
Select or clear the check box for each item you want to change.

To obtain more information about Task Manager, open Task Manager, and on the Help menu, click Task Manager Help Topics.

In addition to using Task Manager, you can also end processes by using two command-line tools:

Task List (Tasklist.exe)
Task Kill (Taskkill.exe)

Task List displays information similar to that displayed by the Task Manager Processes tab. For each process, Task List displays useful information, such as the name of the process, the process identification number (PID), and the amount of memory used.

To end a process, run Task Kill by using the process ID or any part of the process name, such as the title of the application window, as a command-line parameter. For more information about Task List and Task Kill, see Windows XP Professional Help and Support Center.

Preserving the Core System Processes

When you are deciding which processes to temporarily disable, avoid ending the processes that are listed in Table 28.13. This table lists the core processes that are common to all systems running Windows XP Professional. Knowing the core processes is useful because the source of an application or service-related problem is most likely due to non-core processes.

Table 28.13 Core System Processes

Core Process	Process Description
Csrss.exe^¹	An essential subsystem that is active at all times. Csrss.exe is the user-mode portion of the Windows subsystem and it maintains console windows and creates or deletes threads. Csrss stands for client/server run-time subsystem.
Explorer.exe	An interactive graphical user interface shell. It provides the familiar Windows taskbar and desktop environment.
Internat.exe	When enabled, a process that displays the EN (English) and other language icons in the system notification area, allowing the user to switch between locales.
Lsass.exe^¹	The local security authentication (LSA) subsystem server component generates the process that authenticates users for the Winlogon service. The LSA also responds to authentication information received from the Graphical Identification and Authentication (GINA) Msgina.dll component. If authentication is successful, Lsass.exe generates the user's access token, which starts the initial shell. Other processes that the user initiates inherit this token.
Mstask.exe^¹	The task scheduler service. It runs tasks at a time determined by the user.
Smss.exe^¹	The Session Manager subsystem, which starts the user session. This process is initiated by the system thread and is responsible for various activities, including starting the Winlogon.exe and Csrss.exe services and setting system variables.
Spoolsv.exe^¹	The spooler service. It manages spooled print and fax jobs.
Svchost.exe^¹	A generic process that acts as a host for other processes running from dynamic-link libraries (DLLs). Multiple entries for this process might be present in the Task Manager list. For more information about Svchost.exe, see article 250320, "Description Of Svchost.exe," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. To find this article, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
Services.exe^¹	The Service Control Manager can start, stop, and pause system services.
System^¹	The system process, which is the process in which most kernel-mode threads run.
System Idle^¹	A separate instance of this process runs for each processor present, and has the single purpose of accounting for unused processor time.
Taskmgr.exe	The process that runs Task Manager.
Winlogon.exe^¹	The process that manages user logon and logoff. Winlogon runs when a user presses CTRL+ALT+DEL to open the logon dialog box.
Winmgmt.exe^¹	A core component of client management. This process starts when the first client application connects, or when management applications request its services.

^¹You cannot use Task Manager to end this process.

For more information about threads, processes, and services, see Windows XP Professional Help and Support Center.

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