Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Quick answers to a few questions...
I get a fairly steady volume of questions here at Ask-Leo!. Unfortunately I can't answer them all personally but here's a batch of questions received over the past week and some quick answers.
- Why doesn't the "Help & Support" Service stay disabled like I set it?
- Help! The print spooler service disappeared.
- What's a PID?
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Why doesn't the "Help & Support" Service stay disabled like I set it?
Yep, this service turns itself back on as soon as it gets a chance. Usually as soon as you ask for any kind of help. I verified it myself - I stopped and disabled the service then asked for help. Sure enough it's back to auto-start and running. That's more of a "how" than a "why" but it at least explains the behavior.
Help! The print spooler service disappeared.
No real way to know how that one happened. Bottom line is that it shouldn't. The first step I'd take in these kinds of system corruption scenarios is to run the system file checker and see if that restores it.
What's a PID?
PID stands for Process ID. It's how the operating system keeps track of the various programs or processes on your machine. If you have to copies of a program running each will have a different PID. A great example is the ever-confusing svchost (see my previous svchost article). If you run "tasklist /svc" in a command window, each copy of svchost will have a different PID. If one seems to be taking too much CPU time as shown in task manager, the PID will let you determine which one it is in the tasklist /svc output.
Article C1897 - February 28, 2004
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
I have an interage 6 in 1 flash memory card (CFX-1). There are only 4 slots on one side.Where are the other 2? Can I use this device for xD-Picture Card?
Posted by: Tommy at February 26, 2005 7:44 AMSeveral different memory cards use the same slot. I, to, have a 6-in-1 (or maybe it's an 8-in-1), that has only 4 slots. Basically, use the slot that most closely fits the memory card you're trying to read.
Posted by: Leo at February 26, 2005 9:43 AMGreat info leo but how do i found out what is causing explorer.exe to use all the memory? Have run process explorer which confirms useage but gives me no clue as to why. Am i just better off rebooting? andrew
Posted by: andrew at April 21, 2005 1:43 AMIt's tough with explorer because other applications can plug into it. I'd start with a spyware and virus scan, myself.
Posted by: Leo at April 21, 2005 8:29 AMI ran sfc /scannow on command prompt but nothing was detected. When I plug in my usb flash drive, the computer says it doesn't recognize it. Anymore suggestions?
Posted by: Kenneth Schwertfeger at January 31, 2009 1:12 PM