Summary: Windows XP is a complex and highly configurable operating system. The minimum set of processes it needs will vary depending on many things.
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I'm looking for a place that has a list of system processes which are needed and which aren't. |
It seems I give this answer all too often.
The answer I keep giving?
"It depends."
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The processes that are needed to run windows depend entirely on the specifics of your machine, and what you do with it. What's a minimum set for me will probably not work for you, and vice versa.
The software that's running on your machine comes from several different places including:
- The Windows operating system itself.
- System "services", some of which are optional, some of which are not, all depending on your machine and needs.
- Programs that start automatically at start up. Again, some of which are optional, some of which are not, all depending on your machine and needs.
An additional confusion is that what kind of software goes in which of those places isn't clear. Hardware drivers and support software can be either embedded in Windows, a service, or a separate start-up application. Applications and utilities can be implemented as Windows Services, or as programs that run at startup, or as programs you run manually.
It all depends, and it's all very confusing.
So my approach to winnowing down what runs on my machine is this:
- Right-click My Computer, click Manage, expand Services and Applications, click on Services, and then click on the Status column header to sort all the "Started" services together. Now for each, I either turn off those I know I can, or I visit this XP Service List to try and learn whether or not I really need the service and act accordingly.
- Run a startup monitoring utility like autoruns from sysinternals and examine each of the items listed as being started automatically when the machine boots or when I log in. There are several that I know I can turn off, but for others I don't recognized, Startup Applications List is a handy reference with close to 7500 definitions.
Finally, another good resource is our old friend Google. Quite frequently, for any process that you find running on your machine, a quick Google search on the name of the process or filename will give you information about what the process is, and whether or not it's required.
Related:
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Ask Leo! - How can I tell what's running on my machine?
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Ask Leo! - What's this program running on my machine?
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Ask Leo! - What's all this stuff running after I boot Windows?
Article C2310 - March 20, 2005
but whats the bare minimum, regardless of what you may be doing? whats the most efficient?
Posted by: Jon at August 31, 2008 6:12 PMWhy hasn;t anyone answered this question? IT simply states... whaich procexxex etc need to be on? Which don't? (If theses aren't running, windows won't run,) Which processes HAVE to be on? I would also like to know. Thanx much.
-Leo
OK, ok... so I can "end prcess," "yes," on... explorer.exe in task manager and Windows should stay up and running? Thanx again.
-Leo
9 out of 10 xp setups will definatley need this lot as a minimum to operate:
* System Idle Process
* explorer.exe
* taskmgr.exe
* spoolsv.exe
* lsass.exe
* csrss.exe
* smss.exe
* winlogon.exe
* svchost.exe - There will be a few of these.
* services.exe
check this website for more detail:
Posted by: billy bob at January 9, 2009 9:05 PMhttp://billmullins.wordpress.com/windows-essential-processes-the-bare-minimum/
Ok . I will give you an example . xp with a wampp server , what are the minimum services needed .
Posted by: Jannik at March 26, 2009 5:57 AMif i can remove unwanted process from my machine
could my system get good performance ?
04-Apr-2009
i have a(?) application that won't run any more
after i disabled some(?) services and made some(?) manual start. why? i'm an idiot, but i digress.
questions is, how do i get back to a last known good state? are there recovery points?
or, is there some way to find out what service(s) an application needs that it doesn't have so it can run?
Posted by: Gene at April 18, 2009 2:59 AMThe list given by billy bob works great for me! I can cut my processes from 70 odd down to about 28 and my laptop still works fine. Infact, it works GREAT. I can still play games and use the internet, aswell as media player and all the essential office programs. It definately seemed to solve the speed problems I've been experiencing recently, although its a bloody pain to have to do it every time I start my computer up!
Posted by: Arth at May 30, 2009 9:05 AMMaybe one way to isolate the details of the computer in question would be to boot into SAFE mode (plain, with internet, or command window - all of which require different services) and see what is listsed in the Task Manager.
That might give you some "minimum" list to start with.
Posted by: BobMc at June 23, 2009 9:28 AMbilly bob wrote:
"Ok . I will give you an example . xp with a wampp server , what are the minimum services needed ."
Even the most experienced techs wont give you an answer because truthfully they don't know!
You needed to ask this in a hardcore gaming forum.
MINIMUM
Plug and Play - AUTOMATIC
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - AUTOMATIC
Windows Audio - AUTOMATIC
/MINIMUM
PLUS NETWORK
Posted by: ripprasternode at August 11, 2009 3:51 PMDHCP Client - AUTOMATIC (unless you set static ip)
Server - AUTOMATIC (access to network drives)
Workstation - AUTOMATIC (access to network drives. Access network machines by "\\remote ip" only.)
/PLUS NETWORK