What unnecessary process's can I delete (Task Manager)?

[Larry]

What are the minimum processes that need to be running
under the 'PROCESSES' list to free up the maximum computer
processing power for special CPU intensive programs for
WINXP Home Edition?

Some software programs require of course no
other 'applications' be running and I assume that I can
gain additional maximum CPU attention by also ending
uneccessary 'processes' under the PROCESSES list in Task
Manager???????? prior to executing the desired program(s)?

(I cannot find this anywhere in the knowledge bases -
unless I missed it.)

Thanks - Larry

 

[aragorn]

go to control panel/computer management/services
Here you can disable services you don't need.
Click also on help within the services window, there you
can find the default settings for all services in case you
have to change again.

 

[Mike P]

You can free up resources by going into admin tools
services and shutting off items that you don't need or
want here is a link describing what each one does
http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

 

[Tom Swift]

First thing to do is to gain a good understanding of what each process does.
Doing a search (on Google, Yahoo, etc.) for each process will offer a
variety of explanations and opinions. Then you can make an informed decision
on what processes you consider to be unnecessary.

When software asks that no applications be running, that means that you
should quit any applications that you are currently using, e.g., word
processor, browser. It does not mean that you should stop processes
currently running. (That could be disastrous.) In Windows XP, there is also
no need to close applications running in the background as icons in the
system notification area ("the tray") unless the software in question
requires that no instances of a certain program are running. You can
determine if this is true in your case by reading the software's "Readme"
file.

In addition, when installing (or uninstalling) software, it's usually a good
idea to temporarily disable your virus scanner (if you have it set to run
all the time - which it should).

When quitting applications, it occasionally happens that the application is
still running in memory, even if all its windows are closed. To be sure that
all applications are closed, open Task Manager and select the Applications
tab. If you see nothing listed there, you're good to go.

Computers routinely ship with 256 MB of RAM or more. (For most everyday
uses, 512 MB seems to be the "sweet spot" for XP machines.) With that much
RAM, you should have no reason to worry that the operating system's
processes are taking up too much memory. And if you are running particularly
processor-intensive software (e.g. video editing) then you'll gain much more
headroom by adding additional RAM, rather than paring processes. The idea to
extract every last MB of RAM by removing "unnecessary" items goes back to
the time when RAM was more expensive and slower than it is today.

This is not to say that there is no reason to examine which OS processes are
running on your computer, but you should do so from the standpoint of
increasing your privacy and security, rather than gaining additional RAM or,
as some people like to believe, shortening your computer's start time.

Tom Swift