How many processes should be running?

Hi,

Yes there can be many processes running and these methods and tools will help you to
see and control many of them.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or
Windows 7
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Use Advanced Tools to Troubleshoot Performance Problems in Windows 7 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/6152/use-advanced-tools-to-troubleshoot-performance-problems-in-windows-7/

Problems with overall system speed and performance
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/gp/slow_windows_performance?p=1

Use Advanced Tools to Troubleshoot Performance Problems in Windows 7http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/6152/use-advanced-tools-to-troubleshoot-performance-problems-in-windows-7/

Problems with overall system speed and performance
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/gp/slow_windows_performance?p=1

How to troubleshoot performance issues in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950685

Optimizing Microsoft Windows Vista Performance
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959062

To see all that is loading bootup - wait a few minutes without doing anything - then Right Click
TaskBar - Task Manager - take a look at Appplications - Processes - Services - this is a quick
reference (if you have a little box on Lower Left - Show for All Users then check that).

How to Change, Add, or Remove Startup Programs in Windows 7
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1401-startup-programs-change.html

A quick check to see which are loading is Method 2 there - using MSCONFIG then post a list of
those here.
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Tools that should help :

Process Explorer - Free - Find out what files, registry keys and other objects processes have
open, which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show
you who owns each process.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Autoruns - Free - See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system
boots and you login. Autoruns also shows you the full list of Registry and file locations where
applications can configure auto-start settings.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

Process Monitor - Free - Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in
real-time.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

There are many excellent free tools at Sysinternals
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx

WhatsInStartUP - Free - This utility displays the list of all applications that are loaded
automatically when Windows starts up. For each application, the following information
is displayed: Startup Type (Registry/Startup Folder), Command -Line String, Product
Name, File Version, Company Name, Location in the Registry or file system, and more.
It allows you to easily disable or delete unwanted programs that runs in your Windows
startup.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/what_run_in_startup.html

There are many excellent free tools at NirSoft
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/index.html

Window Watcher - Free - Do you know what's running on your computer? Maybe not. The
Window Watcher tells all, reporting every window created by every running program, whether
the window is visible or not.
http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptwinwatch.asp

Many excellent free tools and an excellent newsletter at Karenware
http://www.karenware.com/

Hope this helps.