slow start, black dekstop, many processes...

[Marin85]

Hi all,

I have recently had some problems with my new Z61p and I´m not very sure if these are related to this forum or rather to the general software questions, anyway, I´d give a try.
I experience quite slow boot of Windows XP (Pro, SP 2) which wasn´t the case at the beginning. It now takes about 2 minutes to boot which I consider to be too slow for the configuration I have on my laptop since I know ThinkPads with similiar configuration that load their OS (Windows XP as well) faster even using security chip and finger print authentication (which I use as well). In the end of the starting process, when loading the dekstop, it turns completely black for a while, then I get it finally loaded with all icons on it.
After installing some software I got about 98 processes running at the start. I managed to reduce them to "only" 68 using msconfig for the most of them were entirely "useless". Using Process Manager I noticed that there were still many of them which I actually don´t need, but I can´t turn them off using the system start menu of msconfig. Killing them doesn´t help much as it´s only temporarly (till the next start). For the most of them I can´t even figure out the related applications hoping to be able to switch them off in the application settings if possible at all. Now I have a real trouble with them as they are far from silent when starting my notebook.
I also happened recently to be "kicked off" different applications (like Adobe Reader, Outlook)once without any obvious reason, just while checking some documents. Since then I haven´t had any problems with those applications, but I stil have the same problem with some games (legal versions). I also checked my CPU- and RAM-usage but I didn´t notice anything unusual.
And last, but not least, I read in this forum about power manager slowing down cpu performance of Core 2 Duo and it seemed to concern me as well, so I tried to install the hotfix linked there but I got an error message about incompatability, my system has a different language (German). So I couldn´t install the hotfix.

Any help or hints will be appreciated very much!

Marin

P.S: I don´t forget to run CCleaner and DiskkeeperLine.

[WarMachine]

Hello !

So, you have 68 processes running ?

It would be nice to erase 40 or 50 to save memory.

Can you give us a list of these processes ?

W.

[Marin85]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Here are they (as an output of process explorer):


Process PID CPU Description Company Name
System Idle Process 0 95.45
Interrupts n/a Hardware Interrupts
DPCs n/a Deferred Procedure Calls
System 4 0.76
smss.exe 1956 Windows NT-Sitzungs-Manager Microsoft Corporation
csrss.exe 2012 Client Server Runtime Process Microsoft Corporation
winlogon.exe 2044 Windows NT-Anmeldung Microsoft Corporation (windows NT logon)
services.exe 316 0.76 Anwendung für Dienste und Controller Microsoft Corporation (application for services and controllers)
ibmpmsvc.exe 528 ThinkPad Power Management Service Lenovo
ati2evxx.exe 556 ATI External Event Utility EXE Module ATI Technologies Inc.
svchost.exe 576 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 708 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 744 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
EvtEng.exe 812 Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Event Log Intel Corporation
S24EvMon.exe 900 Wireless Management Service Intel Corporation
svchost.exe 1108 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 1148 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
spoolsv.exe 1556 Spooler SubSystem App Microsoft Corporation
IPSSVC.EXE 1664 IPS Core Service Lenovo Group Limited
AcPrfMgrSvc.exe 1680
btwdins.exe 1756 Bluetooth Support Server Broadcom Corporation.
cvpnd.exe 1820 Cisco Systems VPN Client Cisco Systems, Inc.
DkService.exe 1844 DKSERVICE.EXE Diskeeper Corporation
DkIcon.exe 2872 DKICON.EXE Diskeeper Corporation
svchost.exe 1908 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
PDAgent.exe 1992 PDAgent Module Raxco Software, Inc.
RegSrvc.exe 676 Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Registry Service Intel Corporation
SUService.exe 972 ThinkVantage System Update Service Lenovo Group Limited
tvt_reg_monitor_svc.exe 1040 ThinkVantage Registry Monitor Service Module
TPHDEXLG.exe 1076 ThinkVantage Active Protection System - HDD Logger Module Lenovo.
TpKmpSvc.exe 1184
tvttcsd.exe 1272 tvttcsd Application IBM
rrservice.exe 1284 Rescue and Recovery Backup Service Lenovo Group Limited
tvtsched.exe 1304 ThinkVantage Scheduler Lenovo Group Limited
logmon.exe 2956
IUService.exe 1316
searchindexer.exe 1380 Microsoft Windows Search Indexer Microsoft Corporation
AcSvc.exe 1420 0.76 ThinkVantage Access Connections Main Service Module Lenovo
SvcGuiHlpr.exe 3724
wmpnetwk.exe 1592 Windows Media Player-Netzwerkfreigabedienst Microsoft Corporation
PDEngine.exe 3796 0.76 PDEngine Module Raxco Software, Inc.
wmiapsrv.exe 3888 WMI-Leistungsadapter-Dienst Microsoft Corporation
alg.exe 2052 Application Layer Gateway Service Microsoft Corporation
lsass.exe 320 LSA Shell (Export Version) Microsoft Corporation
ati2evxx.exe 2104 ATI External Event Utility EXE Module ATI Technologies Inc.
cssauth.exe 2308 cssauth Lenovo Group Limited
tvtpwm_tray.exe 2388 Password Manager Tray Application Lenovo Group Limited
taskmgr.exe 5604 Windows Task-Manager Microsoft Corporation
explorer.exe 2432 0.76 Windows Explorer Microsoft Corporation
TpShocks.exe 1460 ThinkVantage Active Protection System Lenovo.
TPHKMGR.exe 3152
TPONSCR.exe 2740
TpScrex.exe 3276 ThinkPad UltraZoom Lenovo Group Limited
SynTPLpr.exe 3052 TouchPad Driver Helper Application Synaptics, Inc.
SynTPEnh.exe 3272 Synaptics TouchPad Enhancements Synaptics, Inc.
smax4pnp.exe 3308 SMax4PNP Analog Devices, Inc.
rundll32.exe 3920 Eine DLL-Datei als Anwendung ausführen Microsoft Corporation
DLACTRLW.EXE 2472 Drive Letter Access Component Sonic Solutions
ACWLIcon.exe 3232
ACTray.exe 1528
LPMGR.EXE 2748 ThinkVantage Productivity Center Manager Lenovo Group Limited
scheduler_proxy.exe 2188 scheduler_proxy Application Lenovo Group Limited
ctfmon.exe 2200 CTF Loader Microsoft Corporation
Skype.exe 5640 Skype. Take a deep breath Skype Technologies S.A.
skypePM.exe 6020 Skype Extras Manager Skype Technologies
iexplore.exe 5656 Internet Explorer Microsoft Corporation
procexp.exe 4944 0.76 Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals
CLI.exe 2908 CLI Application (Command Line Interface) ATI Technologies Inc.
CLI.exe 5276 CLI Application (Command Line Interface) ATI Technologies Inc.

Only 68 pieces At the time I was running only IE, Process Explorer and skype. I´m afraid the menus shifted a bit after copy-paste, so I made them bold right on the top of the list; irrespective of this everything else is in the right place Non-exe entries are just cathegories and subcatheories of the processes listed above. I hope it´s readable Some processes are given here in german since it´s my OS language, for this I gave corresponding translations in brackets.
If I only knew how to turn most of them off...not even a single option in the related applications!

[WarMachine]

Hello,

Thx for the list.

Good news first : I see no malware, or bad software.
Bad news : OMG ! Lots of bloatware !!!

At first, it's not necessary to uninstall the programs, but deactivate them in the MS Config utility, or directly in the registry Editor (be careful, tough), will greatly improve the overall speed of your PC.

There are also unneeded services, that you can deactivate too, through the Service Console.

You can have a look at Black Viper's site :

http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm

It's just a matter of optimization. Once the PC cleaned, it will recover its juice !

If you want, PM me your MSN adress, and I will help you to clean all that.

I've just looked my task manager. With XP, I only have 22 processes running, including Firefox, WinAmp, WLM and NOD32, and 3 little tools I added (Taskix, Taskswitch, RegProt). So, at startup, I only have 17 or 18 processes running, and everything runs fine.

W.

[Marin85]

Hi,
I´ve already used the msconfig to reduce them to 68 from 98 . Any further step with msconfig leads to malfunctions. Now I´d try what you described and post any results Thanks a lot for your help (and quite fast reply )!

P.S. I have never made use of my msn

[Marin85]

...and one more thing: how can I access the service console and the regestry for I´m not very sure which is which in my german OS version? (sry for the probabely stupid question

[Marin85]

...I found them, it´s almost like the english version


O.K. so far so good. I think I´ll need some help, though, as to which services can be deactivated without any further problems. If you run ICQ, my ICQ number is 468117093 (I use it mostly for work).

[Marin85]

O.K. so far so good. I think I´ll need some help as to which services can be deactivated without any further problems. If you run ICQ, my ICQ number is 468117093 (I use it mostly for work).

[WarMachine]

Okey-Dokey !

I too use ICQ @ work, but I don't remember my number.

I'll have a look tomorrow (hmm, well... today ! ), and I'll add you to my contacts list.

Have a good night.

W.

[Marin85]

Hi,
I did a good job using service console. Here how my "new" process list looks like according to process explorer:

Process PID CPU Description Company Name
System Idle Process 0 94.70
Interrupts n/a Hardware Interrupts
DPCs n/a Deferred Procedure Calls
System 4
smss.exe 1956 Windows NT-Sitzungs-Manager Microsoft Corporation
csrss.exe 2012 Client Server Runtime Process Microsoft Corporation
winlogon.exe 2044 Windows NT-Anmeldung Microsoft Corporation
services.exe 316 0.76 Anwendung für Dienste und Controller Microsoft Corporation
ibmpmsvc.exe 516 ThinkPad Power Management Service Lenovo
ati2evxx.exe 544 ATI External Event Utility EXE Module ATI Technologies Inc.
svchost.exe 576 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 708 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 744 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
EvtEng.exe 812 Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Event Log Intel Corporation
S24EvMon.exe 900 0.76 Wireless Management Service Intel Corporation
svchost.exe 1124 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 1168 Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
spoolsv.exe 1464 Spooler SubSystem App Microsoft Corporation
IPSSVC.EXE 1544 IPS Core Service Lenovo Group Limited
AcPrfMgrSvc.exe 1560
RegSrvc.exe 1680 Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Registry Service Intel Corporation
SUService.exe 1796 ThinkVantage System Update Service Lenovo Group Limited
tvt_reg_monitor_svc.exe 1832 ThinkVantage Registry Monitor Service Module
TPHDEXLG.exe 1872 ThinkVantage Active Protection System - HDD Logger Module Lenovo.
TpKmpSvc.exe 1948
tvttcsd.exe 2008 tvttcsd Application IBM
rrservice.exe 2020 Rescue and Recovery Backup Service Lenovo Group Limited
tvtsched.exe 260 ThinkVantage Scheduler Lenovo Group Limited
logmon.exe 1244
IUService.exe 612
AcSvc.exe 804 ThinkVantage Access Connections Main Service Module Lenovo
SvcGuiHlpr.exe 2852
alg.exe 3792 Application Layer Gateway Service Microsoft Corporation
searchindexer.exe 1472 Microsoft Windows Search Indexer Microsoft Corporation
PDAgent.exe 4248 PDAgent Module Raxco Software, Inc.
PDEngine.exe 5896 PDEngine Module Raxco Software, Inc.
DkService.exe 2052 DKSERVICE.EXE Diskeeper Corporation
DkIcon.exe 1180 DKICON.EXE Diskeeper Corporation
wmiapsrv.exe 2388 WMI-Leistungsadapter-Dienst Microsoft Corporation
lsass.exe 320 0.76 LSA Shell (Export Version) Microsoft Corporation
ati2evxx.exe 2120 ATI External Event Utility EXE Module ATI Technologies Inc.
cssauth.exe 1512 cssauth Lenovo Group Limited
tvtpwm_tray.exe 3652 Password Manager Tray Application Lenovo Group Limited
explorer.exe 2064 Windows Explorer Microsoft Corporation
TpShocks.exe 2792 ThinkVantage Active Protection System Lenovo.
TPHKMGR.exe 2976
TPONSCR.exe 3104
TpScrex.exe 3312 ThinkPad UltraZoom Lenovo Group Limited
SynTPLpr.exe 3156 TouchPad Driver Helper Application Synaptics, Inc.
SynTPEnh.exe 3504 Synaptics TouchPad Enhancements Synaptics, Inc.
smax4pnp.exe 3756 SMax4PNP Analog Devices, Inc.
rundll32.exe 3808 Eine DLL-Datei als Anwendung ausführen Microsoft Corporation
DLACTRLW.EXE 3820 Drive Letter Access Component Sonic Solutions
ACWLIcon.exe 3908
ACTray.exe 3948
LPMGR.EXE 3984 ThinkVantage Productivity Center Manager Lenovo Group Limited
scheduler_proxy.exe 4068 scheduler_proxy Application Lenovo Group Limited
ctfmon.exe 3536 CTF Loader Microsoft Corporation
ICQ.exe 1384 ICQ Library ICQ, Inc.
iexplore.exe 3784 Internet Explorer Microsoft Corporation
procexp.exe 4856 3.03 Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals
CLI.exe 4072 CLI Application (Command Line Interface) ATI Technologies Inc.
CLI.exe 2276 CLI Application (Command Line Interface) ATI Technologies Inc.

Those are exactly 61 processes. However, when starting XP there are stil "only" 55 processe running on my laptop, which is a good improvement (compared with 68 before As to different services of my XP I wasn´sure about following ones:

Ac Profile Manager
Access Connections Main Service
workstation service (for connections with remote servers)
IBM KCU Service
cryptography service
NLA
second (?) logon
shell hardware identification
ThinkPad PM Service
ThinkVantage registry Monitor Service
TSS Core Service
TVT Backup Service
TVT Scheduler
tvtnetwk
Windows firewall (*I´ve alredy disabled windows firewall from security center due to a conflict with Kaspersky Anti-Virus incl. firewall)
Windows Search

Which could I terminate with good conscience ?

I have a WiFi connection, for this reason I was wondering if it´s possible at all to deactivate some connection services (as Intel Pro Wireless... or Access connections) since I have no idea how this would affect my system.

Any opinions?

M.

[jdhurst]

The number of processes doesn't have a lot to do with anything. I have 85 processes running and do not experience any problems - certainly nothing like you describe. They use memory, but are otherwise generally benign. The focus in thinkpads.com on processes is largely a waste of time. .... JDH

[WarMachine]

Hello,

You must be the only one to say that.

Just have a look at the memory used by the processes in the task manager, you'll see that it's not nothing.

I've done this type of optimisations dozens of time (really), and it's everytime successfull.

W.

[Marin85]

Hi,
thanks for your replies, guys! I´ve already read some posts of jdhurst regarding similiar problems, that was the reason why I was a bit confused about the situation. As far as I know, a high amount of processes not necessairly leads to a slow start, but it could do so. For I don´t have any better explanation for my problems by now (and I´m not very experienced with such issues), I´m trying to solve them by reducing the amount of processes getting started when booting. This might be in fact a very stupid way and I´d be very happy if someone could give a better solution.
What seems to have improved today after these changes: I could save about 10 sec when os boots and I don´t experience "getting kicked out" anymore.
I use CCleaner to get rid of the usual rubbish and DiskKeeper Lite for HDD defragmentation but speaking honestly I don´t notice any improvement after (clean and then reboot).
As to the "black dekstop" I noticed that same thing happens when I change settings in ATI Catalyst (e.g. colours, resolution), so I think this could be due to some issue with my grafic.
Irrespective of this, my notebook is far from slow after booting has completed: for instance, I have no problems with performance when running Matlab.
Till now I don´t have any clear idea where my problems come from. (Maybe I should have asked first if other users also experience 2 minutes system start for I could only compare with 2 other ThinkPads of similiar configuration.)

M.

[jdhurst]

Hello,

You must be the only one to say that.

Just have a look at the memory used by the processes in the task manager, you'll see that it's not nothing.

I've done this type of optimisations dozens of time (really), and it's everytime successfull.

W.

I know I am the only one to say that, but it is true. Even with three machines running simultaneously, the average load on my Desktop CPU or my ThinkPad CPU is approximately zero.

There are times when it gets busy (AdAware scans, PD8 defrags, ActiveSync synchronizations, some Outlook activities), but generally, usage subsides very quickly and load goes back to zero. On my machine, I *have* studied task manager and I don't make statements like these without knowing from where I speak, and at any one time 78 out of 80 processes (at this current instant) all show zero. Just memory and I have enough of that.

I will also say this: I service ThinkPads for customers and those machines also run at very low CPU usage. Instantaneously of course the CPU is used, but the average is very low. So I am not making statements based on a small number of machines.

Then, finally, I *do* understand the memory consumption, and I have said so (many times) but I have lots of memory, so allowing processes to use memory is a non-issue for me. It certainly does not slow down the machine any.
... JDH

... JDH

[Marin85]

Hi jdhurst,
I know what you mean and you are pretty right: I noticed the same thing when scanning my cpu and memory usage with process explorer: just a tiny part of my memory is occupied with the already started processes. And as you see, I have RAM enough, so even the mantainance of all 98 processes wasn´t an issue. However, the system start was really slow, much slower than it had been at the beginning. So I tried to speed up my system start by reducing the number of processes initiatetd in boot modus (mostly processes related to applications like ActiveSync and Adobe Reader). In fact I managed to considerably speed up my XP start performance. However, it´s still slower than it´s supposed to be and what is more, there is no real need for this. So, if I can´t speed up my system start anymore by reducing the amount of processes, there must be another solution (I hope at least). I have no problems with disk fragmentation or adware, malware and rubbish like this as already described above. So, if you have an idea what else the reasons for this could be, I´d be very happy to hear it

M.