November 23, 2004
Name That Task
I get a lot of phone calls from people asking me to help them with their on the spot computing problems. For years, my first bit of advice to them has usually been, "Reboot".
Why? This is usually NOT the best solution for their underlying problem, but it has often been the best immediate solution for the non-technical user. Windows 98 in particular was prone to locking up or crashing because of poor memory management by programs. Many problems were solved by rebooting because the offending program was shut down.
In later versions of Windows, when troubleshooting computer slow-downs or random, odd behaviors (the computer's, not mine) I have used the Windows Task Manager or various task manager replacements to examine what processes are running and to selectively shut down errant processes, such as spyware programs or trojans, before moving on to remove them completely.
I don't usually work with the Task Manager when helping people over the telephone. Normally, I have no idea what programs they have running on their computers and trying to guess at the purpose of mysteriously named processes without being seated in front of the keyboard is frustrating for me and sometimes frightening for the other person. Who knows what PcfMgr.exe or cidaemon.exe are and if it's 'safe' to stop them? (On the other hand I was pretty sure that !@!!logger.exe was an evil program when I saw it.)
Via Lockergnome (if you are wondering why anyone would name a tech site "Lockergnome" the story is here) I have been introduced to a wonderful site that identifies many of the background processes you might find running on your computer.
cidiaemon: Windows NT4/2000/XP task which is part of the Microsoft Index Server (NT4) or its replacement, the Microsoft Indexing Service (2000/XP).
PcfMgr.exe: For laptops : Power Schemes Manager System Tray icon (also called PowerPanel).
Definitions quoted from Answers That Work
AnswersThatWork also offers a utility that you can download which will examine your running tasks and services. The trial is free, a license costs $20.00. Of course, I had to try it out. (I wasn't kidding in the intro to the column-the laptop I am writing this on is NOT my primary computer, but Belarc Advisor tells me I have over 200 programs installed-yeah I will try anything once.)
The Ultimate Trouble Shooter was able to identify most, but not all, of the processes I was running and gave me some interesting information and recommendations about each one. I haven't tried out the full version long enough to absolutely recommend it and the trial is seriously disabled. I will post an update when I have decided one way or another.
The AnswersthatWork web site itself if very useful but it is also a hideous framed site, so make sure you bookmark the actual page you are interested in getting to.
Posted by Trigger Tech at November 23, 2004 1:52 AM Permalink
