Every system service such as Windows Update, Event Log, Terminal Services, Audio Service, etc. runs within svchost.exe. Depending on the access the services need, they are grouped together and are run in a number of processes which explains why you see so many in Task Manager running under different accounts such as System, Local Service and Network Service.
Identifying what services are running is different depending on the version of Windows you have.
Windows XP
In Windows XP at a command prompt run:
tasklist /svc
The tasklist utility will show you what processes are running under each svchost.exe process.
Windows Vista and Windows 7
Task manager in Windows Vista and Windows 7 has been enhanced so you can easily see what services are running inside a host process such as svchost.exe.
Click on the Start Button, type in taskmgr and hit Enter. When task manager loads, click on the Processes tab and click Show processes from all users to see all of the svchost.exe processes. Then, right click on a svchost.exe process and select Go to Service(s). You will be taken to the Services tab with all services running in that process highlighted.
All Versions of Windows
Microsoft Sysinternals has a great free utility called Process Explorer that is like a task manager on steroids. It works on all versions of Windows and allows you to easily see services running inside of svchost.exe. Download Process Explorer here. Once you have it running right click on any process and select Properties. Then click on the Services tab and you will see all processes running inside the host process.
Wednesday
Fix Broken and Slow Tab Issues in Internet Explorer 8
Some users that upgraded to Internet Explorer 8 experience issues with tabs not working properly or taking a very long time to load. It seems for most users the issue can be attributed to a problem with actxprxy.dll not installing properly during the upgrade. If you have a similar problem with IE8, fixing the issue is as simple as a running one command.
Just open up an administrative level command prompt and type in regsvr32 actxprxy.dll and hit Enter. Reboot your computer and your tab issue should be resolved.
Just open up an administrative level command prompt and type in regsvr32 actxprxy.dll and hit Enter. Reboot your computer and your tab issue should be resolved.
Kill Processes from Command Prompt
All of this is possible with the TaskKill command. First, let's cover the basics. You can kill a process by the process ID (PID) or by image name (EXE filename).
Open up an Administrative level Command Prompt and run tasklist to see all of the running processes:
C:\>tasklist
Image Name PID Session Name Mem Usage
========================= ======== ================ ============
firefox.exe 26356 Console 139,352 K
regedit.exe 24244 Console 9,768 K
cmd.exe 18664 Console 2,380 K
conhost.exe 2528 Console 7,852 K
notepad.exe 17364 Console 7,892 K
notepad.exe 24696 Console 22,028 K
notepad.exe 25304 Console 5,852 K
explorer.exe 2864 Console 72,232 K
In the example above you can see the image name and the PID for each process. If you want to kill the firefox process run:
C:\>Taskkill /IM firefox.exe /F
or
C:\>Taskkill /PID 26356 /F
The /f flag is kills the process forcefully. Failure to use the /F flag will result in nothing happening in some cases. One example is whenever I want to kill the explorer.exe process I have to use the /F flag or else the process just does not terminate.
If you have multiple instances of an image open such as multiple firefox.exe processes, running the taskkill /IM firefox.exe command will kill all instances. When you specify the PID only the specific instane of firefox will be terminated.
The real power of taskkill are the filtering options that allow you to use the following variables and operators.
Variables:
* STATUS
* IMAGENAME
* PID
* SESSION
* CPUTIME
* MEMUSAGE
* USERNAME
* MODULES
* SERVICES
* WINDOWTITLE
Operators:
* eq (equals)
* ne (not equal)
* gt (greater than)
* lt (less than)
* ge (greater than or equal)
* le (less than or equal)
"*" is the wildcard.
You can use the variables and operators with the /FI filtering flag. For example, let's say you want to end all processes that have a window title that starts with "Internet":
C:\>taskkill /FI "WINDOWTITLE eq Internet*" /F
How about killing all processes running under the Steve account:
C:\>taskkill /FI "USERNAME eq Steve" /F
It is also possible to kill a process running on a remote computer with taskkill. Just run the following to kill notepad.exe on a remote computer called SteveDesktop:
C:\>taskkill /S SteveDesktop /U RemoteAccountName /P RemoteAccountPassword /IM notepad.exe /F
Open up an Administrative level Command Prompt and run tasklist to see all of the running processes:
C:\>tasklist
Image Name PID Session Name Mem Usage
========================= ======== ================ ============
firefox.exe 26356 Console 139,352 K
regedit.exe 24244 Console 9,768 K
cmd.exe 18664 Console 2,380 K
conhost.exe 2528 Console 7,852 K
notepad.exe 17364 Console 7,892 K
notepad.exe 24696 Console 22,028 K
notepad.exe 25304 Console 5,852 K
explorer.exe 2864 Console 72,232 K
In the example above you can see the image name and the PID for each process. If you want to kill the firefox process run:
C:\>Taskkill /IM firefox.exe /F
or
C:\>Taskkill /PID 26356 /F
The /f flag is kills the process forcefully. Failure to use the /F flag will result in nothing happening in some cases. One example is whenever I want to kill the explorer.exe process I have to use the /F flag or else the process just does not terminate.
If you have multiple instances of an image open such as multiple firefox.exe processes, running the taskkill /IM firefox.exe command will kill all instances. When you specify the PID only the specific instane of firefox will be terminated.
The real power of taskkill are the filtering options that allow you to use the following variables and operators.
Variables:
* STATUS
* IMAGENAME
* PID
* SESSION
* CPUTIME
* MEMUSAGE
* USERNAME
* MODULES
* SERVICES
* WINDOWTITLE
Operators:
* eq (equals)
* ne (not equal)
* gt (greater than)
* lt (less than)
* ge (greater than or equal)
* le (less than or equal)
"*" is the wildcard.
You can use the variables and operators with the /FI filtering flag. For example, let's say you want to end all processes that have a window title that starts with "Internet":
C:\>taskkill /FI "WINDOWTITLE eq Internet*" /F
How about killing all processes running under the Steve account:
C:\>taskkill /FI "USERNAME eq Steve" /F
It is also possible to kill a process running on a remote computer with taskkill. Just run the following to kill notepad.exe on a remote computer called SteveDesktop:
C:\>taskkill /S SteveDesktop /U RemoteAccountName /P RemoteAccountPassword /IM notepad.exe /F
Tuesday
Disable and Stop the Themes service.
With the default Category Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Performance and Maintenance
Select Administrator Tools
Select Services
Select "Themes" service (Double Click)
Select General Tab
In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
Select the Ok button to close the panel
With the Classic Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Administrator Tools
Select Services
Select "Themes" service (Double Click)
Select General Tab
In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
Select the Ok button to close the panel
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Performance and Maintenance
Select Administrator Tools
Select Services
Select "Themes" service (Double Click)
Select General Tab
In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
Select the Ok button to close the panel
With the Classic Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Administrator Tools
Select Services
Select "Themes" service (Double Click)
Select General Tab
In the Startup type: select "Disabled"
Select the Ok button to close the panel
Monday
Use Theme on XP
Reduce the overhead associated with WinXP's new Themes. This is valid for Windows XP Home and Pro. I have observed between 4 MB to 12 MB of RAM used for the new themes.
With the default Category Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Performance and Maintenance
Select System
Select Advanced Tab
Under Performance, select the Settings button
Select Visual Effects Tab
Select "Adjust for best performance."
Select the Ok button
With the Classic Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select System
Select Advanced Tab
Under Performance, select the Settings button
Select Visual Effects Tab
Select "Adjust for best performance."
Select the Ok button
With the default Category Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Performance and Maintenance
Select System
Select Advanced Tab
Under Performance, select the Settings button
Select Visual Effects Tab
Select "Adjust for best performance."
Select the Ok button
With the Classic Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select System
Select Advanced Tab
Under Performance, select the Settings button
Select Visual Effects Tab
Select "Adjust for best performance."
Select the Ok button
Sunday
Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing
Remove Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing.
Take note: Remote Desktop Sharing is not available with Windows XP Home. You may request assistance from someone only using Windows XP Pro.
Where do you find it?
With the default Category Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Performance and Maintenance
Select System
Select Remote Tab
Uncheck both "Remote Assistance and Desktop Sharing" options
Select the Ok button to apply the settings
With the Classic Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select System
Select Remote Tab
Uncheck both "Remote Assistance and Desktop Sharing" options
Select the Ok button to apply the settings
Take note: Remote Desktop Sharing is not available with Windows XP Home. You may request assistance from someone only using Windows XP Pro.
Where do you find it?
With the default Category Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select Performance and Maintenance
Select System
Select Remote Tab
Uncheck both "Remote Assistance and Desktop Sharing" options
Select the Ok button to apply the settings
With the Classic Control Panel:
Head to Start
Select Control Panel
Select System
Select Remote Tab
Uncheck both "Remote Assistance and Desktop Sharing" options
Select the Ok button to apply the settings
Saturday
Send Free SMS from Air Tel
How to send unlimited free SMS using free SMS center Number:
1.) Go to Messages option and click on Settings
2.) Click on Message Center Number and proceed to add a new message center number.
3.) In Message Center Name field, write anything. For an example, “Free SMS”.
4.) In the Message Center Number field, write +919810051905.
5.) Choose Preferred Connection Type as Packet Data.
6.) Save the message center and activate it from the options.
Since we have selected Packet data as connection type, So, we have to do additional settings on our phone.
1.) Go to your phone menu and navigate to Settings => Phone Settings => Connection => Packet Data.
2.) In the settings of packet Data, edit the following options.
3.) Packet Data Connection => When available and Access Point =>Airtel Live
4.) Save all settings and you are done.
Note: Here we are using a CDMA message center number to send freeSMS from Airtel mobile. Since CDMA networks does not support 91 as the country code, you have to add 0 before every number. This is very important and if you make mistake here, this trick will not work.
Example: Suppose you want to send free messages to 9839098754, now while composing the SMS, type this number as 09839098754.
1.) Go to Messages option and click on Settings
2.) Click on Message Center Number and proceed to add a new message center number.
3.) In Message Center Name field, write anything. For an example, “Free SMS”.
4.) In the Message Center Number field, write +919810051905.
5.) Choose Preferred Connection Type as Packet Data.
6.) Save the message center and activate it from the options.
Since we have selected Packet data as connection type, So, we have to do additional settings on our phone.
1.) Go to your phone menu and navigate to Settings => Phone Settings => Connection => Packet Data.
2.) In the settings of packet Data, edit the following options.
3.) Packet Data Connection => When available and Access Point =>Airtel Live
4.) Save all settings and you are done.
Note: Here we are using a CDMA message center number to send freeSMS from Airtel mobile. Since CDMA networks does not support 91 as the country code, you have to add 0 before every number. This is very important and if you make mistake here, this trick will not work.
Example: Suppose you want to send free messages to 9839098754, now while composing the SMS, type this number as 09839098754.
Friday
Use Free GPRS in VODAFONE, RELIANCE and BSNL
Reliance
1) Free GPRS access for Reliance GSM Users==>
IP Address ==> 97.253.29.199
Port ==> 8080
APN ==> smartwap
Home Page ==> http://wap.rworld.com/gsm/index.wml
Vodafonce
2) Free GPRS access for Vodafone Users==>
Access Point ==> portalnmms
Home Page ==> wap.google.com
IP Address ==> 010.010.001.100 or 196.006.128.012
Port => 9401 or 8799
BSNL
3) Free GPRS access for BSNL users==>
IP Address ==> 192.168.87.163
Port ==> 8080
Home Page ==> wap.cellone.in
APN ==> Cellone Portal
For using these settings you have to create a new GPRSaccess Point Manually.
1) Free GPRS access for Reliance GSM Users==>
IP Address ==> 97.253.29.199
Port ==> 8080
APN ==> smartwap
Home Page ==> http://wap.rworld.com/gsm/index.wml
Vodafonce
2) Free GPRS access for Vodafone Users==>
Access Point ==> portalnmms
Home Page ==> wap.google.com
IP Address ==> 010.010.001.100 or 196.006.128.012
Port => 9401 or 8799
BSNL
3) Free GPRS access for BSNL users==>
IP Address ==> 192.168.87.163
Port ==> 8080
Home Page ==> wap.cellone.in
APN ==> Cellone Portal
For using these settings you have to create a new GPRSaccess Point Manually.
