Too many programs running in background.

[Colb]

On Win ME.

My dad's computer has alot of important information about the family business, therefore I have not had a chance to format the drive for about 2 years now. He also is not too computer literate, so there are a lot of programs running in the background that he might have installed, that is bringing the performance down a lot.

When I press ctrl-alt-del, there are 15 "programs" running. Some I can recognize, but alot are programs that I think are just taking up resources.

HOw can I find out what programs I can delet and which programs should be running?

[Panama Red]

Couple of easy ways to find the unnecessary ones. First check the icons next to the clock. Each of those is a program that is running. Place the mouse cursor over each icon and the pop up will tell you what they are. Uncheck the ones you know you don't need. Another way is to go to PCPitstop.com and run a system diagnosis on the machine. You can run anonymously. Look in the details area after the analysis is complete and towards the bottom of the page you will see a list of all running programs. They will be identified by different colors, those that are required, optional and even spyware. Lots of other good info from the analysis too.

[Colb]

OK, Ill check out that site. BTW, none of the unidentified programs show up in the task tray near the clock.

[GaryRouth]

Two other sites helpful for identifying startup/background processes:

PacsPortal - Excellent Overview & Explanation, & Thorough Programs list
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk

AnswersThatWork Process List - handy for background jobs other than startup [click on the Task List button for the list]
http://www.answersthatwork.com

That should answer a good 99% of them
. . . Gary

[Strider]

Here's another good site to tweak Win Me : http://www.blackviper.com/WinME/winme.htm