|
Task
List |
PROGRAM
& |
WHAT
IT IS |
|---|---|---|
|
Mad |
MAD.exe |
Windows NT4/2000/XP Server editions
only. This service is the System Attendant Service for
Microsoft Exchange Server from version 4.0 onward. MAD is a
necessary background service for Microsoft Exchange Server –
some of its many functions : to load the required DLLs whenever
you configure Microsoft Exchange, to periodically check if users
have been added to the Site and Configuration containers, to
write log messages to the Message Tracking Log File on behalf of
MTA (Message Transfer Agent) and the Internet Mail Service, to
generate the offline address books. |
| Magickbd |
MagicKBD.exe (Samsung) |
MagicKeyboard Utility found
on Samsung laptops, and some Gateway laptops, which enables the
user to program keyboard keys to start specific applications,
such as your Internet Browser, your Accounts Package, your
E-mail software, etc.... The reprogramming of keys is done via
the MagicKeyboard icon in the Control Panel. Recommendation : No known problems with this background task – we suggest therefore to leave it running. |
| Mapisp32 |
MAPISp32.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft Windows Messaging
Subsystem Spooling Application, often referred to as the MAPI
Spooler (Mail Application Programming Interface).
The MAPI spooler sends the messages that are waiting for
despatch in your Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging, or
Outlook 97/98/2000 outbox. Recommendation : MAPISP32 is an essential component of Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging, or Outlook 97, 98 or 2000 (we are investigating Outlook 2002). MAPISP32 will sometimes get stuck and there are many causes and solutions to the problem. Contact us if you have problems with MAPISP32. |
| Mathchk |
Mathchk.exe (Real Networks) |
Another RealOne Player
background task. See RNDAL and EVNTSVC elsewhere
in these pages for more details about RealOne Player. We do not
at this stage know what purpose MATHCHK serves. Recommendation : We do know, however, that renaming MATHCHK.EXE to MATHCHK.OLD has no adverse effect on the running of RealOne Player (that is, of course, if you decide not to uninstall RealOne Player). |
| Mbm5 |
MBM5.exe (LiveWireDev.com) |
Motherboard Monitor 5
System Tray icon. It enables you to access the various
Motherboard Monitor temperature and system fan readings, and
configuration settings, via the System Tray. Recommendation : The System Tray is the best place for this particular program. |
| Mcagent |
McAgent.exe (McAfee) |
McAfee Agent. Task
installed on network versions of McAfee AntiVirus. This task
communicates with the central fileserver and ensures that the
end-user PC has the latest McAfee antivirus software and updates
which the fileserver has to offer – it downloads the updates if
necessary. Recommendation : Refer to your network administrator. We do not have any knowledge of problems with this task. |
| Mcshield |
McShield.exe (McAfee – Network Associates) |
McAfee On-Access Scanner
for Windows NT4/2000, present in McAfee VirusScan 4.x, McAfee
NetShield 4.x, and in the Business Management McAfee Protection
Suite for networks. This task virus scans files in the
background as and when you access them. Recommendation : Essential for the proper protection of your PC against viruses – leave alone. |
| Mcupdate |
McUpdate.exe (McAfee – Network Associates) |
AutoUpdate & AutoUpgrade
background utility task which comes with McAfee VirusScan 4.x.
Its purpose is to automatically update your McAfee software with
the latest virus updates and software updates whenever you
connect to the Internet. Recommendation : Disable the AutoUpdate feature within McAfee VirusScan and make a point of regularly updating VirusScan manually. In our opinion there are too many problems with MCUPDATE to bother with it. |
| Mcvsescn |
MCVSEscn.exe (McAfee) |
McAfee VirusScan Email Scan
Module. Task which has appeared with the latest updates to
version 7 of McAfee VirusScan (late August 2003). Recommendation : Oh Dear Oh Dear Oh Dear ! In its initial incarnation in late August 2003 / early-mid September 2003, this process has been a nightmarish task and in our opinion this is totally inexcusable. AntiVirus software is an absolute necessity – it is not a choice, it is a necessity these days. Thus the last thing you want is your antivirus software to behave ...... like a virus (!!), which is exactly what this task has done in its original incarnation, and at the time of writing, 29-Sep-2003, it is still causing havoc to many AnswersThatWork users. From the creation of huge never-erased temporary files (TMP files), gobbling up the user’s entire disk space in some cases, constant hard disk access, high CPU utilization resulting in other tasks "not responding", to the inability to send or receive emails, this task has shown, in our view, what software at its worst can do. Shocking, shocking, shocking. If you are experiencing any of the above problems, download the latest updates from McAfee as they will probably have fixed the problem by the time you read this. If, even after updates, you still experience problems, disable ScriptStopper and WormStopper within McAfee and then disable or delete this task with Starter. |
| Mcvsrte |
MCVSRTE.exe (McAfee) |
McAfee automatic updates
background task for some of the older versions of McAfee
VirusScan and for McAfee’s VirusScan Online products. Recommendation : Not sure. We have not had any reports about this task, nor have we come up against it often enough to know. We recommend therefore that you leave it alone. |
| Mcvsshld |
McVSShld.exe (McAfee) |
McAfee ActiveShield.
Background task which is part of McAfee VirusScan Online and
which virus scans files in the background as and when they are
accessed. Recommendation : An essential part of McAfee VirusScan Online – leave alone. |
| Mdm |
MDM.exe (Microsoft) |
Machine Debug Manager.
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP. This is used purely by Technically Advanced
Users and Developers, and in very specific cases at that. It is
not needed in most normal day-to-day uses of a PC. Recommendation : There is a bug with MDM where it will regularly create zero-length temporary files in the Windows folder and not delete them. If you do not do regular housekeeping you can end up with hundreds of such files. Disable, or best, delete using Startup Manager. Note, MDM has a way of restarting of its own when Windows encounters certain conditions – to prevent it from starting altogether many advanced users, ourselves included, resort to renaming MDM.EXE to MDM.EXE.OLD; that solves the problem permanently. |
|
Mdmsetpe |
MDMSetPe.exe |
System
Tray configuration icon for Aztech modems. The icon
enables you to set up the country for the modem, and the modem
audio mode. Through an oversight the modem drivers
installation utility installs this configuration icon in the
System Tray but does not install an alternative way of
starting it up in the Aztech program group that it creates. |
| Mediadet |
Mediadet.exe (Creative Labs) |
Creative Labs Disc Detector
background application which gets installed with some Creative
Labs sound card drivers. Disc Detector detects when you insert
a CD in your CD-ROM drive and then automatically starts the
appropriate application for it. You can determine whether it
should open in Creative PlayCenter, or some other audio player. Recommendation : Windows does this very well already. It beggars belief that Creative Labs should have thought it a great idea to clutter the System Tray with an application that duplicates what Windows already does well. As with Creative’s CTNOTIFY, we recommend you disable MEDIADET. To do so, open the "Disc Detector" icon in the Control Panel and uncheck "Enable Disc Detector" in the General tab. |
| Mgabg |
Mgabg.exe (Matrox) |
Matrox BIOS Guard task. Recommendation : We have no idea as to what this task does. However, from the name, it is unlikely that disabling it will impact the operation of your Matrox graphics card, so you could experiment with disabling it with Startup Manager. |
|
Mhotkey |
MHOTKEY |
This
utility seems to get installed with the software that comes
with the type of keyboards called "Internet
keyboards", and in most cases is associated
with an icon in the System Tray. It would seem that its
purpose is to enable the end-user to program certain key
combinations or function keys to do specific tasks, or
access specific sites, while browsing the
Internet. We do not know much more than that,
except that in many instances a bug in the software prevents
the use of the keyboard in DOS session windows !! |
|
Minilog |
Minilog.exe |
Alert
logger task for the Zone Alarm Internet firewall. This task
creates and updates the log of intruder attacks. This
task is only started if you select the "Log alerts to
text file" option in Zone Alarm. |
|
Mixer |
Mixer.exe |
This
replacement for the default Windows Volume Mixer gets
installed when you install the drivers for C-Media onboard
sound systems or sound cards. In our opinion the C-Media
mixer is no better than the default Windows mixer and, if
anything, it is irritating in the way it will by default mute
the CD-in, Line-In, and other volume settings on some PCs,
making the end-user lose valuable time working out why the
sound is not working. |
| Mk9805 |
MK9805.exe (Cherry??? / Chicony???) |
See CHotKey. |
|
Mm_tray |
Mm_Tray.exe |
This
program is installed by MusicMatch Jukebox and enables you to
access MusicMatch from the System Tray. |
| Mmc |
MMC.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft Management
Console. A massively irritating piece of software that you have
no choice but to use to manage most of Microsoft’s latter system
products (SQL Server, Exchange server, and more...). At the
time of writing, 23-Jan-2003, there is nothing we like about
Microsoft’s Management Console. First it’s slow. Second, it’s
slow. Third, it’s slow. You can’t have it open in Maximised
mode, you always have to maximise it manually. It won’t
remember your column widths. It won’t remember your column
rearrangements, it won’t remember your sort order, etc.., etc..
It is an incredible time waster, yet you are stuck with having
to use it, and more often than you realise – when you are in any
Administrative Tool in Windows 2000/XP, such as "Computer
Management", that is what you are using and that is why it
appears in your Task List. Can you ever remember wasting soooo
much time managing system stuff in Windows 95/98/ME ? Of course
not. Who wrote this MMC rubbish ??!! Recommendation : As explained above, it is an integral part of Windows 2000/XP and opens up when you are using any Administrative Tool, that is why it shows in the Task List. However sometimes, because of bugs, it remains in the Task List even though you have no management window open anywhere. When it does it consumes memory (but not CPU time) – you can End Task on it. |
| Mmkeybd |
MMKeybd.exe (Netropa) |
One-Touch Multimedia
Keyboard handler task which enables you to use the
pre-configured or user-configured one-touch keys, such as the
"Internet" key, the "Email" key, etc. An icon is displayed in
the System Tray which enables you to configure your one-touch
keys. This Netropa software is used by many PC manufacturers
and is called differently by each of those manufacturers :
Packard-Bell calls it ActivBoard, it is Easy Access on some
Compaq PCs, Keyboard Manager on some DELL PCs, Keyboard Manager
or One-Touch Multimedia Keyboard on HP PCs, etc... Recommendation : MMKEYBD is essential to the proper functioning of your multimedia keyboard – without it one-touch keys and, occasionally, sound, will not work. Problem : for some reason which we feel can not possibly be justified, this task tries to communicate with specific servers out on the Internet !! We have no idea as to what it sends out or receives, but we know it cannot possibly be justified – this is just keyboard software after all. So, if this aspect of the software worries you, either get a firewall and block MMKEYBD from communicating with the Internet, or disable MMKEYBD with Starter knowing you won’t be able to use your one-touch keys. |
| Mmod |
MMod.exe (EZula) |
You have EZula software on
your PC Read EZULAMAIN for more details. |
| Mmtask |
MMTask.tsk (Microsoft) |
Microsoft’s Multimedia
Background Task Support Module. This is a hidden task in
Windows 9x/ME which shows up only in the Processes List in
Starter. MMTASK is a Microsoft background task which provides
simulated multitasking for multimedia applications, so that, for
example, you could be playing more than one AVI movie at the
same time. This task does not exist in Windows NT4/2000/XP
which are true multitasking operating systems. Recommendation : Leave it alone. If you experience error messages which mention MMTASK, and quite a few users do, then the problem is in most cases elsewhere, very often driver problems. |
| Mmtray |
MMTray.exe (Morgan Multimedia) |
System Tray icon which
enables you to call up the configuration utility for the Morgan
Multimedia MJPEG Codec. Recommendation : Unless you work a lot with MJPEG AVIs and need to change the Codec’s configuration often, we recommend disabling this with Startup Manager (to reduce System Tray clutter) and accessing the configuration screen via the "Control Panel \ Multimedia" icon. |
| Mmusbkb2 |
MMUSBKB2.exe (Netropa) |
One-Touch Multimedia USB Keyboard handler task. Same as MMKEYBD above but for USB multimedia keyboards. |
|
Mobsync |
MobSync.exe |
Microsoft
Synchronization Manager. This program, which is part of
Internet Explorer 5.x/6, runs in the background when you are
using the "View pages offline" feature of Internet
Explorer, and you have set parameters for when your pages
should be automatically synchronised, or you decide to
manually synchronise your offline content with the web through
the "Start \ Programs \ Accessories \ Synchronize"
function. This program will also run if you are doing
development using Microsoft SQL 7 and using SQL 7 replication. |
|
Monwow |
Monwow.exe |
Part of Norton CleanSweep. This program monitors the installation of new software on your PC – without it running in the background Smart Sweep is "toothless" and cannot be used. Recommendation : |
| Mosearch |
MOSearch.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft Office XP Fast
Search. Well, well, remember the nightmarish Find Fast of
previous versions of Microsoft Office ? MO Search is the Office
XP equivalent. Recommendation : New name, same problems. Endless trashing of your hard disk when you are not using it, and sometimes when you are, with delays in mouse movements, or downright temporary inability to do anything for a few seconds (while MOSEARCH is updating its indexes). The search speed gains are negligible and yet, as with Find Fast, the constant disk activity and response delays irritate end-users immensely. Try disabling MOSEARCH with Startup Manager. If that is not possible, then you will have to de-install "Support for fast searching" out of Microsoft Office XP, and then rename the program files MOSEARCH.EXE and MOSDMN.EXE by adding .old at the end of their names. |
| Mostat |
MoStat.exe (Wurld Media Inc) |
Part of the Wurld Media
advertising network software which comes in the shape of an
Internet Explorer browser helper. In addition to gathering
information and statistics about your browsing habits, and
transmitting them back to Wurld Media, at the time of writing,
January 2003, whenever the end-user tries to go to specific well
known sites, the software first takes the end-user to a site
that is part of the advertising network, and then redirects the
end-user back to his original target. In most cases the
end-user does not realise this has happened unless he watches
the URLs being accessed in the Internet Explorer status bar.
Although we have our own ideas (call them assumptions), we are
not quite sure as to the purpose of this behaviour. Wurld Media
advertising software is most often installed with the Morpheus
file sharing program. Recommendation : We won’t have this software on any PC we own or support. If you want to follow our lead download SpyBot Search & Destroy from our Downloads page and use it to remove Wurld Media advertising software – be aware, however, that this may disable whichever program installed it, Morpheus for example. Note that de-installing the "carrier" program will in most cases not de-install the Wurld Media software, you will still need SpyBot to completely rid your PC of it. |
|
MotiveMonitor Motmon |
Motmon.exe (Motive Communications – Motive.com) |
Part of DELL’s Resolution
Assistant which ships with most DELL PCs. MOTMON is however
also found on Compaq and HP PCs. Wherever it is found, it is in
fact bought/licensed from Motive Communications and is software
which purports to enable your PC supplier to better support you.
DELL’s description of MOTMON : "The Resolution Assistant
provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for submitting
service requests and keeping track of service requests you have
already submitted". The Resolution Assistant enables you to
submit problems via the Internet, with information collected by
the Resolution Assistant also submitted automatically in the
process (Resolution Assistant does give you the ability to
control what is sent, although you will never know if it sends
information other than what it gives you control over). Recommendation : If you have a DELL PC, and you are still within the support period with DELL, you may wish to leave it alone. Many users, however, have complained of "unknown errors" with MOTMON. Since this software is definitely not essential to the good running of your PC, if you experience such errors, or you are worried about your privacy, simply disable MOTMON with Startup Manager. |
| Mpfagent |
MPFAgent.exe (McAfee) |
McAfee Personal Firewall
Agent. This background task is responsible for implementing the
security services and rules of your McAfee Personal Firewall
product. Recommendation : Essential to the proper operation of McAfee Personal Firewall – leave alone. Note, however, that MPFAGENT has a tendency to misbehave and run away with CPU resources on some PCs after the installation of Windows 2000/XP Service Packs, so it is a good idea to re-install your McAfee Personal Firewall after the installation of an MS Service Pack and/or update it online with the latest updates. |
| Mpftray |
MPFTray.exe (McAfee) |
McAfee Personal Firewall
Tray icon. This icon, showing as a big M, enables you to
access all the features of McAfee Personal Firewall from the
System Tray. You can view reports, check the details of
specific alerts, and also access all the other features of the
product. Recommendation : Our advice, for all firewall products, is to leave the System Tray icon running, as firewall protection is crucial and these tray icons typically change their visual appearance to notify you of a particular event that you should investigate further. |
| Mprexe |
MPREXE.exe (Microsoft) |
This is the Windows
Multiple Provider Router. This program allows Windows 9x/ME to
have more than one network client, protocol, or adapter – its
function is to route network requests between the different
adapters and clients. On Novell NetWare networks, MPREXE will
sometimes hang on boot-up or logon depending on the particular
software mix on the PC concerned. In our experience most MPREXE
problems on a Novell network are resolved through both upgrading
the network card drivers and moving to at the very least
version 3.32 SP1 of the Novell Client for Win9x/ME. The
likelihood of the problem is also significantly reduced if you
pare down your Network configuration to only those protocols
that you will actually need, as per the recommendations of our
Network Troubleshooting document in our "Hottest Tips" library. Recommendation : None – MPREXE runs transparently and will only appear in your Ctrl+Alt+Del Task List if there is a problem that has caused it to hang; it will not show otherwise and you will have to run a program like Starter to see it running transparently. Therefore, if it shows in your Ctrl+Alt+Del list you know you have problems that you will need to resolve. |
| Mpservice |
MPService.exe (Canon) |
Canon MultiPass Service.
This service is installed by the Windows NT4/2000/XP drivers for
Canon MultiPass multifunctional printers. Recommendation : Some versions of the drivers have a buggy MPSERVICE which either consumes excessive amounts of CPU (up to 100% even!) or which shuts down complaining of a "conflicting device" or "device in use". If you experience such a problem download the latest drivers and that should cure the problem. Note : to either uninstall the MultiPass driver, or to upgrade it, you need to first stop the MPSERVICE service or you will not be able to uninstall or upgrade. |
|
Mrtmngr |
MRTMngr.exe |
Maintenance
Release Task Manager for Intuit’s QuickBooks or
Quicken. Many of Intuit’s background downloading tasks
can sometimes create serious conflicts, from illegal
operations and invalid page faults which mention the MRTMNGR,
MRTRATE, MRTPROC, or QAGENT programs, to the modem attempting
to dial on boot-up, inability to print after going online, or
the printer being activated when going online. For all these
reasons we strongly recommend disabling all Intuit background
downloading tasks. |
| Msbb |
MSBB.exe (180Solutions.com) |
Ad serving software which
pulls up advertisements from ad servers whenever you are
connected to the Internet. MSBB is part of the n-CASE product
from 180Solutions and gets installed by a variety of FREE
downloaded products (many music file sharing programs) who make
their money through the advertisements that you receive while
browsing the Internet. Here is the 180Solutions write-up on
n-CASE as of 19-May-2003 – aimed at software writers : "We
own the largest and easiest to use Comparison Shopping Network
ever created, now with over 16 million users. The majority of
our distribution comes by partnering with developers and
providers of widely distributed, consumer-oriented software. By
partnering with software providers, and bundling our n-CASE
software (just over 100k in size) with other downloadable
software applications, we provide our Distribution Partners with
a critical revenue stream. When bundled with other software
products, we don't charge the user for our software - and
instead offer it to the consumer for free to install if they
desire (a $4.99 value). Once installed, we provide the user
with contextually based shopping alternatives which then
generate money for us based on our partnerships with the
comparison shopping sources. We can then either share with you
a percentage of the revenue generated from your users, or pay
you a flat fee per install, whichever you prefer". Recommendation : There is nothing good we can say about MSBB. Internet browsers slowing down to a crawl is the most common complaint, but we have also seen random "MSBB has encountered an error and will close", or MSBB trying to start the dial-up connection for those connecting to the Internet via modem, not to mention the extremely irritating random pop-up ads. We suggest you remove MSBB by using Spybot from our Downloads library. And we are not the only ones to suggest this – because of the name of the program (which suggests a Microsoft system program), and the frequency of problems with MSBB it, it is our guess that Microsoft received so many complaints or error reports about MSBB that they were moved to produce Knowledgebase documents which recommend the removal of n-CASE : see Knowledgebase articles Q317714, Q320162, Q299964. |
| Msblast |
Msblast.exe (???) |
You have the BLASTER virus (also called LOVSAN). |
|
Msdtc Msdtcw |
MsDTC.exe MsDTCw.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft Distributed
Transaction Coordinator. The Microsoft Distributed Transaction
Coordinator is a transaction manager which permits client
applications to include several different sources of data in one
transaction and which then coordinates committing the
distributed transaction across all the servers that are enlisted
in the transaction. MSDTC runs on all Windows platforms and is
installed by applications which need to use it, such as the
Microsoft’s Personal Web Server, or Microsoft SQL Server. Recommendation : If you have it running, it is most probably needed by a Microsoft Application, so leave it untouched unless it is definitely causing you problems. |
|
Msg32 |
Msg32.exe |
Background
task installed by the GigaStudio and GigaSampler music
sampling software packages. This task only shows up when
you start using either package. |
|
Msgloop |
MsgLoop.exe |
Background
program which gets installed with the drivers for older sound
cards based on the Crystal chipset (eg. Adlib Audio, Aztech,
Acer). Description : A WaveStream component which
is provided to hook up with the Brooktree WaveStream CD, also
called the "Brooktree WaveStream Message
Server". This background program is also present in
the drivers for more modern sound cards but in this case
MSGLOOP.EXE is called the "Conexant WaveStream Message
Server". These sound cards are often found in
Hewlett-Packard PCs and some Compaq PCs. |
|
Msgsrv32 |
Msgsrv32.exe |
The
Windows 32-bit Message Server. This essential program
normally never appears in the Task List unless it has
"hung"; it otherwise runs invisibly in the
background performing a variety of essential services, a
significant majority of which being to do with on-screen
messages and notifications. |
| Msgsys |
Msgsys.exe (Intel???) |
We are not sure but we
believe this task to be part of Intel’s LANDesk Management
Suite, either licensed directly from Intel, or as part of a
Symantec Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition solution. More
specifically we believe this task to be part of Intel’s Alert
Management System (AMS), itself part of the LANDesk Management
Suite. Recommendation : None, as we do not yet know the role of this task. |
| Mshta |
MSHTA.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft HTML Application
Host. MSHTA is the process that runs .HTA files (HTML
Applications = programs written in HTML) under Windows.
Typically MSHTA loads as soon as a .HTA application needs to
run, and then terminates when the application completes. Recommendation : Essential – leave alone. Note, however, that if there are bugs in the .HTA files it was running, MSHTA will sometimes not terminate when the .HTA application has already completed, and will consume significant amounts of resources. When this happens, doing an End Task on MSHTA solves the problem (only do so if you are absolutely certain that nothing else that needs MSHTA is running). |
| Msiexec |
MSIExec.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft’s Windows
Installer program which handles .MSI product installation
files. This program does not normally run in the background if
it is not in use. However, many Windows 2000/XP users have
reported seeing MSIEXEC in their Task List although we ourselves
have never experienced this unless we were actually in the
process of installing a product released in .MSI format. Recommendation : Leave alone if it is running (there probably is a valid reason for it to be running). |
|
Msimn |
Msimn.exe |
This
is the Microsoft Outlook Express 5/6 program.
Technically this is not a background task, and it should
therefore not be listed on this page. However, as we
regularly receive reports of MSIMN showing up in the Task List
even after Outlook Express has been closed down, we thought we
would list it anyway. |
| Msmsgr |
MSMsgr.exe (Microsoft) |
Windows XP Messenger & the
current version of MSN Messenger (effectively a newer
incarnation of MSN Messenger below – MSMSGS). Recommendation : Down to end-user preference. You can disable it in the same way as MSMSGS below. |
| Msmsgs |
Msmsgs.exe (Microsoft) |
MSN Messenger Service tray
application. Recommendation : Disable or Delete with Startup Manager if you do not use the MSN Messenger Service. Alternatively, you can go into the "Tools \ Options \ Preferences" menu option within Messenger and uncheck "Run when Windows starts". |
| MsPMSPSv |
MsPMSPSv.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft’s WMDM PMSP
Service, aka Windows Media Device Manager Pre-Message Security
Protocol Service. From our tests this service only appears in
the Task List if you have done a Windows Update and updated
Windows Media Player with the 26-Jun-2002 Security Update
Q320920. This services enables Windows Media Player to support
the SDMI protocol (Secure Digital Music Initiative) when copying
CDs or packaging copyrighted downloaded music to SDMI compliant
music players and storage devices. Recommendation : This process takes at least 1.2Mb of memory, yet at the time of writing, November 2002, most users do not use any of the SDMI features of Windows Media Player. Therefore, if you are such a user, we advise that you disable this process with Startup Manager under Windows 9x/ME, or set this service to manual in Windows 2000/XP. You can always re-enable it if you start needing to use some of the SDMI features of Windows Media Player. |
| Mstask |
MSTask.exe (Microsoft) |
The Windows Tasks
Scheduler, also called the Scheduling Agent. Made active by
default when you install Windows 98/ME – it appears in the
System Tray as a blue box with a red stopwatch in Windows 95/98
and shows up in the Task List. In Windows ME it is a hidden
task visible only through the Processes list in Starter and
there is no icon for it in the System Tray. There is also no
icon in the System Tray in Windows NT4/2000/XP but you can see
the task in Task Manager. Recommendation : If you do not have tasks that you want to run on a regular basis, or you simply want to de-activate the Task Scheduler, double-click on the icon in the System Tray and choose the "Advanced \ Stop Using Task Scheduler" menu option; then close it and Task Scheduler will no longer start automatically with Windows. If you wish to re-activate it, you will find it in "Start \ Programs \ Accessories \ System Tools" (open it and choose the "Start Using Task Scheduler" option). |
|
Mswheel |
MSWheel.exe |
Background
task which is part of Microsoft IntelliPoint/IntelliMouse
software and which provides support for the wheel in Microsoft
(and Logitech) Internet mice. The
IntelliPoint/IntelliMouse software was developed to provide
support for Microsoft Internet mice in Windows 95 and Windows
98. However, all features of the software were
incorporated in Windows 98 Second Edition, and all
subsequent versions of Windows (WinME/2000/XP). |
| Muamgr |
Muamgr.exe (Impact Software) |
System Tray access to the
MicroAngelo 5.x icon utility software. Recommendation : This icon simply adds clutter to the System Tray, particularly since MicroAngelo is not the type of software you will want to use on a daily basis. Disable with Startup Manager. |
| Mxtask |
MXTask.exe (V Communications) |
Background task which is
part of the Mijenix Fix-it utilities. Fix-it was later bought
by Ontrack, and then later by VCOM (V Communications) in October
2002. VCOM have since released Fix-It Utilities v5 (Thank you to
the user who pointed us to the correct VCOM!!). MXTASK
is part of the auto-update feature of Fix-It v4. It checks for
updates to the Fix-It product and for antivirus pattern file
updates. Recommendation : This task is an essential part of Fix-It Utilities v4 since it keeps your PC’s virus protection up-to-date with the latest viruses. Should you absolutely need to, you can disable auto-update (MXTASK) from running in the background under the Fix-It v4 settings. |