Auto-kill a process

vexorg · 20 Oct 2015

What process are you trying to kill, and what causes it to run?

borgus · 20 Oct 2015

vexorg said:

What process are you trying to kill, and what causes it to run?

The process is CALCULATOR.EXE, a store app supplied with Win 10. Why and when it runs (seemingly randomly) as a background process would be pure speculation on my part.

The reason for killing this BG process is that when it, or perhaps any store-supplied app is running in the background, shortcuts launched via shortcut keys will lag by about five seconds. This has been reported to MS level II support and is allegedly being looked at by the developers. Various forum posts hint that the problem was evident in earlier operating systems, but it did not crop up here until W10.

Now testing a new approach. See my comment just prior to yours for the latest. Thanks for your input.

AveYo · 20 Oct 2015

Sure looks like a multimedia keyboard problem. I often find myself launching Mail, muting sound or launching Calc because those special keys are on the left edge of my keyboard. Maybe try disabling them with a tool like KeyTweak (haven't tested yet in W10).

But anyway, there are ways to specifically kill the said process using audit and event ids, but it's way too much hassle (plus the security and performance concerns). If you want to use the simplest way of auto-kill it every minute, I've made a script.

It's actually a generic tool, since it prompts for a .exe process name and an optional timer (default 1 minute).
It will create a system task, with full admin rights, so don't do crazy stuff like writing explorer.exe in there.
To undo, press Cancel, it will delete the respective named task if defined previously.
If you find this familiar, it's because it's based on steamwebhelper_killer v2.0rc

borgus · 20 Oct 2015

Very nice!
An alternative is to disable the calculator, in favor of Calcute, a simple calc util I found on the Net.
A pain that kludges are needed to make the O/S behave.

Thanks for taking the time to work this up, AveYo. It's appreciated.

vexorg · 21 Oct 2015

Are you sure it's not a virus or malware? I've got a multimedia keyboard and use the calc button often. It never runs on it's own.

AveYo · 21 Oct 2015

vexorg said:

Are you sure it's not a virus or malware? I've got a multimedia keyboard and use the calc button often. It never runs on it's own.

HID works in mysterious ways. I can definitely tell you it can run "on it's own", either because the keyboard itself malfunctions, or because some utility is triggering it (I've seen some bundled oem stuff on laptops misbehaving).

borgus · 21 Oct 2015

Certain programs or functions propagate as (suspended) background processes, causing a lag when programs are launched via keyboard shortcuts. As of 2/18/16 there have been no further instances of lag (which can also stop macros from completing) since SUPERFETCH was disabled. However, some users report occasional lag despite this measure, and the underlying problem is extant. It appears to have nothing to do with hardware, keyboard drivers, SFC or services other than SF.

This is a MS acknowledged bug, and should be fixed. Consider voicing your concerns with MS support.

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vexorg said:

Are you sure it's not a virus or malware? I've got a multimedia keyboard and use the calc button often. It never runs on its own.

Doesn't here either. What does pop up seemingly randomly is the CALCULATOR.EXE process in Task Manager - but only when the calculator itself is not in use.

The keyboard has no dedicated Windows keys (though a few can be programmed via Logitech software). It's not likely related to the problem discussed here.

Another calculator from the MS store was tested. The STORE background process would pop up when it was running, with the same effect on shortcuts launched from the keyboard - lag. Kill the process: no lag.

Finca · 16 Nov 2017

I have an interesting and related problem. My PC has a 30GB SSD hard drive. My data plan is 30gigs per month. So then, limited space and data. You know how you can click on a WiFi connection and set it to limited - so as to inhibit automatic updates? Well, that works perfectly, however, I often work outside and can't pick-up the router signal. That problem is easily solved with a little USB WiFi receiver. However, as far as I can see, it's not possible to set the subsequent WiFi2 connection to limited. This results in the PC happily updating itself which means that it: eats into my data plan, eats into my disk space, spends half its time updating every time I reboot. Frustrated?? Is there a way to similarly kill whatever the process is that automatically updates the PC?

pyramid10 · 16 Nov 2017

Go to Services and disable Windows Update. Just remember to periodically enable the service and manually update at your convenience.