• 0

How To Kill Explorer When Running Program


Question

Ok, I was reading some posts about BF2 and someone said they kill their explorer using ctrl+alt+del and then running the game to get extra resources. It works fine but I was wondering if there is a way I can add an argument to the bf2.exe so it does this automatically?

I have a dock, konfabulator, and some other programs I use constantly...is it possible to include an argument that can kill those as well? Thanks :)

13 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

make a batch file for each game.

******* is for each of the programs u want closed...Konfab. Dock, Explorer

Start taskkill /im Explorer.exe
Start taskkill /im ********
Start taskkill /im ********
Start taskkill /im ********
Start taskkill /im ********
start [path]/gamename
exit

  • 0
  Beastage said:
First of all, you can't kill explorer when running windows :)

for the others I'm sure its doable (don't know how) but I'm actually interested to see how its possible, so I'm adding my self to your question :p

586443873[/snapback]

You can kill explorer using task manager. When you end the process all you get left with is the task manager window but you can then run a program using the file menu. Whenever I get done with the game I just to go to file>run>explorer.exe and everything comes back. I'm assuming this is killing explorer?

Thanks, tch1005, I'll give those a shot. :)

  • 0
  tch1005 said:
make a batch file for each game.

******* is for each of the programs u want closed...Konfab. Dock, Explorer

Start taskkill /im Explorer.exe
Start taskkill /im ********
Start taskkill /im ********
Start taskkill /im ********
Start taskkill /im ********
start [path]/gamename
exit

586443897[/snapback]

Don't forget to add lines to restart those services after gamename ends..

And its completely possible to kill explorer while running windows :dontgetit:

  • 0
  HellBender said:
Don't forget to add lines to restart those services after gamename ends..

And its completely possible to kill explorer while running windows :dontgetit:

586443937[/snapback]

Hellbender, would you mind telling me how to do that? Or do you know of a site that explains these types of commands? Thanks :)

edit: Hmmm, I made the batch file and typed the commands that tch1005 suggested. It does kill the programs I want but then it pops up the "turn off computer" prompt. It also says it cannot find the path of the game but I know it is correct (D:\Games\Battlefield_2\BF2.exe). Am I missing something?

Edited by soloredd
  • 0

You are able to end-task "explorer.exe" through ALT-CTRL-DEL..and you can still run your system fine but you just won't have access to your taskbar, which will we gone when you end task "explorer.exe." Just make sure to re-run explorer by going back into ALT-CTRL-DEL and File > Run New Task > "Explorer.exe" after your done playing your game. :D

  • 0

There was a project a while ago on neowin whereby some members started to make a lil' program that ended all other processes when you ran it for playing games n' shizzle, but the performance gain was too small to make the program worthwhile i think.

Maybe someone could chase the creators up?

  • 0
  Julius Caro said:
I thought that games already did something with the other running processes.

Let's say, I have around 100 free mb of RAM. I start a game, play it, and then close it. When I check again I have A LOT more RAM.

586444940[/snapback]

That's because of the way Windows handles memory management. When a game starts, it allocates TONS of memory. Windows flushes everything that's not in use (ie. everything except the game) into the swap file to gain the maximum amount of available RAM. Then, the game uses up most of the available RAM, and it performs better. Tasks that aren't as critical (such as the system shell - explorer.exe) don't get their jobs done as quickly, but the whole point is that they don't need to while the game is running.

Basically, what I'm saying is Windows knows how to manage memory and other resources, and forcibly killing the shell or other services is a waste of time.

  • 0
  John said:
Basically, what I'm saying is Windows knows how to manage memory and other resources, and forcibly killing the shell or other services is a waste of time.

586445060[/snapback]

That would've been my point if I had known about it, lol :p

Edited by Julius Caro
  • 0
  soloredd said:
Hellbender, would you mind telling me how to do that? Or do you know of a site that explains these types of commands? Thanks :)

edit: Hmmm, I made the batch file and typed the commands that tch1005 suggested. It does kill the programs I want but then it pops up the "turn off computer" prompt. It also says it cannot find the path of the game but I know it is correct (D:\Games\Battlefield_2\BF2.exe). Am I missing something?

586443971[/snapback]

You can use the wait command before starting BF2.

start /wait Path to BF2
start explorer.exe

That forces it to wait until BF2 exits, then it relaunches explorer.

  • 0
  Julius Caro said:
I thought that games already did something with the other running processes.

Let's say, I have around 100 free mb of RAM. I start a game, play it, and then close it. When I check again I have A LOT more RAM.

586444940[/snapback]

My quest for figuring this is more for the running apps...konfabulator, yzdock, nod32, and itunes. The explorer.exe isn't much of an issue, I was just experimenting. It's kind of a pain to close everything, play the game, then start them again. The big one is yzdock as it steals focus when you have the mouse at the bottom of the screen.

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll see if I can't mess around a bit more and get it to work...it still wants to shut the computer down and says it cannot find the path :huh:

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I'm old I guess, first thing I think of is just regular input/output.
    • Now, kids, Dan O'Dowd is what we call a professional hater.
    • Billionaire slams 'Tesla Cultists' for praising Robotaxi, says it's 5+ years behind Waymo by David Uzondu Image via Depositphotos.com The Tesla Robotaxi program has kicked off in Austin, Texas, and reactions are pouring in from all corners of the internet. A select group of investors and influencers have been invited to try the service, which operates within a limited area of South Austin for a price of $4.20. While the vehicles are operating without anyone in the driver's seat, the program has specific rules for this pilot phase, including a human "safety monitor" who rides along in the passenger seat just in case things go sideways. Of course, the launch did not go unnoticed by Tesla's most vocal and well-funded critic, Dan O'Dowd. O'Dowd is the billionaire founder of a group called The Dawn Project, which has dedicated itself to highlighting what it calls critical safety failures in Tesla's Full Self-Driving software. He refers to himself as an expert in creating "unhackable" software for military and aerospace clients, and ran for U.S. Senate back in 2022 on a single-issue platform: to "make computers safe for humanity" by banning Tesla's FSD. In 2023, He was banned from advertising on X after He made promoted posts that show Tesla FSD among other things, failing to stop at Stop signs. Last year, his group, The Dawn Project, paid for a Super Bowl ad, where a Tesla equipped with FSD did not act on a child-sized mannequin in the road. That commercial ends with a message, urging parents to "boycott Tesla to keep your kids safe." Today, O'Dowd took to X to slam the launch of the Robotaxi service, saying the "Tesla Cultists are celebrating victory" over a system he believes is years behind the competition (especially Waymo). He pointed out that with only fourteen cars operating for half the day, the system was already making significant errors, a rate he claims is consistent with community-tracked FSD data. The videos shared by the creators (Rob Maurer and Ed Niedermeyer), O'Dowd mentioned in his post, appear questionable, depending on your perspective. In Maurer's video, a trip that was otherwise smooth had a few unnerving seconds of the vehicle slightly swerving into the wrong lane, correcting itself, swerving again, correcting itself, and then finally settling. The other video from Ed Niedermeyer shows something entirely different. Niedermeyer captured a Tesla Robotaxi approaching an "extensive crime scene" with multiple police vehicles parked on the side of the road. On his personal Bluesky account (Ed stopped posting on X late last year, in protest of Musk), He claims the Tesla braked hard twice for no clear reason. In his commentary, Niedermeyer argued the car "shouldn't react to any of these police vehicles," and that it was concerning how it reacted to some but not others, before stopping in the "middle of the road instead of defaulting to a minimal risk condition."
    • Arch is now also using Wayland as the default session for Plasma 6.4, with X11 session becoming optional (so upgrading to Plasma 6.4 on X11 Arch might need manual intervention). It's been well over a decade in making, but I guess the time for Wayland to be the default is finally upon us.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      ravenmanNE earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Conversation Starter
      Brett76 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      Miguel Batista earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Dedicated
      moojay67 earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • One Month Later
      Jim Dugan earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      659
    2. 2
      Michael Scrip
      229
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      220
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      150
    5. 5
      Xenon
      142
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!