Task List Programs - AnswersThatWork's famous Database of Processes, Windows Startups, Windows XP Services, Windows Vista Services, Process Library

Task List
Name

PROGRAM &
MANUFACTURER

WHAT IT IS
AND WHAT YOU CAN DO

Rabbit

RabbitWannaHome

Rabbit.exe

(???)

You have the W32.Mimail.S@mm virus.

Rasautou

RASAutoU.exe

(Microsoft)

Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 Remote Access Dialler. This task will appear in your Task List if your PC or Server is currently handling or waiting to handle an incoming modem based connection from a remote user or system (dial-up modem, ISDN, USB ADSL modems). It will also appear if there is software on your system which needs to dial out automatically whenever a particular event occurs and without waiting for user input.

Recommendation :
Leave alone unless you know for certain that your PC/Server has no business waiting for an incoming remote connection, or that it should not have software which dials out automatically. If you find that your PC is connecting automatically via RASAUTOU without reason, then run Spybot from our Downloads library in case you may have adware or spyware which is trying to connect to remote servers.

Rcsync

RCSync.exe

(PrizeSurfer.com)

Software from PrizeSurfer.com which, according to their website on 11-Dec-2003 : “PrizeSurfer is the free software that automatically enters you to win cash and prizes just for surfing the web and shopping online! You don’t have to do anything to win except download our free software.”. This task is installed when the user downloads and installs the PrizeSurfer software from the PrizeSurfer website; it also gets installed as a “tag‑along” program by other free programs, typically file-sharing programs. Then, through this RCSYNC task, the software pulls up and displays popup ads whenever you are connected to the Internet. There is a relationship between what the user does with those popup ads and the user being entered automatically in the aforementioned cash and prizes competitions.

Recommendation :
This is, in our opinion, adware “with a carrot” : the temptation to win cash or prizes. Down to end-user preference, although we ourselves always get rid of it by de-installing through the “Add/Remove Programs” icon in the Control Panel, or with Spybot from our Downloads library.

Reader_sl

Reader_SL.exe

(Adobe)

Adobe Acrobat Reader Speed Launch. Windows 2000/XP startup item created when you install Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.

Recommendation :
Delete immediately from the Startups tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter ! When will software companies learn that speed launch programs are utterly useless ?! This one is no better. In this day and age of fast computers with good amounts of memory, the performance gains in having such pre-launcher programs so that the main program loads faster, Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 in this case, are negligible if not totally unnoticeable – all you are doing is lengthening your start-up time unnecessarily. Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 works perfectly well without this startup item, and you will never notice the difference !

Realevent

RealEvent.exe

(Real Networks)

Another RealOne Player background task. See RNDAL and EVNTSVC elsewhere in these pages for more details about RealOne Player. Although we are not certain about it, REALEVENT seems to be involved in pulling from Real Networks servers something Real Networks want you to see (whether it is Real Networks product information, advertising, etc..., we are not sure).

Recommendation :
If you decide not to uninstall RealOne Player, rename REALEVENT.EXE to REALEVENT.OLD – RealOne Player works fine without it, and you will have one less Real Networks background task accessing the Internet without you knowing what it does exactly.

RealPlay

Real Player

RealPlay.exe

(Real Networks)

This is either the RealPlayer or RealPlayer One media player that you have open, or it is the System Tray icon for Real Player so you can call it up from the System Tray. If it is the System Tray icon, a majority of users find this icon extremely frustrating as it slows down the boot-up time of your PC, and Real Player can be accessed through Start \ Programs anyway – in fact, in most cases Real Player comes up on its own when you click on a web video link where the video stream is in RealPlayer format.

Recommendation :
If you have the blue RealPlayer icon in your System Tray, then visit our “Miscellaneous” document library and download the instructions on how to disable it.

Realsched

RealSched.exe

(Real Networks)

See EVNTSVC elsewhere in these pages for full details.

Recsche

RecSche.exe

(???)

Recording Scheduler. System Tray icon which enables the end-user to open the Recording Scheduler that gets installed with the drivers for some TV Capture cards, such as Hauppauge TV capture cards. The Recording Scheduler enables you to "video record" a TV programme directly to you hard disk.

Recommendation :
This task is essential if you have set up recording schedules, as it wakes up at the specified time to start recording. Otherwise you can disable it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Registerdrop
handler

REGIST~1

RegisterDropHandler.
exe

REGIST~1.EXE

(Xerox / ScanSoft)

Drop Handler task for Xerox’s Textbridge OCR software (now ScanSoft Textbridge) which comes bundled with many scanners. REGISTERDROPHANDLER handles the "Send To" command in those applications that have such a menu option and where you can use it to send a document to Textbridge (Note : Textbridge Pro Millennium and later versions no longer install this task).

Recommendation :
For those users who convert scanned pages to text (OCR) by first starting Textbridge and then scanning from within Textbridge (the majority of users), this task is absolutely not needed and we recommend you disable it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter (where it will show up twice in most cases). If, however, you use OCR by using some sort of Control Center software which enables you to scan any type of document and then transfer the scanned image to either Image Editing, Image Cataloguing, or some sort of Convert-to-Text option which effectively uses Textbridge, then you should leave this task alone.

RegModule

Epson Product Registration Reminder

RegModule.exe

(Epson)

Epson Product Online Registration Reminder. Reminder task installed when you install the drivers for some of Epson’s products. It pops up periodically at startup reminding you to register your product.

Recommendation :
Do yourself a favour. If you need to register your Epson product in order to ensure you can be supported, do so and then delete this task from the Startups tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter. If you have already registered your product, or your Epson product is outside its warranty period anyway, then also delete this task from the Startups tab of TUT.

Regshave

Regshave.exe

(Fuji Photo Film Co.)

Registry Shaver task installed when you install the software for Fuji Finepix digital cameras. At the time of writing we have no idea as to what REGSHAVE actually does.

Recommendation :
We always disable REGSHAVE and we have never experienced adverse effects from doing so. Thus our recommendation is that you disable this task with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

RegSrvc

RegSrvc.exe

(Intel)

Intel Registry Service. Service installed by the drivers for a variety of Intel network cards and whose job is to perform the required registry modifications during driver installation, uninstallation, activation, and de‑activation.

Recommendation :
This service is installed with a default Startup Mode of Automatic. For the benefit of the more advanced TUT users, this service is installed to run as SYSTEM in order to give it access to registry keys and registry hives which might have inherited permissions prohibitive to non-SYSTEM accounts – this ensures that an Intel driver will always install and uninstall successfully, and that it will always be able to retrieve the necessary information from the Registry, or be able to write to it. Rather than performing registry queries or registry updates themselves, the Intel drivers interact with this process which then performs the required actions on behalf of the drivers. An essential part of your Intel networking software – Leave alone.

Regsvc

REGSVC.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s Remote Registry Service. This service runs on Windows 2000 Server and Advance Server. Whenever you install Microsoft software such as SQL on Windows 2000 Server, and your setup program needs to write keys to the Registry, it interacts with the Remote Registry Service (REGSVC.EXE) and the Remote Registry Service does the actual writing of the registry keys. This background service is also required if you intend to edit the registry from a remote computer using Windows 2000’s Remote Administration facilities.

Recommendation :
While it is not always required, the Remote Registry Service will eventually be used at some stage in the life of most Windows 2000 Servers/Advanced Servers. This process should therefore be left alone.

Regsysw

Reg_WFT

Regsysw.exe

(???)

You have the W32.Wilsef virus.

Remind32

Remind32.exe

(Xerox / ScanSoft)

Registration reminder app for Xerox’s Textbridge OCR software (now ScanSoft Textbridge). If you elect not to register your copy of Textbridge when you install it on a PC, this background process is created and will remind you, every two weeks at boot-up, that you have not registered Textbridge.

Recommendation :
Totally annoying ! Delete with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Resw

Resw.exe

See IWAR.

Retrorun

RetroRun.exe

(Dantz Development)

This is the scheduler task/service for the Dantz’s Retrospect Backup or Retrospect Express. It will automatically start Retrospect in the background at specific times or when specific events occur. Retrospect Lite/Express also comes bundled with some CD-Writers (e.g. Sony).

Recommendation :
If you find this task and you were not aware of its function, immediately check your Retrospect software to see what schedules or actions have been defined to occur automatically – the reason for this advice is that many users install the software by default when they install their CD-Writer, or have the software installed by default as a result of buying a PC that comes with a CD-Writer bundled with Retrospect, and find that at odd times they are prompted for a floppy disk or CD-R when performing seemingly unrelated functions such as opening their email !

Rexproxy

Rexproxy.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft NetShow Real-Time Encoder Proxy. NetShow is a standard developed by Microsoft as a means of streaming multimedia over the Internet. By subscribing to a private intranet NetShow server, or a fee-based NetShow server on the Internet, you can broadcast a multimedia presentation to specific users to whom you have given access codes to login to the NetShow server and view the presentation – you could therefore run a multimedia presentation in St Louis and have users in your Seattle and Portland offices view it at the same time via a NetShow server. REXPROXY, introduced in Microsoft Office 2000, is used when you need to broadcast a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation over the Internet using a NetShow server – it sends to the NetShow server the images from your PowerPoint presentation.

Recommendation :
Although still in use, NetShow has been superseded by Microsoft’s Windows Media streaming. Thus, unless you know that you are definitely using the NetShow technology, you can disable this task with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Rmctrl

RmCtrl.exe

(Cyberlink Software)

Remote Control background application for PowerDVD version 4 and above. This background task enables you to use a remote control with your DVD drive if your drive came with one.

Recommendation :
We have not had reports of problems with this task. If you do not have a remote control, or do not want to use one, you can disable the task with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Rnaapp

Rnaapp.exe

(Microsoft)

Windows Dial-Up Networking application. RNAAPP only appears in your Task List if your PC tries or tried to dial out at some stage, or if it is waiting for an inbound connection using Dial-Up Networking.

Recommendation :
Essential. Leave untouched. That said, if you are in the middle of troubleshooting Dial-Up networking problems, then do an "End Task" on it if you are not connected via Dial-Up Networking, and you may find that some of your problems disappear.

Rnathchk

RNAthChk.exe

(Real Networks)

Part of Real Networks’ RealOne Player. Look up RNDAL below for our views on RealOne Player.

Recommendation :
If you decide to keep RealOne Player, and are only interested in playing streaming video and music, and little else, then configure your firewall to also block RNATHCHK from being able to access the Internet, as its sole and only purpose seems to be to pick up Real Networks "update" notifications. An alternative that also works is to rename RNATHCHK.EXE to, say, RNATHCHK.EXE.OLD and that will ensure that it does not load (disabling it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter does not work, it still loads unless you rename the program file).

Rndal

RNDAL.exe

(Real Networks)

Real Networks Dynamic Application Launcher (RNDAL). Background task which is part of the Real Networks’ RealOne Player, their newest player and probably the intended replacement for Real Player. We are not quite sure of the role of this background task as, on PCs with a permanent connection to the Internet, it does not always appear in the Task List, sometimes it comes up, at other times it does not. What we are sure of is that we unambiguously object to the following paragraph from the RealOne Player License Agreement at the time of writing, 15-Jun-2002 : "However, as we describe above, certain updates to RealOne Player functionality will happen automatically and without advance notification". This is unbelievable – with this single paragraph Real Networks effectively state that, regardless of how you configure RealOne Player, there will be times when RealOne Player will update itself and you will have no control over that nor will you be informed that software on your PC is being updated. We call this software vandalism : Real Networks effectively show no respect for your rights to be in control of software on your own PC.

Recommendation :
On the above basis alone we recommend categorically against the use of RealOne Player. De-install it immediately and use the "old" Real Player instead, or use WinAmp, Windows Media Player, or other software. Alternatively, if you absolutely want or have to use RealOne Player, then install an Internet firewall such as Norton Personal Firewall or Zone Alarm, and specifically configure your firewall to prevent RNDAL from communicating. Note that we have also seen RNDAL interfering with the use of CD-Writers, resulting in utterly unusable CDs – in such cases doing an "End Task" on RNDAL and then re-creating the CD almost always solves the problem. One other solution, which also works, is to rename RNDAL.EXE to RNDAL.OLD – this way it can never get started.

Robot

Remind.exe

(Storm Technology ?? and others ?)

We have never come across this background task ourselves. All the research on it was done by AnswersThatWork users. This is a Registration Reminder task. It is present with the same display-name/program-file combination in a number of products; examples : Storm EasyPhoto software that comes with the Storm Technology scanners, Sidekick 95, and probably others.

Recommendation :
As with all registration reminders that needlessly clutter the Task List, our recommendation is that you delete it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

RoxWatchTray

RoxWatchTray.exe

(Sonic Solutions)

Roxio Watched Folders System Tray application. System Tray icon installed by Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 and which allows you to configure your watched folders or to turn the “Watched Folders” feature of Roxio ON or OFF.

Recommendation :
Right-click on the icon in the System Tray and turn “Watched Folders” OFF (stop it). Then, immediately disable this item on the Startups tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter and follow this by reading our recommendations for the Roxio Watched Folders service, ROXWATCH, and the Roxio Media Database service (ROXMEDIADB) on the Services tab of TUT.

RoxWatchTray9

RoxWatchTray9.exe

(Sonic Solutions)

Roxio Watched Folders System Tray application. System Tray icon installed by Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 and which allows you to configure your watched folders or to turn the “Watched Folders” feature of Roxio ON or OFF.

Recommendation :
Right-click on the icon in the System Tray and turn “Watched Folders” OFF (stop it). Then, immediately disable this item on the Startups tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter and follow this by reading our recommendations for the Roxio Watched Folders service, ROXWATCH9, and the Roxio Media Database service (ROXMEDIADB9) on the Services tab of TUT.

RoxWatchTray10

RoxWatchTray10.exe

(Sonic Solutions)

Roxio Watched Folders System Tray application. System Tray icon installed by Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 and which allows you to configure your watched folders or to turn the “Watched Folders” feature of Roxio ON or OFF.

Recommendation :
Right-click on the icon in the System Tray and turn “Watched Folders” OFF (stop it). Then, immediately disable this item on the Startups tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter and follow this by reading our recommendations for the Roxio Watched Folders service, ROXWATCH10, and the Roxio Media Database service (ROXMEDIADB10) on the Services tab of TUT.

Rpcss

Rpcss.exe

Rpcss.dll

(Microsoft)

Remote Procedure Call Services – it is RPCSS.EXE in Windows 95/98/ME, while it is RPCSS.DLL in Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003. Remote Procedure Call is the feature which enables programs to call each other’s publicly declared procedures (programming code) over a network. From initially being little used under Windows 95/98/ME, RPCSS has now become essential to the proper running of most of the recent versions of network related Microsoft software (Winsocks, Internet Explorer, ICS), thus disabling it or deleting it will result in problems at some point. Under any Windows 95/98/ME environment with reasonably recent Microsoft software installed, RPCSS runs at all times as a transparent task visible only through The Ultimate Troubleshooter, while under Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 RPCSS is a crucial part of the design of the operating system and deleting/disabling this program disables the operating system !

Recommendation :
Leave well alone !

Rscmpt

Rscmpt.exe

(NVidia???)

Well, well, well. What have NVidia either done, or allowed to happen ?! There is absolutely nothing positive we can say about this task. It goes like this : you purchase an NVidia chipset card and install the drivers – you have Windows 2000. Let’s say the card is a 64Mb graphics card. If you install the NVidia drivers from the NVidia site, you find that your card gets recognised as only a 32Mb card. If you then decide to install the drivers from the CD that came with the card, you find that your card gets recognised successfully but there is a new task running, RSCMPT, which gobbles up CPU resources, up to 99% sometimes. So, to summarise : without RSCMPT your card gets recognised at boot-up as the card you bought, a 64Mb card, but when you are in Windows it gets recognised as only half that, 32Mb. On the other hand, with RSCMPT Windows recognises your card properly but your PC slows down to a crawl.

Recommendation :
Something is not right, whether with Windows 2000, or the NVidia chipset under Windows 2000, or the implementation of the NVidia chipset by 3rd party graphics cards manufacturers. One thing for sure, something is definitely not right with RSCMPT. At the time of writing, 29-Dec-2002, a search for RSCMPT on the NVidia site yields nothing, and that is not right as, with so many users experiencing difficulties, they must know about the problem (even if it has nothing to do with them, ie. it is the fault of 3rd party manufacturers, they should be issuing a statement about it). In our view, if you have just bought the card and you experience this problem, return it and get a different one – be practical, effectively. Note that this problem has also been observed on Windows 98 PCs.

Rsrcmtr

RsrcMtr.exe

(Microsoft)

Windows Resource Meter. If you have this running in your Task List, then you should find the Windows Resource Meter icon in your System Tray. The Resource Meter enables you to track how your prime resources, System, User, GDI, are used and whether you are running low on these resources.

Recommendation :
The Resource Meter uses Windows resources itself, so only ever use it if you are troubleshooting resources problems, or if you know that a specific type of usage of your PC always results in resources running dangerously low and you want to have an early warning mechanism so you are not caught out by a frozen PC due to exhausted resources.

Rstate

RState.exe

(Sybase)

Program which is part of Sybase’s Manage Anywhere Studio suite. Manage Anywhere Studio is a package for distributing, installing and managing software, data, and files, on remote systems. RSTATE resides on the client PCs – we do not at this stage know what its exact purpose is.

Recommendation :
We can only recommend to leave it alone as we do not yet know what this task does.

Rsvp

QoS RSVP

RSVP.exe

(Microsoft)

Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) is a signalling technique used to guarantee quality of service (QoS) by reserving bandwidth for RSVP-capable data flows. Typical applications would be video and audio streaming between servers or between a server and a specific PC, such as a demonstration PC in a conference room. All PCs in the data path must be RSVP compliant for a guaranteed QoS – ie. they must all have RSVP running, which instantly eliminates Win9x/ME/NT4 PCs. A typical reservation flow is initiated by sending a PATH message downstream to the receiver. Each PC in the data path establishes a PATH state, to maintain the appropriate QoS. A PATH message states the flow ID, reservation information, and the source and destination address. Once the PATH message reaches the destination PC, the request is handled by the local RSVP process, RSVP.EXE, which processes the request for validity in terms of whether it has the available resources to satisfy the request and whether the originator has permission to make the request in the first place. The RSVP process then either sends back an error response to the sender, or the appropriate QoS is implemented. A RESV message is then sent upstream from the receiver to each PC in the reverse data path. The RESV message uses the same flow information used in the PATH message. Routers along the path commit to the reservation and then store the information in a flow table. This process is repeated until the sender gets the RESV message. The reservation is then set up. Once the sender and receiver have completed their intended tasks with the reserved data flow, a PathTear message is sent to break the guaranteed bandwidth connection. At that point resources are then released by all PCs in the bandwidth path so they can be used in a later reservation.

Recommendation :
Unless this service has been set up by your Network Administrator, you do not need to have it running. Similarly, if this PC is not on a network, you definitely do not need this service running. If you are on a network, consult therefore with your Network Administrator, otherwise disable this service by setting the RSVP service to Manual in “Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services”.

Rtfixm32

RtFixM32.exe

(Cybermedia Inc, now McAfee)

Part of First Aid 98. Read FA_GD32 for more details.

Recommendation :
RTFIXM32 is often the cause of shutdown problems and freezes. If after reading FA_GD32 you decide to keep First Aid 98, you should at least disable RTFIXM32 with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Rthlpsvc

Rthlpsvc.exe

(EMC Corporation)

Dantz Retrospect Helper Service. Service installed by the Dantz Retrospect backup software. This service is only ever used during a Disaster Recovery of an entire hard disk, or during a “Live Restore” of the Operating System (Windows 2000/XP/2003) and Windows Registry. As per EMC’s own description at the time of writing, 28‑Jan‑2006 : “After Retrospect has executed the restore of an entire disk or registry, the Retrospect Helper Service may ask you to boot up in registry restore mode so that the restore can complete. Once you have booted up in “Registry Restore Mode”, the Helper Service then completes the restore of the Windows 2000 and XP "System State" data. This service does not necessarily need to be installed or turned on all the time, or on all computers.”.

Recommendation :
We recommend that you leave this service alone unless you are experiencing irresolvable problems with it. The last thing you want is a Recovery situation where it does need to be running and you forgot that you had set its Startup Mode to Manual !!

Rtvscan

RTVScan.exe

(Symantec)

Real Time Virus Scan service installed by Norton Anti-Virus 7.x for Windows NT/2000/2003. This service keeps in touch with the Symantec System Center via "keepalive packets" so that updates can be delivered to you quickly. RTVSCAN’s main purpose, however, is, as the name implies, to scan accessed files in real time, in the background.

Recommendation :
As it is the main component of "real-time virus scanning" for Norton Anti-Virus 7.x and above, you should leave this process alone. That said, there are some known compatibility issues with WordPerfect, so make sure to check the Symantec site for product updates (as opposed to virus updates). Also, if you have the Corporate Edition, and you have a permanent connection to the Internet, make sure you change the frequency of keepalive packages from its 3-minute default to something more stretched out (e.g. 1 to 4 hours for standard installations) as you will otherwise get significantly irritated by temporary freezes of your PC much in the same way as with Microsoft’s infamous "FastFind".

Rulaunch

RuLaunch.exe

(McAfee – Network Associates)

Background task installed by McAfee VirusScan 6.x and which automatically downloads antivirus updates whenever you connect to the Internet.

Recommendation :
There are so many problems with McAfee VirusScan v6.x that the last thing you want is a VirusScan background task doing badly in the background what you can do manually yourself. RULAUNCH often crashes or fails, or is it fails and crashes ?!!! Even if you have not experienced a problem with RULAUNCH, we suggest you disable it and simply manually update VirusScan 6.x To disable RULAUNCH : start VirusScan. Then "Pick a Task \ Change my VirusScan settings \ Configure Instant Updater \ Configure Automatic Updates \ Manual Update".

Rundil16

Rundil16.exe

(???)

You have the W32.Gaobot.ZX \ Backdoor.Agobot.IQ virus.

Rundll (1)

Rundll32 (1)

Rundll.exe

Rundll32.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s “Run a DLL as an App”. A DLL is a Dynamic Link Library. In layman and [very] simplistic terms a DLL is a portion of a software program which is only used by the main program as and when specific features of the software are used by the end user (for instance the PRINT function in your wordprocessor). The main advantage is that, using this technique, programmers can develop software which does not end up gobbling up memory through the whole program loading in one go, but which instead only uses enough memory for the core functions of the program, with specific features, implemented in separate DLL files, only loaded as and when the end-user decides to use them (ie. The Print DLL will only be loaded into memory when the end-user clicks on PRINT). Another advantage is that the software developers can also have common features which they have implemented across a range of their programs, implemented just the one time as a shared DLL which is used by all that developer’s programs. RUNDLL and RUNDLL32 are the Microsoft Windows programs that need to be used to load DLLs into memory so that they can be used by specific programs or by Windows.

Recommendation :
First, note that RUNDLL.EXE only exists in Windows 95/98/ME, it does not exist in Windows 2000/XP/2003 – its path is C:\Windows\Rundll.exe as shown on the Tasks tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter; anything else and you have a virus (see below). RUNDLL and RUNDLL32 do not normally appear in the Task List in Windows. In our experience they tend to appear only when you are already having problems of some sort with your PC, or a particular DLL is either misbehaving, is buggy, or is having problems, such as a Control Panel applet hanging for example. If you see RUNDLL or RUNDLL32 in your Task List persistently then you should be [slightly] worried (see below the other entry for RUNDLL32) – make sure you have good and up‑to‑date antivirus software, boot into Safe Mode, and run a full virus scan on your PC. If you do not have a virus and see either in your Task List, simply leave it alone. We are not sure as to the other times when the real RUNDLL or RUNDLL32 can sometimes suddenly appear in the Task List, but you should leave them alone in most cases provided, again, that you know you do not have a virus.

Rundll32 (1)

Rundll32.exe

Microsoft’s “Run a DLL as an App”. A DLL is a Dynamic Link Library. In layman and [very] simplistic terms a DLL is a portion of a software program which is only used by the main program as and when specific features of the software are used by the end user (for instance the PRINT function in your wordprocessor). The main advantage is that, using this technique, programmers can develop software which does not end up gobbling up memory through the whole program loading in one go, but which instead only uses enough memory for the core functions of the program, with specific features, implemented in separate DLL files, only loaded as and when the end-user decides to use them (ie. The Print DLL will only be loaded into memory when the end-user clicks on PRINT). Another advantage is that the software developers can also have common features which they have implemented across a range of their programs, implemented just the one time as a shared DLL which is used by all that developer’s programs. RUNDLL32 is the Microsoft Windows program that needs to be used to load DLLs into memory so that they can be used by specific programs or by Windows.

Recommendation :
RUNDLL32 does not normally appear in the Task List in Windows. In our experience it tends to appear only when you are already having problems of some sort with your PC, or a particular DLL is either misbehaving, is buggy, or is having problems, such as a Control Panel applet hanging for example. If you see RUNDLL32 in your Task List persistently then you should be [slightly] worried (see below the other entry for RUNDLL32) – make sure you have good and up‑to‑date antivirus software, boot into Safe Mode, and run a full virus scan on your PC. If you do not have a virus and you see RUNDLL32 in your Task List, simply leave it alone. We are not sure as to the other times when the real RUNDLL32 can sometimes suddenly appear in the Task List, but you should leave it alone in most cases provided, again, that you know you do not have a virus.

Rundll32 (2)

Rundll32.exe

(???)

RUNDLL32 in your Task List (as opposed to in your Startups) can sometimes be one of the W32.Miroot.Worm / W32/Legemer.Worm / W32.HLLW.Sanker viruses (or another virus). If you have good and daily updated reputable antivirus software which also scans incoming emails, then you probably do not have a virus. If you want to be sure, then run a full virus scan on your PC in Safe Mode – if the scan comes clean then you will know you do not have a virus and that the RUNDLL32 you keep seeing in your Task List is the genuine Microsoft file detailed above (to start your PC into Safe Mode, press F8 repeatedly as your PC is booting up from cold, till you get a menu where “Safe Mode” is one of the options – choose that option to boot into Safe Mode. Once finished with Safe Mode, reboot your PC into Normal Mode).

Runonce

RunOnce.exe

(Microsoft)

You will find RUNONCE.EXE as a startup entry rather than as a background task. RUNONCE is the Microsoft "Run Once" Wrapper. It is a program which developers can use as part of their installation procedures to ensure, for example, that after the first reboot post the installation of the software, some additional configuration program is run to complete the installation, and once only.

Recommendation :
It is not uncommon for a RUNONCE startup entry to be left behind after it has run once. Therefore, if you find a RUNONCE.EXE entry in your startups, reboot your PC; if it is still there after reboot, then you can safely disable it or delete it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Rxmon

RxMon.exe

(Roxio)

System Tray icon installed by Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 and which enables you to start Roxio’s Audio Central (or individual components of Roxio Audio Central) from the System Tray (to manipulate, create, or rip music CDs).

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference – you can disable this icon on the Startups tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Rxmon9x

RxMon9x.exe

(Dell)

Part of Dell’s Resolution Assistant. Read MOTMON for more details.

Recommendation :
Not necessary for the proper working of your PC. As with MOTMON our advice is to disable it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter till the day you need it.

All of the tasks below, and many more, although not detailed on this page, are explained in full in The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

The Ultimate Troubleshooter (TUT), has the full database in a remarkably easy and pleasing interface which makes the process of fine tuning your PC, or troubleshooting your computer problems, a snip. Get it here.

Raid_Tool.exe, Rainlendar.exeRainlendar2.exe, RAM_XP.exe, RaMaint.exe, RAMAsst.exe, RAMBooster.exe, RAMMan.exe, RamSaverPro.exe, Rapidkey.exe, Rapimgr.exe, RAUAgent.exe, RavMon.exe, Ravmond.exe, Rdpclip.exe, Readericon45G.exe, Readiris.exe, Readme.exe, RealAudio.exe, Realmon.exe, RealOneMessageCenter.exe, Realscheduler.hta, Realupd.exe, Recalculate.exe, Recguard.exe, Redirsvc.exe, Reg.exe, Reg1aid.exe, Reg32.exe, Regedit.exe, Regedit.exe, RegistryBooster.exe, RegistryController.exe, RegistryRepairPro.exe, RegMech.exe, Regsvc32.exe, Regsvs.exe, Regverif32.exe, Reload.exe, Remind_XP.exe, Reminder.exe, RemindMe.exe, Reminder_MUI.exe, Remote.exe, Remotehost.pif, Remote UI Service.exe, RemoveJK.exe, ReplayRadio.exe, Requester.11.exe, Rescom.exe, Residence.exe, Restore.exe, Retime.exe, Retrieve7.exe, Rfagent.exe, Rfkampig.exe, Rhaphlpr.exe, Rhapsody.exe, Richnotify.exe, RichVideo.exe, Rmvalid.exe, RoboTaskBarIcon.exe, RocketDock.exe, RocketTime.exe, RocketTimePlus.exe, RoxioUPnPRenderer9.exe, RoxioUPnPRenderer10.exe, RoxioUpnpService9.exe, RoxioUPnPService10.exe, RoxLiveShare.exe, RoxLiveShare9.exe, RoxLiveShare10.exe, RoxMediaDB.exe, RoxMediaDB9.exe, RoxMediaDB10.exe, RoxUpnpRenderer.exe, RoxUpnpServer.exe, RoxWatch.exe, RoxWatch9.exe, RoxWatch10.exe, RoxWatchTray10.exe, Rrgui.exe, RRpcsb.exe, Rrservice.exe, RSMB.exe, RSoPPRov.exe, RSSReader.exe, RTDCPL.exe, RTHDCPL.exe, RtHDVCpl.exe, RTLAUNCH.exe, RTWinServices.exe, Ruden.vbs.exe, Run32dll.exe, Rund1132.exe, Rundll.exe, Rundll132.exe, Rundll16.exe, Rundnm.exe, Runpopfile.exe, RxLabelCreator.exe

If you know of a background program that is missing from our database, but which you feel others should know about because of its potential side-effects, then let us know via the Feedback button.