msmsgs.exe

[jfguerra]

What is the purpose of msmsgs.exe? I have noticed that when I am in Outlook in my Inbox, msmsgs.exe shows up on my Windows Task Manager using up a lot of CPU. This seems to be something new. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[bcastner]

It is the Windows Instant Messenger client.

You can set in Outlook, Options, not to launch Windows Messenger when starting Outlook.

If you do a search using the "Keyword Search" feature (next to the tab that says "Forum" at the top) on Windows Messenger you will find several threads explaining the details of the various methods to disable or completely uninstall the MS IM client.

 

[bcastner]

As a quick note, the fastest way to disable Windows Messenger is to rename the folder c:\Program Files\Messenger to c:\Program Files\Messenger_stop

To re-enable, reverse the process.

 

[jfguerra]

Thanks bcastner (once again!). I also forgot to mention another program: lsass.exe.

It seems to be doing constant I/O. I shut down just about every application (including Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus which I usually run in the background) and lsass.exe continues to do I/O. Is this normal?

By the way, you solved my msmsgs.exe problem. Thanks!

 

[bcastner]

lsass.exe you have to leave alone. If it asks to make an outbound request, allow it. This is a core system service that deals with the security scheme of your computer and must not be impeded.

Glad you got the other issues sorted.
Bill

 

[bcastner]

I should note that some people do disable the lsass service, which is called NT LM Security Services Provider. The default status is Manual, and it provides security support for the Remote Procedure Call service and for message queues. So, I guess you could disable it by doing Start, Run, services.msc and then finding the NT LM Security service and stopping it, then setting its startup status to disabled.

But unless it is a real issue I vote to leave it at Manual.