Guest Jackson Posted July 5, 2007 Posted July 5, 2007 A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous degree. The name pops up as a running process and during several seconds appears to make scores of read/write calls to the registry. Then it disappears for several more seconds until it comes back up and repeats the process (over and over and over...). I tracked the program to: C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\UpdatServices\. I renamed it to ZZZagent.exe and rebooted. The machine goes thru a frenzy of trying to find Agent.exe which I renamed. It tells me to insert the ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 disk and etc. Finally I keep cancelling the requests and it tells me that the Windows installation cannot continue and I should visit http://consumer.installshield.com for more information. Then it give me back my computer for about two minutes and the whole process starts over. I visited the page but found nothing of immediate help. Since I renamed agent.exe the LED for my HD only flash about once per second; with agent.exe active it flashed about three times per second. Once a second intuitively seems extremely excessive but it's still better than three times per second. My question: Do I really need this Windows Installation thing? If I can get along without it I would prefer to. How can I keep it from trying to reload? There must be a reference to "Agent.exe" in the registry that I could find and erase. Or, probably smarter, there is ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 listed in the "Add and remove programs" thingy in Control Panel. Would I regret removing that??? Any advice appreciated.
Guest R. McCarty Posted July 5, 2007 Posted July 5, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager Agent.Exe is likely Service based. If so, you can simply set it's Start Mode to Disabled (4) in the Registry. That's probably a makeshift solution as Omni page considers it a dependency. If possible you might open Omni Page and see if it has an option to disable automatic updates ( or checking ) this alone might neuter the Agent.Exe from loading/running. If you don't use Omni Page, I'd just uninstall it. The less you have installed on the PC generally results in quicker/more reliable operation. "Jackson" <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> wrote in message news:shnq835iq2132eieidvhopgnq0gpvc3ufa@4ax.com... >A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous > degree. The name pops up as a running process and during several > seconds appears to make scores of read/write calls to the registry. > Then it disappears for several more seconds until it comes back up and > repeats the process (over and over and over...). > > I tracked the program to: > C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\UpdatServices\. > > I renamed it to ZZZagent.exe and rebooted. The machine goes thru a > frenzy of trying to find Agent.exe which I renamed. It tells me to > insert the ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 disk and etc. Finally I keep > cancelling the requests and it tells me that the Windows installation > cannot continue and I should visit http://consumer.installshield.com > for more information. > > Then it give me back my computer for about two minutes and the whole > process starts over. > > I visited the page but found nothing of immediate help. > > Since I renamed agent.exe the LED for my HD only flash about once per > second; with agent.exe active it flashed about three times per second. > Once a second intuitively seems extremely excessive but it's still > better than three times per second. > > My question: Do I really need this Windows Installation thing? If I > can get along without it I would prefer to. How can I keep it from > trying to reload? There must be a reference to "Agent.exe" in the > registry that I could find and erase. > > Or, probably smarter, there is ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 listed in the > "Add and remove programs" thingy in Control Panel. Would I regret > removing that??? > > Any advice appreciated.
Guest Jackson Posted July 5, 2007 Posted July 5, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager On Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:13:08 -0500, Jackson <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> wrote: >A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous >degree. ... Oops, I forgot: XP (MCE) on a Dell Dimension C521. Dual 64 bit CPU if that matters.
Guest Gary S. Terhune Posted July 5, 2007 Posted July 5, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager OmniPage is an OCR application. Optical Character Recognition. It reads images and deciphers any text that is present. Unless you use this application, I'd uninstall it. It's not any great shakes as to what it can do, anyway. Lots of much better OCR apps out there. -- Gary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User http://www.grystmill.com "Jackson" <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> wrote in message news:shnq835iq2132eieidvhopgnq0gpvc3ufa@4ax.com... >A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous > degree. The name pops up as a running process and during several > seconds appears to make scores of read/write calls to the registry. > Then it disappears for several more seconds until it comes back up and > repeats the process (over and over and over...). > > I tracked the program to: > C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\UpdatServices\. > > I renamed it to ZZZagent.exe and rebooted. The machine goes thru a > frenzy of trying to find Agent.exe which I renamed. It tells me to > insert the ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 disk and etc. Finally I keep > cancelling the requests and it tells me that the Windows installation > cannot continue and I should visit http://consumer.installshield.com > for more information. > > Then it give me back my computer for about two minutes and the whole > process starts over. > > I visited the page but found nothing of immediate help. > > Since I renamed agent.exe the LED for my HD only flash about once per > second; with agent.exe active it flashed about three times per second. > Once a second intuitively seems extremely excessive but it's still > better than three times per second. > > My question: Do I really need this Windows Installation thing? If I > can get along without it I would prefer to. How can I keep it from > trying to reload? There must be a reference to "Agent.exe" in the > registry that I could find and erase. > > Or, probably smarter, there is ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 listed in the > "Add and remove programs" thingy in Control Panel. Would I regret > removing that??? > > Any advice appreciated.
Guest PA Bear Posted July 5, 2007 Posted July 5, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager 1. What anti-virus application is installed? Is your subscription current? 2. Start > Settings > Control Panel > Security Center: What is the reported status here for (a) your anti-virus application, (b) firewall, and © Automatic Updates? 3. Can you reach any of the following websites using Internet Explorer?... http://www.avp.com http://www.ca.com http://www.f-secure.com http://www.kaspersky.com http://www.mcafee.com http://www.my-etrust.com http://www.nai.com http://www.networkassociates.com http://www.pandasoftware.com http://www.sophos.com http://www.symantec.com http://www.trendmicro.com http://www.viruslist.com -- ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org Jackson wrote: > A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous > degree. The name pops up as a running process and during several > seconds appears to make scores of read/write calls to the registry. > Then it disappears for several more seconds until it comes back up and > repeats the process (over and over and over...). > > I tracked the program to: > C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\UpdatServices\. > > I renamed it to ZZZagent.exe and rebooted. The machine goes thru a > frenzy of trying to find Agent.exe which I renamed. It tells me to > insert the ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 disk and etc. Finally I keep > cancelling the requests and it tells me that the Windows installation > cannot continue and I should visit http://consumer.installshield.com > for more information. > > Then it give me back my computer for about two minutes and the whole > process starts over. > > I visited the page but found nothing of immediate help. > > Since I renamed agent.exe the LED for my HD only flash about once per > second; with agent.exe active it flashed about three times per second. > Once a second intuitively seems extremely excessive but it's still > better than three times per second. > > My question: Do I really need this Windows Installation thing? If I > can get along without it I would prefer to. How can I keep it from > trying to reload? There must be a reference to "Agent.exe" in the > registry that I could find and erase. > > Or, probably smarter, there is ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 listed in the > "Add and remove programs" thingy in Control Panel. Would I regret > removing that??? > > Any advice appreciated.
Guest Gary S. Terhune Posted July 5, 2007 Posted July 5, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager The 64-bit part might explain why the app is having problems. Are you certain that it is 64-bit compliant? Yes, most 32-bit apps can be installed on 64-bit Windows, but it's not 100%, especially with components that interface with hardware, which I suspect OmniPage does at least somewhat. -- Gary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User http://www.grystmill.com "Jackson" <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> wrote in message news:sroq83pei4fv1ru5kinlsha148jvkpp016@4ax.com... > On Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:13:08 -0500, Jackson <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> > wrote: > >>A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous >>degree. ... > > Oops, I forgot: XP (MCE) on a Dell Dimension C521. Dual 64 bit CPU > if that matters. > >
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted July 5, 2007 Posted July 5, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 14:38:09 -0700, "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote: > The 64-bit part might explain why the app is having problems. Are you > certain that it is 64-bit compliant? Yes, most 32-bit apps can be installed > on 64-bit Windows, but it's not 100%, especially with components that > interface with hardware, which I suspect OmniPage does at least somewhat. Gary, despite his 64-bit CPU, he's running MCE, which doesn't come in a 64-bit version. So that can't be an issue. > "Jackson" <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> wrote in message > news:sroq83pei4fv1ru5kinlsha148jvkpp016@4ax.com... > > On Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:13:08 -0500, Jackson <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> > > wrote: > > > >>A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous > >>degree. ... > > > > Oops, I forgot: XP (MCE) on a Dell Dimension C521. Dual 64 bit CPU > > if that matters. > > > > > -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Gary S. Terhune Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager Now that you mention it... -- Gary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User http://www.grystmill.com "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in message news:0tqq839fn35qc6b7gv830dkep1egsk86h4@4ax.com... > On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 14:38:09 -0700, "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote: > >> The 64-bit part might explain why the app is having problems. Are you >> certain that it is 64-bit compliant? Yes, most 32-bit apps can be >> installed >> on 64-bit Windows, but it's not 100%, especially with components that >> interface with hardware, which I suspect OmniPage does at least somewhat. > > > Gary, despite his 64-bit CPU, he's running MCE, which doesn't come in > a 64-bit version. > > So that can't be an issue. > > > > >> "Jackson" <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> wrote in message >> news:sroq83pei4fv1ru5kinlsha148jvkpp016@4ax.com... >> > On Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:13:08 -0500, Jackson <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> >> > wrote: >> > >> >>A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous >> >>degree. ... >> > >> > Oops, I forgot: XP (MCE) on a Dell Dimension C521. Dual 64 bit CPU >> > if that matters. >> > >> > >> > > -- > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Jackson Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 17:35:57 -0400, "PA Bear" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote: >1. What anti-virus application is installed? Is your subscription current? AVG free edition, up to date > >2. Start > Settings > Control Panel > Security Center: What is the reported >status here for (a) your anti-virus application, (b) firewall, and © >Automatic Updates? All three are ON. > >3. Can you reach any of the following websites using Internet Explorer?... > >http://www.avp.com Yes >http://www.ca.com Yes >http://www.f-secure.com Yes >http://www.kaspersky.com Yes >http://www.mcafee.com Yes >http://www.my-etrust.com Above address opens to http://shop.ca.com/ >http://www.nai.com Above address opens to http://www.mcafee.com/us/ >http://www.networkassociates.com Above address opens to http://www.mcafee.com/us/ >http://www.pandasoftware.com Yes >http://www.sophos.com yes >http://www.symantec.com Yes >http://www.trendmicro.com yes >http://www.viruslist.com Yes
Guest RalfG Posted July 6, 2007 Posted July 6, 2007 Re: Running process woes in Windows Task Manager OmniPage is character recognition software for your scanner. Scan a printed page from a book or newspaper and it converts the image into an editable text document. If you don't plan on using it you can uninstall the program. I got Omnipage SE 2.0 with my Canon scanner. It loads a TSR called OpwareSE2, but Agent.exe does not run. I did previously disable automatic updating for the InstallShield updater though. IIRC it would search for updates online for several apps that were on the computer. There were never any updates found except for Installshield itself anyway. "Jackson" <jjacXkdins@Xcox.net> wrote in message news:shnq835iq2132eieidvhopgnq0gpvc3ufa@4ax.com... >A process named Agent.exe is active in Task Manager to a ridiculous > degree. The name pops up as a running process and during several > seconds appears to make scores of read/write calls to the registry. > Then it disappears for several more seconds until it comes back up and > repeats the process (over and over and over...). > > I tracked the program to: > C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\UpdatServices\. > > I renamed it to ZZZagent.exe and rebooted. The machine goes thru a > frenzy of trying to find Agent.exe which I renamed. It tells me to > insert the ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 disk and etc. Finally I keep > cancelling the requests and it tells me that the Windows installation > cannot continue and I should visit http://consumer.installshield.com > for more information. > > Then it give me back my computer for about two minutes and the whole > process starts over. > > I visited the page but found nothing of immediate help. > > Since I renamed agent.exe the LED for my HD only flash about once per > second; with agent.exe active it flashed about three times per second. > Once a second intuitively seems extremely excessive but it's still > better than three times per second. > > My question: Do I really need this Windows Installation thing? If I > can get along without it I would prefer to. How can I keep it from > trying to reload? There must be a reference to "Agent.exe" in the > registry that I could find and erase. > > Or, probably smarter, there is ScanSoft Omni Page SE 4.0 listed in the > "Add and remove programs" thingy in Control Panel. Would I regret > removing that??? > > Any advice appreciated.
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