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Microsoft Quietly Fixes Windows XP Resource Hog Problem

Posted by timothy on from the hey-cut-that-out dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft indicated this week that it has fixed a Windows XP resource-hog problem associated with the system's SVCHOST.EXE processes. Windows XP users affected by this problem typically found that the operating system was using up system resources for 15 minutes to an hour after startup, making it difficult to use the machine during that period. The Microsoft Update team had vowed last month to spend the holiday break tackling the issue, which has plagued some users for years. The fix involved stopping the system from perpetually checking Internet Explorer updates. Microsoft indicated that the fix was rolled out on Tuesday."

11 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Over a decade by C18H27NO3+ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Windows XP has been out for 12 years and they just started to look into the problem last month?

    1. Re:Over a decade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not only that, it really sounds like a couple people just did it on their vacation time because it personally annoyed them. Microsoft was not interested in actually putting it on a schedule to be fixed.

      It's funny how that sounds precisely like the bug tracker of any Linux distro.

    2. Re:Over a decade by DogDude · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Windows XP has been out for 12 years and they just started to look into the problem last month?

      Or you can look at it in another way: "They fixed a bug on a 12 year old OS?! Awesome!"

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    3. Re:Over a decade by 0123456 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's funny how that sounds precisely like the bug tracker of any Linux distro.

      I didn't pay $100 for Linux.

    4. Re:Over a decade by oscrivellodds · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The difference here is that the linux distros are free and MS charges big bucks for their OS's. When you pay for a product you expect it to work properly- well, maybe YOU don't, but I do.

    5. Re:Over a decade by ApplePy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I didn't pay $100 for Linux.

      Even then the bugs in Linux still get fixed faster.

      But yeah, when volunteers are giving their own time to build me a killer operating system, I'm not going to harass them about a schedule. I give them thanks and positive vibes and sometimes donations. I think we all expect more from paid developers... but we don't always get it.

      --
      That I'm right, and you don't like it, doesn't mean I'm a troll.
    6. Re:Over a decade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      > Unfortunately I don't waste mod points for AC's

      Dear Asshole,

      Mod points are supposed to be used to increase or decrease the visibility of a post for the readership. They are NOT intended to be used as a reward or punishment for an individual.

      HTH.

    7. Re: Over a decade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, I paid for it in negative time. Time I got back not futzing around with a different update mechanism for every app, all of which want to run simultaneously on reboot. Time not spent being bombarded with scareware ads from the various 'protection' rackets 'required' to run Windows smoothly. Time not spent tracking down and installing drivers for various bits of random hardware, because it just works out of the box. Time not spent rebooting for every update or every file that needed replacing while it was in use. Time not spent figuring out which 'analytic and debug log' needed to be activated to find out how to fix a problem. Time not spent waiting for Event Viewer to load slower than a flight sim. Time not

  2. Let me get this straight... by EdIII · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The performance issue was a constant check for updates.. for another program notorious for performance issues....

    This is why I really wish that Microsoft was *truly* forced to allow IE to be ripped out of their operating system completely.

    At this point, just give it up guys. You had over 10 years trying to make a browser. Let it go....

  3. EOL installation media by jones_supa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What I'd really like Microsoft to do for XP (and other versions of Windows) is when the product reaches end of life, create a new installation medium which includes all the updates. If anyone wants to do legacy installations of the OS in future for special purposes, that could be quite handy.

  4. CO2 by tonywestonuk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wonder, how much Co2 has been released into the atmosphere, with this bug present on millions of computers, over decades, causing PC's to eat more electricity than they should.