Hello. I have a problem. I am running Windows 98 (that's not the problem), 733MHZ PIII, 128MB RAM, 10GB HDD. I don't know when it started, but a long time ago, I was happy writing something in ICQ and it suddenly stpped typing and the I-Beam cursor was flashing very (VERY!) fast. I didn't know what to do, so I Pressed Ctrl+Alt+Del (The holy trio) and checked for something suspicious. There I found a new thing: "Ctfmon". I didn't recognize it so I closed it. At the second it was closed all the writing I did while the I-Beam cursor was flashing and I didn't notice came up in Hebrew (I was writing English, I'm using Win98 English Enabled - Hebrew menus & stuff). It's been happening forever ever since it started. Then, I saw another bug that Ctfmon creates. I have AVerMedia TV Capture98 /w VCR (TV Card) and it's always crashing to me, and I didn't know why. One time I was so pissed at the software of it, I wanted to close all running applications to see if it still hates me. Then, I noticed that the evil Ctfmon is in the background. I closed it and all other things and then the app worked! I just want to know what's Ctfmon's work in Windows and is there any way to disable it, so it won't come up whenever I write something in ICQ. I think it is also important for you to know that after I close Ctfmon, it comes back AGAIN after a very short while and continues its evilness. Thank you, Asaf Sagi.

Sounds like you somehow got a WindowsXP file in your Win98. If it were me, I would Delete it and work from there. Of course, you might want to save it (size permiting) to a floppy before deleting from system. Also, ya might want to check out the following link to help ya track down what may have caused an XP file getting into Win98. http://forums.32bit.com/showthread.php?s=a117f24d1b8a914310e723d19e83ec0b&threadid=13098

I have also had problems with ctfmon. I installed the new office xp package on my Windows 98 recently. Everything works fine except for Freecell. This comes up with a general protection fault. It took me a while but found the cause was ctfmon. I deleted it but found I had to incert my xp cd again because excel would not work. Ctfmon also comes up when I check my mail. Just another case of Microsoft products being Micros---e. It makes you wonder how much the software designers check for conflicts or is this just another ploy to get you to upgrade all of your overpriced Microsoft software.

As per MS Technet doc q282599, here is your answer: OFFXP: What Is CTFMON and What Does It Do? no keysno keys---------------------- The information in this article applies to: Microsoft Access 2002 Microsoft Excel 2002 Microsoft Outlook 2002 Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Microsoft Word 2002 no keysno keys---------------------- SUMMARY When you run a Microsoft Office XP program, the file Ctfmon.exe (Ctfmon) runs in the background, even after you quit all Office programs. This article answers some of the frequently asked questions about the Microsoft Text Services Ctfmon.exe file, which is loaded after installing Office XP Alternative User Input features. This article answers the following questions: What is the Ctfmon.exe (ctfmon) file? What does the Ctfmon.exe file do? Can I remove the Ctfmon.exe file? Why won't Ctfmon.exe go away when I remove it from MSConfig? When I uninstall the alternative input items from Office XP, Ctfmon.exe still loads. What else do I need to do to keep it from running? What amount of system resources is used when Ctfmon.exe is running? Can I load Ctfmon.exe on demand instead of all the time? Will I break something if I click End Task on the Ctfmon.exe process? Does Ctfmon.exe work the same on all operating systems? MORE INFORMATION What is the Ctfmon.exe (ctfmon) file? Ctfmon.exe activates the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft Office Language Bar. What does the Ctfmon.exe file do? Ctfmon.exe monitors the active windows and provides text input service support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard, translation, and other alternative user input technologies. Can I remove the Ctfmon.exe file? Removing the Ctfmon.exe might cause problematic behavior in your Office XP programs, so removing it is not recommended. To prevent Ctfmon.exe from running, follow these steps. Step 1: Uninstall Alternative User Input features and Translation Dictionaries To uninstall the alternative user input and translation dictionary features, set the install state to Not Available in Office XP Setup. To change the installation state of one or more Office features, use the appropriate method for your situation. Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0: Quit all Office programs. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click to select Microsoft Office XP product, where Office XP product is the name of the specific Office product being used. If you are using a standalone version of one of the Office programs, click to select the appropriate product in the list. Click Add/Remove. In the Maintenance Mode Options dialog box, select Add or Remove Features, and then click Next. This displays the Choose installation options for all Office applications and tools dialog box. Click the icon next to the feature that you want to change, and then select the installation state that you want from the menu that appears. NOTE: If you do not see the feature you want to change, expand the parent feature by clicking the plus sign (+). For example, to see the Spreadsheet Templates feature, click the plus sign (+) next to Microsoft Excel for Windows. After you change the installation states for all of the features, click Update. Microsoft Windows 2000: Quit all Office programs. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs. In the Currently installed programs list, click to select Microsoft Office XP product, where Office XP product is the name of the specific Office product being used. If you are using a standalone version of one of the Office programs, click to select the appropriate product in the list. Click Change. In the Maintenance Mode Options dialog box, select Add or Remove Features, and then click Next. This displays the Choose installation options for all Office applications and tools dialog box. Click the icon next to the feature you want to change, and then select the installation state that you want from the menu that appears. NOTE: If you do not see the feature you want to change, expand the parent feature by clicking the plus sign (+). For example, to see the Spreadsheet Templates feature, click the plus sign (+) next to Microsoft Excel for Windows. After you change the installation states for all of the features, click Update. Step 2: Remove Alternative User Input Services from Text Services Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click Text Services. Go to the Installed Services section, and, one by one, select each input item listed, and then click Remove to remove the item. All items should be removed except the following input service: English (United States)- default Keyboard United States 101 Step 3: Run Regsvr32 /U on the Msimtf.dll and Msctf.dll Files Click Start and then click Run. In the Run dialog box, type the following command: Regsvr32.exe /u msimtf.dll Click OK. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the Msctf.dll file. Why won't Ctfmon.exe go away when I remove it from MSConfig? Removing Ctfmon.exe from MSConfig does not disable Ctfmon.exe. For more information about disabling Ctfmon.exe, refer to the "Can I remove the Ctfmon.exe file?" section earlier in this article. When I uninstall the Alternative Input features from Office XP, Ctfmon.exe still loads. What else do I need to do to keep it from running? Unlike the Alternative User Input features, Ctfmon.exe is a system component that cannot be uninstalled. For more information about disabling Ctfmon.exe, refer to the "Can I remove the Ctfmon.exe file?" section earlier in this article. What amount of system resources is used when Ctfmon.exe is running? Ctfmon.exe uses little of the system resources if Advanced Text Services are not running. Advanced Text Services are those input technologies (speech recognition, handwriting recognition, and Input Method Editors) that are being controlled by Ctfmon.exe via a TIP. Can I load Ctfmon.exe on demand instead of all the time? The Alternative User Input system is not designed to be loaded and unloaded on demand. Can I click "End Task" in the Task Manager dialog box or "End Task" in the Close Program dialog box for the Ctfmon.exe process? No. It is not recommended that you manually close the Ctfmon.exe process. It is recommended that you use the steps in the "Can I remove the Ctfmon.exe file?" section if you want to stop the Ctfmon.exe process. Does Ctfmon.exe work the same in all operating systems? Generally, yes. Ctfmon.exe performs the same tasks on different Microsoft Windows operating systems. Additional Information Ctfmon.exe is the file that is responsible for controlling the Alternative User Input technologies. It starts the Language Bar component (in the Systray) and remains running in the background even after you quit an Office XP program. It also starts each time Windows is started and remains in the background, regardless of whether an Office XP program is started. CTFMON.exe is designed to stay running in the background during Windows sessions after the Office XP Alternative User Input components are installed.

Is ctfmon responsible for the problem listed below: I am running Win98se and just installed Publisher XP, a part of OfficeXP, but elected to keep my Office 2000 versions on my hard drive. Ever since the installation, when I am not using my computer, the hard disk shows activity {i.e. my hard disk is being accessed such as it would during a scan disk or a virus scan}, but I don't have any programs active. When I use the close program screen, it shows ctfmon running. Thanks

I recently installed Office XP and I have the same symptoms as you Daniel. The disk access light begins to show activity about 5 - 10 min after any inactivity, and unless inturrupted, it will not stop. (Maybe they should sell Office XP with a spare HD to use after it wears out your current one???) I have tried to stop (end task) ctfmon but still get the disk thrashing after 5 min or so. I'm going to go through all running tasks and try each one to see if I can find which one is doing this. I'll post here if I find it. Please email any results to me that you find.

I notice that my computer runs a hell of alot slower with ctfmon running. Especially outlook XP. I runs so slooooooow. When I end task (ctfmon) it runs alot better... I think removing it will be happening!