Hi, I have been searching for answers on how to disable these permanently from startup (Ctfmon.exe and gearsec.exe). Ctfmon.exe is part of the alternative user input in MS Office, and when I reformatted my HD and reinstalled office, I made sure to not install the alt. user input. I tried Microsoft's method of "removing" it, but no success. It is still there no matter what I do, deleting it from the registry startup, uninstalling, reformatting and reinstalling office etc.etc.. Whenever I install MS Office 2003, it comes up regardless of alt. user input and stays up until I manually shut it down in task manager. How do you REALLY get rid of this because Microsoft's solution does not work. I have read their sites, etc. Trust me, it doesn't work. As for gearsec.exe that is installed with itunes and comes up at startup as well. I can't figure out how to disable it without uninstalling Quicktime which I would prefer not to do. I can again disable it with task manager, but I would like to stop it completely. Has anyone figured out either of these issues, as many forums don't offer any true solutions. HELP!

If u have deleted the registry entry (HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run) and they still run, then check the following: 1) Startup folder 2) Services (right-clk My Computer/Manage/Services) - set to manual if they're there. 3) Type msconfig in RUN box and check the startup tab You may have to check the registry for other startup entries for these files. Try using 'Registry Crawler' to find them - much quicker than using 'Find' in the registry. GoodLuck

I deleted HKEY Local's startup item and it still comes back every time you reboot (for ctfmon.exe). You can't disable it managing your services as it is not an option. As for registry crawler that doesn't help either. Any other suggestions? These are a pain in the arse.

Well ctfmon actually runs from: HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run (not HKLM after all) Whether it comes back after deleting I don't know - but I have it running and I'm not bothered - why do u want to stop it anyway lol ?? tis only running at 1228kb.

I know it isn't sucking up a lot of resources, but all the same it's sucking up SOME resources which is unnecessary. You're right it was in HKEY Current which is what I deleted and it comes back every time. Doesn't anyone know how to get rid of these?

Have a look here: http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist_c.htm Mebbe this'll work !!

Try this If opening attachments in Outlook XP takes long. Turn off the Speech and Handwriting Recognition Features. HOW TO: Turn Off the Speech Recognition and Handwriting Recognition Features in Office XP 1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL, and then click Task Manager. 2. On the Processes tab, if CTFMON.exe is in the list, click CTFMON.EXE, and then click End Process. 3. Close the Task Manager window. 4. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. 5. Double-click Add or Remove Programs. 6. Click Microsoft Office XP, and then click Change. 7. Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next. 8. In the Features to install box, follow these steps: o Expand Microsoft Office. „X Expand Microsoft Excel for Windows, click the symbol next to Text to Speech, and then click Not Available. „X Expand Office Shared Features. „X Expand Alternative User Input. „X Click the symbol next to Speech, and then click Not Available. „X Click the symbol next to Handwriting, and then click Not Available. „X Expand Proofing Tools. „X Expand French, click the symbol next to English - French Translation, and then click Not Available. „X Expand Spanish, click the symbol next to English - Spanish Translation, and then click Not Available. 9. Click Update. 10. After the update is complete, click Start, and then click Run. 11. In the Open box, type regsvr32 /u msctf.dll, and then click OK. When you are prompted to acknowledge that the program succeeded, click OK. 12. Click Start, and then click Run. 13. In the Open box, type regedt32.exe, and then click OK. 14. Locate and then click the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ 15. Right-click the entry Ctfmon.exe, click Delete, and then click Yes. 16. Close Registry Editor. For more information on this topic, lookup article: 326526 on the Microsoft website. A custom installation file has been added to the "OfficeXPProSP2" folder on log_programs. The disabling of this feature will be applied automatically for all new Office XP installations.