Help me "Ward Off" Cortana in its entirety!

[MikeChipshop Member]

3 minutes ago, brpsycho said:

I can't find Cortana on my task manager. Is that because

1 you did something in particular to see it there ?

2 I'm missing anniversary update or something

3 Since Cortana is not enabled for my regional settings it just doesn't run ?

 

If the answer is 3, then it looks like my windows search thingy still works fine without Cortana.

I'd imagine it's number 3, as it's just there otherwise.

 

[Mando]

2 minutes ago, MikeChipshop said:

I'd imagine it's number 3, as it's just there otherwise.

 

yep i was thinking along the same lines.cant see any announcement post Nov 2015 to say it was now available in Switzerland 

[Noir Angel]

Toggle Tweaker has an option to funny uninstall Cortana. Select option 9 from the main page and follow the instructions.

8 hours ago, Dot Matrix said:

Cortana using up 40 MBs of RAM isn't preying on system resources. 40 MBs of RAM is nothing.

No resources should be used by something that you've disabled. Period.

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

I get concerned when I start fooling with features that MS does not want them to be fooled with. I put Cortana back like I said and all of the main Win 10 features. I have no idea if a CU will install with Cortana missing . All of the Metro apps do not take up that much space or use many resources. I have an SSD and Windows 10 and all of my other programs only use 42 gB of space. For me it is not worth it maybe with a user with low memory it would be..

[chrisj1968]

8 hours ago, saurabhdua said:

 

So has it disappeared forever? Did you Re-start your Machine to confirm on its sustainability?

yes. it worked without issue

[chrisj1968]

7 hours ago, Mando said:

thing is with W10 memory management, its a bit of a moot point, hes getting bent out of shape about something using resources that are available to it, it aint W95 anymore. IF the system needed the ram for a higher priority task, it would drop cortanas usage of the 40Mb. Ive run W10 on a Celeron 2Ghz single core with 2Gb of sys ram, apart from the higher than normal paging to disk (which considering is expected in Windows under 2Gb since W2k), it is very usable, hell W10 was designed from the ground up to be scalable from the lowest single core lumia phone, to a multi-core games desktop, his dual core AMD sys with 2Gb of sys ram is well above the lowest supported platform. 

 

Removing cortana and freeing up freeable memory from it is futile, it will just get used by another service, thats what Ram is there for.

 

As others have stated, Memory is there to be used, people need to get their heads out of the 90s, x amount of ram free means x amount of ram being under utilised. 

 

also good luck getting the next CU to install and function when it detects Cortana disabled, ill wager a bacon butty & large Latte youll be met with "oops an unknown error has occurred", at least with Chris`s solution, its easy to revert back before you patch (if you remember)

I would, because i hear your a greedy mofo with ice cream  

irregardless of memory management, how much memory we use ,for me personally, its the fact that this process is left running even after disabling it. If MSFT designed it to disable Cortana, it should be shutoff to the point where it doesn't use any resources. For myself, its akin to someone leaving my refrigerator door open or lights in my home on. just an annoyance, whether minor or major. It makes no difference to me.

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

Chris, that last part that was left running is what used to run as SearchIndexer and SearchFileHost in Windows 7. Windows Search was essentially renamed to Cortana and Windows search now includes all the old things search did as well as the whole 'Cortana listen/respond web search' junk. Killing it the way you did is of course functional.  It likely will not stick after the next update (although it may). As long as you never need to search from the search box on the taskbar (or after hitting the start menu) you should be fine (although I think Outlook uses this search for searchign emails so you may have an issue there). Since you have stated in another post that you hid the search bar on the task bar I suppose you're good to go. I on the other hand think the overhead of having the local Cortana search running (currently using a mere 31Mb on this machine) to be a value to me since I type things on the start menu all the time. 

 

Microsoft provided you a way to disable the all hearing/responding web search functionality of Cortana. That did not encompass all of Windows search. 

[chrisj1968]

11 minutes ago, Zag L. said:

Chris, that last part that was left running is what used to run as SearchIndexer and SearchFileHost in Windows 7. Windows Search was essentially renamed to Cortana and Windows search now includes all the old things search did as well as the whole 'Cortana listen/respond web search' junk. Killing it the way you did is of course functional.  It likely will not stick after the next update (although it may). As long as you never need to search from the search box on the taskbar (or after hitting the start menu) you should be fine (although I think Outlook uses this search for searchign emails so you may have an issue there). Since you have stated in another post that you hid the search bar on the task bar I suppose you're good to go. I on the other hand think the overhead of having the local Cortana search running (currently using a mere 31Mb on this machine) to be a value to me since I type things on the start menu all the time. 

 

Microsoft provided you a way to disable the all hearing/responding web search functionality of Cortana. That did not encompass all of Windows search. 

I agree. That crossed my mind and doesn't bother me. I'm in the process of creating a little app to do these steps by the click of a button without having to run around my folders each time. thanks Zag.

[sc302 Veteran]

cortana or windows search, whatever you want to call it, is pretty useful if you actually do use it.  outlook does use windows search as it's searching and indexing mechanism as the service does have to be enabled for it to function...well at least to index. 
indexing is what allows the search to be fast and near instantaneous, without it, well you searches will be slow (think windows 9x slow...if you can remember those times).  It can also find common tools like windows update or power management rather quickly without you looking around the os for it.  Utilizing the windows search/cortana actually can help you vs hunt and pecking around the os or looking for files that you may have forgotten exist (looking up key words in files vs opening and closing random files until you find the one you want).  Turning it off/disabling isn't a very smart thing to do, but to each their own.  For those not familiar or who complain about where things are at within the os, you really shouldn't disable cortana and you should use it to find the things that are lost or hidden or aide you to get to things quickly vs poking around with a mouse.  I know I can find things/get to things much faster with the search than clicking around the os but if you type 1 word in 20 minutes it may behoove you to hunt around with the mouse, if you can type at least 1 word a minute cortana will be much faster for you (3 letters "u p d" will bring up windows/microsoft update in cortana for example).

[chrisj1968]

20 minutes ago, sc302 said:

cortana or windows search, whatever you want to call it, is pretty useful if you actually do use it.  outlook does use windows search as it's searching and indexing mechanism as the service does have to be enabled for it to function...well at least to index. 
indexing is what allows the search to be fast and near instantaneous, without it, well you searches will be slow (think windows 9x slow...if you can remember those times).  It can also find common tools like windows update or power management rather quickly without you looking around the os for it.  Utilizing the windows search/cortana actually can help you vs hunt and pecking around the os or looking for files that you may have forgotten exist (looking up key words in files vs opening and closing random files until you find the one you want).  Turning it off/disabling isn't a very smart thing to do, but to each their own.  For those not familiar or who complain about where things are at within the os, you really shouldn't disable cortana and you should use it to find the things that are lost or hidden or aide you to get to things quickly vs poking around with a mouse.  I know I can find things/get to things much faster with the search than clicking around the os but if you type 1 word in 20 minutes it may behoove you to hunt around with the mouse, if you can type at least 1 word a minute cortana will be much faster for you (3 letters "u p d" will bring up windows/microsoft update in cortana for example).

 I understand. But I did with some investigating, find that the cortana process still runs eating up either 40-70MB on my system. recently was 40MB. However the OP has only 2GB ram and that can be a resource hog in his situation. As for me, and this is in NO way a complaint about Windows 10. But what surprised me is that even though Settings allow for the disabling of Cortana.. the OS still allows it to run in the background. Fortunately, having done this hasn't damaged my OS, its safe to say this is a good idea for those who don't want Cortana. I never use her anyway. conversely, I wanted to change my start menu button so I had to install classic shell which has a search feature itself, whether it was there before or not,  I don't recall.

 

But this is an issue in the general ballpark of people having complained about forced upgrades to Windows 10.

 

But in conclusion, I like to keep my system running smoothly and clean as possible by cutting down processes. With Google Chrome, it generally has 8 processes running just to come here and post this alone.   So having Cortana for the OP was an essential legit need on his part. but for myself and maybe others, just an annoyance.

[sc302 Veteran]

memory is cheap...I understand not having the cash to buy memory, but I have thrown out 2gb sticks to put in 4 to be able to increase the capacity to 8.  perhaps looking for or posting for upgrades may help in these situations esp when some of us either bundle up memory or toss them because it is easier than keeping useless things around or selling them.  Even if they pay for shipping it may be worth it for them to upgrade, I know I am not alone with the toss out.

[chrisj1968]

@sc302 could you sticky this as I'm sure someone might find it helpful? I scoured the internet and this process was by far the simplest there was. 

 

I just now reverted the changes, logged out, then back in and Cortana is back on. no mess or fuss  

 

as of 10:22am after reverting my former changes to turn Cortana off

Edited August 9, 2016 by chrisj1968

[Andre S. Veteran]

Just so everyone knows, that 40MB you see in Task Manager isn't physical RAM. Like in all modern operating systems, memory is virtualized in Windows. If the program sits there doing nothing and Windows needs the physical memory for something else, it'll get bumped out of physical memory, if it ever was there in the first place.

[sc302 Veteran]

If we are going to sticky we should do a clean post. This is riddled with too much back and fourth. 

[BajiRav]

I wonder some of the complaints about upgrade problems we see from people can be attributed to these "tips" to uninstall XYZ feature by deleting system files or tweaking registry without fully comprehending their purpose.

[saurabhdua]

43 minutes ago, chrisj1968 said:

 I understand. But I did with some investigating, find that the cortana process still runs eating up either 40-70MB on my system. recently was 40MB. However the OP has only 2GB ram and that can be a resource hog in his situation. As for me, and this is in NO way a complaint about Windows 10. But what surprised me is that even though Settings allow for the disabling of Cortana.. the OS still allows it to run in the background. Fortunately, having done this hasn't damaged my OS, its safe to say this is a good idea for those who don't want Cortana. I never use her anyway. conversely, I wanted to change my start menu button so I had to install classic shell which has a search feature itself, whether it was there before or not,  I don't recall.

 

But this is an issue in the general ballpark of people having complained about forced upgrades to Windows 10.

 

But in conclusion, I like to keep my system running smoothly and clean as possible by cutting down processes. With Google Chrome, it generally has 8 processes running just to come here and post this alone.   So having Cortana for the OP was an essential legit need on his part. but for myself and maybe others, just an annoyance.

Dear Sir,

 

& Lastly, these Austerity measures are inevitable in the wake of  a  meager 435MB as the "Available Physical Memory"! :-)

Being slipshod on Superficial 2GB RAM wasn't really the Truth! 

 

AMD Processors aren't that sturdy in comparison to their Intel counterparts.

 

& that's why I require your Guidance to replicate the same Magic for exactly the same scenario getting evident with Windows Defender as well!

 

Please relate to the respective Post under same Forum category.

[sc302 Veteran]

56 minutes ago, saurabhdua said:

Dear Sir,

 

& Lastly, these Austerity measures are inevitable in the wake of  a  meager 435MB as the "Available Physical Memory"! :-)

Being slipshod on Superficial 2GB RAM wasn't really the Truth! 

 

AMD Processors aren't that sturdy in comparison to their Intel counterparts.

 

& that's why I require your Guidance to replicate the same Magic for exactly the same scenario getting evident with Windows Defender as well!

 

Please relate to the respective Post under same Forum category.

for what it is worth, and I don't know what region you are in...to max that system out with memory will cost around $40 usd.  I don't know what you can and can't afford, but this is pretty inexpensive to have a system with the proper amount of memory. 

 

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/hp-18-1206in-all-in-one/CT9181290

 

[chrisj1968]

Just now, sc302 said:

for what it is worth, and I don't know what region you are in...to max that system out with memory will cost around $40 usd.  I don't know what you can and can't afford, but this is pretty inexpensive to have a system with the proper amount of memory. 

 

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/hp-18-1206in-all-in-one/CT9181290

 

He's in India I believe. But for those like him or I,  just good info to know. 

[saurabhdua]

Thanks sc302!

 

I'll certainly deliberate on this aspect more keenly from now on!

 

I'll get back to you in order to seek an assistance for opening my AIO machine....! as I have never attempted such a thing in the past.

 

Ok..let Neowin be a source of Motivation & Empowerment for me from here on....

 

All the very Best...

[Mando]

19 hours ago, chrisj1968 said:

irregardless of memory management, how much memory we use ,for me personally, its the fact that this process is left running even after disabling it. If MSFT designed it to disable Cortana, it should be shutoff to the point where it doesn't use any resources. For myself, its akin to someone leaving my refrigerator door open or lights in my home on. just an annoyance, whether minor or major. It makes no difference to me.

MS are the only ones who know 100% how ingrained "cortana" is, MS have never intended Cortana to be shut off, hence no guide or tutorial from MS on how to disable Cortana.......

 

Perhaps this will clarify it for some https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/instantanswers/0f9db9cd-c346-46f3-afa3-187f9ce290e8/cortana-is-built-in-to-the-windows-anniversary-update

 

especially the statement "With the Windows Anniversary update, Cortana is ingrained into the Windows experience in the locales where she is available. This means Cortana can't be entirely turned off. You can use Cortana settings to control exactly what Cortana has access to and how personalized you'd like her assistance to be."

 

So there we have it, from the creators, please dont be offended anyone if we all listen to the creator more than all of our opinions/ideas on it  unbelievable as it may seem, MS do know more than any of us on this topic  Sure you may have been able to totally disable it, just be aware your doing something it wasn't really designed to support, so the side effects or future ramifications of it are unknown. I dont know about others, but id rather leave it in a semiretired state but active, so i dont have to be concerned that something may fall over or not function as expected, that for me is worth less than 2% of total system ram, heck anyone old enough to have used pretty much all Windows releases, know dont fiddle with stuff you dont know 100% will work or is supported. put it this way, any w10 devices that come onto my corp estate as BYOD or other, will be expected to have Cortana left enabled,myself deciding otherwise would be dangerous and outright daft

 

Ram usage is that by definition and/or design, its there to be used, Windows (infact any Os built since 1990) can increase and drop ram allocated to apps, services and processes on the fly (called Memory Management).

 

Id imagine in the coming months/years we shall view "cortana" disablers akin to people who disable UAC because they find it a pain......again it aint the 90s.

Its kind of like saying, I dont like HID lights on my car, so ive disabled them completely.....then wonder why they drive into a brick wall in the dead of night 6 months later 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2016 by Mando

[sc302 Veteran]

13 hours ago, saurabhdua said:

Thanks sc302!

 

I'll certainly deliberate on this aspect more keenly from now on!

 

I'll get back to you in order to seek an assistance for opening my AIO machine....! as I have never attempted such a thing in the past.

 

Ok..let Neowin be a source of Motivation & Empowerment for me from here on....

 

All the very Best...

Here are step by step instructions on how to do it....

 

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03094858

 

power down and unplug everything, remove back cover, remove cover over memory modules, remove old module, insert new module, install cover over memory modules, install back cover, plug everything back in, power on....enjoy new memory.  shouldn't take more than 15-30min (30 min if you get curious in there).

 

 

here is a video

 

[r0wnin]

O&O Shut Up 10 has a "DISABLE CORTANA" slider.

No need to install O&OSU10, it runs from the folder. Very lightweight, no scam or slipstreamed software.

Allows fully removing Cortana, telemetry, defender, etc etc.

GET O&O SHUT UP 10

 

[Perfectstorm]

But you dont find the "searchUI.exe" either? 

I wanted to remove cortana from search box, and I did. But what exactly does "move the search bar to top" mean?  

 

Was the ability to disable cortana a registry modification? I did [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"AllowCortana"=dword:00000000

[ESC@PE]

Old thread but has anything changed with Cortana since the latest update(s) ?

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

As this thread is over 6mo old now, please go ahead and start a new thread. Thanks.