After the release of the modification of Windows Vista, the opinions of users regarding the introduction of some innovations were divided. Some considered (and still consider) their revolutionary, others treat them extremely negatively, since for the most part they use too much system resources. In particular, this is a component of Sidebar. What this element is, how to use it or turn it off will be discussed later. And for starters, about the purpose of this service and the process of the same name in the "Task Manager".
Sidebar: what is this Windows component?
Immediately I would like to warn all users that this component was introduced for the first time in Vista, but in the eighth and tenth version the developers refused it. That is, it becomes clear that the XP Sidebar is also absent in the modification.
Now directly about what this component is and why it is needed. To understand this, simply translate the English term. It means sidebar. What is she like? This is a vertical area located by default on the right side of the “Desktop”, which shows additional application icons (so-called widgets) that allow quick access to some standard system applications such as a calendar, weather or news block, etc.
How does the sidebar work and why do errors appear?
This is the Sidebar. What is it, sorted out. Now let's see how it all works. Despite the fact that the executable file responsible for the process of the same name is located in Windows startup and is active in the "Task Manager", in fact, the panel needs to be called separately.
As for the settings, at first the set of widgets offered by the developers was very meager, but then additional services appeared. In addition, on the Internet, enthusiasts began to post their own developments, which could be integrated into the panel.
Alas, like all other system components, this service is not safe from the appearance of failures in its operation. Most often, it is believed that this is due to the obsolescence of the Adobe Flash Player browser extension. However, the process itself can cause increased use of system resources in the form of a load on the central processor and RAM. But this situation is mainly characteristic of low-power computers that meet only the minimum requirements of the operating systems installed on them. To reduce the load, the service should be deactivated.
What to do with a high load on resources?
In a running system, for a one-time stop of the service, you can use the completion of the Sidebar.exe process in the "Task Manager".
But this will give only a short-term effect, since after a reboot this element is activated again (it is included in the startup list of the system).
To exclude it from the specified section, you must use the msconfig command in the "Run" console, after which, in the called configurator, go to the desired tab and uncheck the panel bar. Restarting the system after saving the settings is required.
How to disable Sidebar for Windows 7 completely?
But even this approach does not give full confidence in disabling the sidebar (you never know when it can be activated independently).
The best solution would be to call the program and component section from the Control Panel, where in the list of system elements you need to deactivate the corresponding component, accept the notification that appears, wait for the shutdown and restart.
You can also apply disabling the main and related processes in the services section (services.msc) with a stop and exposing a disabled option such as start. But you won’t be able to completely remove this component from the system even with the help of uninstallers, since this component will not be shown in any of the sections (although uninstallers themselves can remove even built-in applications and system elements).
Finally
Here is a brief summary of everything about the system component of the Sidebar interface. What is it, I think, any user already understands. How expedient it is to keep the service active, everyone decides for himself. It is clear that in the presence of a powerful processor and a sufficient amount of RAM, the panel will not have a special effect on system performance. But with weak machines it is better not to risk it.
Nevertheless, many are interested in the question of using the panel not only in Vista or the Seven. Yes, there is such an opportunity. To do this, you need to download and install Sidebar for Windows XP, 8 or 10 (you can use both the official Microsoft resource and your own development of users included in support groups). But subject to the availability of XP-modification, it should be taken into account that this can provoke an increase in loads, and the system itself will work much slower. So, think a hundred times before doing such things and unnecessarily overloading the processor and RAM.
And of course, it should be borne in mind that some viruses can masquerade as this applet, so after loading the appropriate installers it is advisable to check for built-in malicious codes.