Resource usage of v4.00.23 in XP after 2 days

Since the inception of v4.00.23 I've had it under constant testing. This is the CPU and virtual memory usage of ProcessLasso.exe and ProcessGovernor.exe on an XP test bed after 2 days. Virtual memory and CPU usage of the GUI would temporarily increase a little if the main window were opened. Still, these are numbers hard to beat and represent how little overhead Process Lasso really has.

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Core optimization

v4.1 beta is trucking ahead already with new CORE OPTIMIZATION technologies. Yes, we are moving from priority optimization to Core optimization. Please see these two new articles I am working on for more information:

• When CPU Affinity Matters
• When HyperThreading Hurts

This [default CPU affinities] is another optimization that can help in some situations. It doesn't magically make everything better in all cases, but if you need a bit more performance out of an application, keeping a single threaded application bound to a specific core often improves its performance even without the considerations in the two above articles (per-core frequency scaling and virtual CPUs).

I intend to keep Process Lasso at the forefront of this emerging technology.

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v4.00.23 - Fixing bad v4.00.21 build

Version 4.00.21 was a bad build. I screwed up and caused a memory leak. It is as simple as that. I did not push that update out, but still - it was not a good thing and persisted a couple days. Last night, once I was notified of the leak by a concerned user, I made a small patch in v4.00.22 that slowed the memory leak considerably. I intended another update, this is it.

This morning, I took a closer look at the exact code changes in v4.00.21. It was then obvious what I had done. In some unnecessary 'cleanup' I simply made a mistake. I was recreating a global critical section with every new process enumerated, leaking gobs of memory. I have fixed it in v4.00.23. So, if you never went above v4.00.20 you are good. Otherwise, get v4.00.23.

Again, if you are running v4.00.21 or v4.00.22, you should upgrade now. Earlier builds (e.g. 4.00.20) are NOT affected.

I am very sorry for this, and you can bet I am not touching anything now. No future build will be issued without full regression testing. I continue retesting everything in the current build (with no problems seen). I am deeply humbled and embarrassed by this 2.5 day mistake.

What have we done to ensure this never happens again?

I have written new automated QA runtime testing to prevent this from ever happening again. I figure I can't rely on myself, and can't rely on anyone else, but can rely on a simulated environment and automated tester.

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Work begins on v4.1, even as v4.0 maintenance continues

I've now made 'the transition'. Version 4.00 is now in a virtual machine development environment, so future maintenance to it will be done there.

I've decided to go straight for version v4.1. I intend several decent size changes, and about a month of beta testing. I want a fresh release. There are several biggish things that need done, hence the relatively large version number jump.

In the meantime, any fixes or other easily backported features will be brought back to v4.0 and a new minor update issued.

Yes, it is Thanksgiving - but we here at Bitsum work even on Thanksgiving ;o. I do give Thanks though, to the creator and the people (customers) who allow my small business to continue. I feel us Americans have so much anymore that we don't truly appreciate the security and basic needs we have. Let us take time to remember those who don't have their basic needs met. There are millions, or billions.

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v4.00.21 - Very minor update, non-pushed

I made a few small adjustments here and there, and released v4.00.21. I am not pushing this update out via the update checker for those who already have v4.00.20, as there isn't cause to bother anyone with this minor update.

One of the new things is that it prefixes the active power scheme name written on the graph with 'Power Scheme:'. Since many systems come with OEM created custom power schemes with crazy names, users may not realize what it is written on the graph otherwise.

I also moved the CPU utilization bar graph to the middle of the Active Processes tab (for new users, existing users will have their last positioning remembered).

Enjoy, I'm going to create a quick piece of Freeware A LOT of people are going to enjoy.

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v4.00.20 Final

This change is a minor update, but also corrects some anomalies I saw in extended in-debugger testing. Now, who knows if these actually manifested into bugs, but I wanted a new build out there. I am quick and nimble ;).

• Change.GUI: Reset column layouts and sizes now resets both All Processes and Active Processes listviews
• Change.GUI: Add menu item to restore only ProBalance defaults
• Change.GUI: Change 'Disable all logging' to 'Enable logging'
• Change.GUI: Some improvements to Options menu layout
• Change.GUI: Further optimized due to continued profiling
• Change.GUI: Possible fix to a theoretical crash under certain very rare circumstances
• Change.Core: Further optimized due to continued profiling
• Change.Core: Tweaked ProBalance default parameters a tiny bit further, based on continued real-world findings
• Fix.CPUEater: CPU Eater Demo was not always using localized language, or asking for one if not selected

Have it your way!

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Name change: Free Edition now Semi-Free Edition

As ridiculous as this may sound, I have made a name change for two reasons:

1. Due to my miscommunication, some people thought Free meant Freeware in every sense of the word -- meaning every possible feature enabled in the Free version and NO nags. Please note, I removed the timer from the nags, but there still is a nag at startup. I've never been one to place really annoying nags around, but that is one mechanism I use to convert actual buyers. Also, many advanced features are not available there. Therefore, it is Semi-Free. NOTE: Process Lasso has been publicly classified as Shareware for years now, despite our continuing liberal use policy. So, it is not 100% free, though ProBalance and other popular functions do keep working forever.
2. Paying customers were confused in some cases and thought v4 had become free (a rumor that got started probably because the change log lists removal of the timed nags). It is NOT free. It is Shareware. You get many more features and no nags,. amongst other things. I definitely appreciate your support above all ;). You make Process Lasso possible for all of us.
3. I personally find the name has a bit of humor in it ;)

For a list of changes between Process Lasso Semi-Free and Process Lasso Pro/Server, see here: http://www.bitsum.com/howfree.php . I call our licensing model FreeShareware (yes, absurd or not).

The Server Edition is actually a time limited trial (30 days), after which it won't function. So, it is more 'classic' shareware.

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Next update, Options menu gets some changes

I decided to make the Options menu a little more consistent and move the ProBalnce configuration down with the rest of the rules configuration, and format its title in a similar way. I believe this is much better. Translators may hate me, but I will try to correct all 11 languages myself, as I think I can handle it (except the East Asian ones, which I can't read at all).

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Spending a day on marketing and new perspectives

I've been working on marketing. I don't really do much marketing. I figure if I focus on good code that solves a common problem, users will come.  However, to look professional, I should -- and do.

One thing I've done is looked at the product from a new set of eyes (more objectively). For the next build I've made a couple minor menu changes, which make sense and improve efficiency of use. I don't know when I'll upload the next build, it will likely be a couple days at least. We are still getting updates to v4 translations to this day ;). Out of respect to people who speak those languages, I post them as soon as I can -- whether or not people in that region buy from us or not.

I'm going to spend a little time tracking down some errata in PECompact, release the new final of PECompact (a minor update), then be back on Process Lasso. I do have a couple one-day side projects that I might unveil soon too. These side projects are simply useful, free utilities. The kind of stuff you'd expect from me ;). I like making things easier.. without adding bloat and making the overall picture worse (as so many programs do).

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v4.00.18 - Cosmetic work for better multi-lingual support

This version is a non-pushed version that replaces v4.00.17. It is mostly cosmetic work. For example, expanding dialog control widths to support other languages.

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v4.00.17 - Fix for global configuration file path

It was reported that the global configuration file setting (not a default setting) had some issues. I investigated and determined much of it had to be reworked. We're talking about the InstallHelper here, where it asks you where you want the configuration file. Not only did the path setting not always work (depending on the environment and other factors), but the Browse buttons were broken (something nobody even noticed).

So, this minor errata was fixed up, and v4.00.17 released.

Also included are updated languages. There are several, so I won't try to list them all. However, Finnish, German, Russian, Polish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, are some of the languages recently updated..

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Version 4 enjoys a successful launch with good user approval (afaik)

It seems version 4 is off to a great start. I couldn't ask for better. I hope everyone feels this way. Perhaps resellers intent on selling licenses may prefer I not have removed the timed nag, but I didn't like that thing. If sales will stay reasonable, I'll never bring it back.

The new capabilities are great, such as the process watchdog. Best is surely the improved Vista and Windows 7 integration. No more UAC prompts when starting Process Lasso elevated, yay! Also, management of your own elevated processes doesn't require management of all processes.

The process watchdog will be popular for many users. It lets you terminate, restart, or change the affinity of a process if it exceeds X CPU or VM use for Y time. I'll expand it as time goes by.

There are no big bugs I know of, and I tried to make sure of that. The transition to an online activation code licensing system has went seemingly smooth.

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v4.00.16 Final Released

This build improves the inter-process communication and updates several languages.

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Language updates - Consolidated into v4.00.15 (coming next 12-24 hours)

I'll be consolidating all language updates into v4.00.15, coming in the next 24 hours. So, any translators that want any more updates, submit them ;). Of course, they'll be later minor upgrades, but still this is an important build.

Some language updates have already been applied. However, I saw that I couldn't keep updating all day every time a new language update came in, so decided to do the remainder all at once.

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Post-release silence

I'm actually applying updated languages sent from translators and fixing other odds and ends. There is a lot of work into a new major version.

I will start pushing it out through the update checker soon though. The update checker is set to check every 7 days in v3, so hopefully the upgrade is nice and evenly spread out so as to not overwhelm me in case there are any upgrade glitches (e.g. old lifetime user not getting an activation code).

As it stands now, I've adjusted the default window height a little more to help that memory load graph look better (it is terrible at low vertical resolutions). I've also applied updates to Finnish, German, and Traditional Chinese. A new build will be uploading minutes after this post, build number 86100.

UPDATE: Build uploaded now, mirrors corrected. Process Lasso home page cosmetic fix from late last night where I screwed it up. Users are being notified the update exists.

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Version 4.00.14 FINAL released -- and on time

I've managed to release v4.00.14 final on time. Well, on my revised time anyway ;).

Since the transition to activation codes may be confusing, I am not pushing out new updates just yet via the update checker mechanism. I want to be around to monitor it.

Any user who needs an activation code should have been granted one (if your license is non-expired). If not, email me. They are in the SUPPORT AREA, so LOG IN to there to see any activation codes allocated to you.

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4.00.14 - Final version - preparing to push out to all users

I have what is presumptively the final build, v4.00.14. There will be some language updates and perhaps minor tweaks, but this is it. The fixes have been made. Everything works. The last few fixes were completed. Thanks again to users for helping to point out things overlooked despite my best efforts.

For now I'll label this as a beta in the database, until I get the back-end systems ready to handle updating of all users of the last final build. I also would like to give translators the opportunity to update translations at the last minute.


Hey, it is 7:28pm on the 14th. I met my deadline ;).

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New Process Watchdog support in v4 (a screenshot)

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Fixing a few last minute minor bugs in beta

There are a few last minute minor bugs I'm addressing, and I thank users for reporting them. While my own tests go just fine, the test of users may not due to different configuration or environment. These fixes are all minor things and won't take long. They don't require much regression testing, just of affected areas to be safe.

Things to fix or do prior to release of v4 final:

• FIX: New Process Watchdog entries don't work when Forced Mode enabled
• FIX: New Process Watchdog timers get reset if new process created
• FIX: Process Suspend/Resume service not working in some cases
• FIX: Hard throttle has problem (related to above)
• FIX: Some lost inter-process (Process Lasso GUI <-> core engine) communication events still occur under some circumstances
• Finish documentation updates
• Verify existing users all have active v4 keys (and some other back-end maintenance)
• A few other little tweaks

So.. about a days work, with retesting included. I now anticipate final release, with all systems go, to be in the next 12 hours. I'm going to do my best to make sure it is is a smooth release from a licensing stand-point. For many users this will be their first experience with the new activation codes.

I am very much looking forward to releasing v4. I know you are too. This has been 'on my back' for a long time you know. I didn't have a Summer because I was struggling so hard to keep Bitsum Technologies going strong. I hope to not work quite so much someday (if I can get it to 40 hours a week I'd be in heaven).

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Existing users of Process Lasso - Reset your ProBalance parameters

I recommend users going to v4 to reset their ProBalance parameters via the 'Options / ProBalance Options / Configure ProBalance Parameters' menu item. Then press the 'Reset defaults' button in the ProBalance configuration dialog. I may do this automatically, or at least prompt for it the change, allowing you to have it not ask again of course.

Testing has generally gone well. I'm cleaning up some minor things and looking into one user report. Version 4 is well on its way to being released very soon. When everything is in order, I will launch it.

I have some backend web work to finish as well, but I do believe it is coming in the next 12 hours. Today is the 14th in my time zone, FYI (8:31am at present).

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Fix to global paths in v4 beta

I am issuing a quick v4.00.13 RC3 to address an issue when using global paths. An update in a previous beta caused 'prolasso.ini' to be created as a folder, there-by causing problems when it is tried to be created as a file. Yes, I do make mistakes ;o.

Anyway, I've fixed the errata and am making sure it 'cleans up' any old messes from the old build.

This new build will be uploaded in about 30 minutes.

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Performance tests pass

I'm happy to say that the GUI and governor uses virtually EXACTLY the same amount of CPU as the last version, despite all the new features. The extra memory from some new features in the GUI were offset by the improved icon management that allows cached icons. Overall, GREAT results.

I did discover a bug with the use of global paths, which I am fixing ASAP.

We're headed final soon. If any translators want to make an update, now is the time.

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More minor bug fixes to the beta, now RC3 comes ...

I've fixed more bugs, many of them user reported. The list of known errata is quite small now. The list of serious known errata is zero ;).

Therefore, I'm releasing v4.00.12 RC3 in a few minutes. I'm going to continue testing, performance testing and tuning, and documentation updates. Once all this is finished, I'll release the final. I'm going to make sure it is done right, but at the same time am committed to finally get v4 out the door so we can move on to even bigger and better work.

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RC3, then final

Depending on your time zone (or not), I may not meet the deadline I set. However, if not, I'll be darn close. I set it so aggressively because I knew I could finish v4. I knew what I had complete. I knew what needed just a few minutes of attention. I hadn't been idle these last few months you know ;). We've come a long, long way.

There is still much work to do, so I'll shut up. However, the final *IS* coming soon. After that.. Well, I've already developed plans up until v5, though I'm sure they'll constantly evolve.

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If you are seeing random crashes of the GUI or core engine ...

Many users of Process Lasso have experimented with various system 'optimization' utilities. Many of these make permanent changes to the Windows registry that are supposed to speed up your PC. Note that Process Lasso makes NO changes to your system registry or other system settings.

Anyway, one value that is sometimes changed by inferior utilities is CriticalSectionTimeout. This value should NOT be decreased on a whim. This can cause exceptions to be raised in multi-threaded applications like Process Lasso that rely on critical sections to protect data from simultaneous access by multiple threads.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\CriticalSectionTimeout

That is one value that should NOT be decreased, and adjusting it isn't going to help your PC performance in any way -- it will just cause crashes if things take too long. If you see seemingly random crashes of the governor or GUI, please check this registry value if you get a chance. Some of these optimization utilities do things they think will help, but their changes actually have dire consequences.

The default value for most Windows NT+ (home and server) variants seems to be 0x278d00 (2592000). In other words, a long time. Sometimes things take a long time. That's why lowering it is dangerous. It isn't that it that the thread gives up on waiting and just tries anyway, the thread actually issues an exception, resulting in what you see as an application crash.

With the next build, a quick test will be performed to make sure this value is correct. This is the danger of running utilities that tweak system registry values.

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v4.00.11 RC2 beta refresh

I've refreshed v4.00.11 RC2 beta (85300) with a couple minor changes and the latest translations.

1. One click to the RAM graph, and the RAM Load graph disappears forever (unless you restore it)
2. Changes to ProBalance default parameters

Now, back to work... There are still several minor bugs I'm tracking down even as I do performance tuning.

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v4.00.11 RC2 beta released

This build continues polishing, as before. It represents RC2 though, meaning we are much closer.

While this build may not be perfect, we are entering performance and extended durability tests (where we prolong it to a sustained series of events to look for errata). We wanted to save plenty of time for these tests as it is important that we maintain the same, or better, performance than the previous final.

Note that minor bugs are still being addressed all over. If you reported one, and it hasn't been fixed, please simply remind me to be sure it hasn't gotten lost (or was invalidly assumed fixed). I appreciate any and all testing help very much.

We're on schedule to release the 14th as far as I'm concerned.

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RC2 coming tonight

I am completing all remaining TODO chores and releasing RC2 tonight. The following days will be continued testing, review, and profiling (performance testing and tuning). I intend to hit my target of the 14th as the final release date.

The fact is that I could work forever on this new version. I had to set a release date to get it on out. I am not dropping my dedication to doing the best I can though. No prior build has went through as much QA as this one will have by final release.

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Web server troubles

Yesterday we experienced some massive web server troubles. The worst ever known, 4-6 hours of downtime with a message that looked like we didn't pay our bill for an error. Yes, I wasn't very happy either.

In fact, this persisted so long I proceeded with getting the backup server going. Since an upcoming major release is pending, we're now back on the original server. Both servers should work ok, as there is no telling which you may be directed to until the DNS changes finish propagating back to our original server. However, *if* you experience troubles, then give your DNS server some time to flush its cache and try again later.

I apologize for any troubles this may have caused. At least now we have a viable and ready backup server to go on a moment's notice. It is just too bad DNS changes don't propagate that quickly, lol.

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New v4.00.10 RC1 beta build to fix blank processes list in XP

This beta release specifically addresses an issue with some XP home installations where the new beta would show a blank processes list because Terminal Services was disabled or set to manual start. We do NOT require you start Terminal Services, as previously described. When Terminal Services isn't running, since Process Lasso can't identify the username of processes, it simply manages all processes it has access to.

Version 3.84 final does NOT have this issue as it behaves like v4.00.10 now again does. This issue is not relevant in Vista+.

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Terminal Services in XP/2K .. or 'Help, my process list is blank in the new beta!'

During 'real world' testing it was discovered that many users disable the service: Terminal Services. This service facilitates Fast User Switching, Remote Desktop, Media Center, and generally most all multi-user functions on the system. It takes very little resources and its default state is to start on-demand. I therefore strongly recommend you enable it, as it isn't going to make your PC run faster to disable it. The overhead is simply too low. I mean, heck, one browsing tab open for 1 second exceeds the total virtual memory and CPU use of that service for probably the life of the session (until reboot).

Anyway, in v4 RC1 BETA since I now better hide/show the processes of other users based on the configuration, the disabling of Terminal Services could result in a blank Process Lasso process list. You can simply toggle 'Main / Manage process of other users too...' to fix this. Alternatively, you can enable Terminal Services.

So, in the NEXT beta... What I'm going to do is continue to ALLOW people to DISABLE Terminal Services, as I know no matter what I say some will insist on being able to disable it. The one side effect is that it will be impossible for Process Lasso to resolve the user name of a process, because it has no session to match the process name to. Therefore, the option 'Manage processes of other users' will automatically be turned on when Terminal Services is found to be disabled.

This does not apply to Vista or Windows 7 where this service has become an integral part of the OS and is always going to be available.

So, now Process Lasso (as before) will continue be the ONLY utility of its kind that does NOT mandate the following services:

1. Performance Counter (yes, I carefully crafted code to not utilize this 'easy' way)
2. Terminal Services (in XP/2K if not present, we'll just 'deal' with not being able to get process usernames)

I am currently testing a new beta that will better handle this condition in XP and W2K. So, if you are one of those users who insists on having services disabled, that's no problem for us ;). I honestly think it is largely ineffectual to disable services, and likely to cause troubles with applications that may depend on them, but I will let you be the judge of that yourself.

This issue does NOT apply to last final (v3.84) where we simply managed all processes we had access to. With the improvements in Vista+ support, v4 was more picky about what processes it managed -- hence the little bug in the beta.

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v4.00.09 RC1 beta

This build has a few minor fixes and adjustments. It has many translation updates, and finally fixes the issue where 'Yes' and 'No' weren't being translated because they fell below the minimum string length of my localization tools (note this was done in a subsequent update after I initially uploaded v4.00.09).

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Final release date set: November 14th, 2010

As I make my way through extended testing, I've decided to do an unusual (and perhaps challenging) thing --- set a firm release date. Honestly, I believe I could release v4 as-is right now and not have any major troubles. However, I want a little more time to continue testing and performance tuning for different environments, so have given myself 10 days.

This was necessary, in part, to get over my 'fear' of releasing a new version. As I've said before, the last final is so good and stable that it is a risky thing to move away from it unless I'm entirely confident in the new version. Additionally, the new activation system has to be perfect, else I'll get more support emails than I can handle the first day I issue the update, lol. So, I've got my work cut out for me ;o.

I would love to hear what you think about this.

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When CPU Affinity Helps and When HyperThreading Hurts

I'm not a great writer, and have to dedicate most of my time to coding. However, sometimes I do feel compelled to record certain knowledge -- just in case someone else needs it. I've done this many times in lengthy R&D projects (e.g. my WRT54G work), but now I'm taking a different approach - short articles simply stating some fact. I'm calling it the Bitsum Knowledge Base, after Microsoft's Knowledge Base, lol.

Here's a couple short articles I'm working on. Proof-reading and extensions will come in time:

When CPU Affinity Helps
When HyperThreading Hurts

I've got about 100 more I could write, but will start small ;). Maybe these articles will help someone in need, and perhaps gain me a customer if I'm lucky. Many engineers don't take the time to publicly disclose knowledge, which is understandable, but I feel like a more educated population is a better population. Naturally, any writings I do are probably oriented towards the techie type. However, if there is jargon you don't know -- just look it up and you'll understand.

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