A detailed analysis of the jqs.exe process
A look in the Task Manager of Windows XP or Windows Vista will reveal all the applications, open windows and processes that are running on the computer system. Many of the processes displayed are important system processes that are required to run Windows properly.
One such process is jqs.exe. Jqs.exe refers to the Java Quick Starter, a program that accompanies all builds of Java since Java SE 6 Update 10 and is meant to speed up the start-up time of the Java environment.
This is done by loading necessary files used by the Java Runtime Environment that would otherwise be loaded upon file execution. This does mean that those files will reside in computer memory all the time being regularly preloaded into memory.
This results in a more cohesive and free flowing experience when one is browsing websites that have Java code or applets.
The whole process usually consumes between 1 to 2 megabytes of RAM and around 2 megabytes of virtual memory, never using more than 20 megabytes. This means that on most recent machines (which often have more than 1 gigabyte of RAM) the program consumes an insignificant amount of resources.
The process has been designed to check the system load and other system information before starting the preload process. It will automatically postpone preloading the Java files if the system is low on memory, in high load situations or low battery.
Many users have reported high input and output processes by the jqs.exe running on their computer system. The load and memory usage is somewhat regulated by Windows which will regularly clean the cache to reduce system load and memory usage. The process should not make to much problems on modern computer systems with lots of computer memory and processing power though.
The process can however be easily deactivated in Windows which would make sense if Java is only used frequently. To do that one would open the Windows Control Panel, locate the Java icon, double-click it and select the advanced options.
The miscellaneous section contains the option to disable the Java Quick Starter. The option is active by default on Windows 2000 and Windows XP computer systems. Unchecking that option will disable the jqs.exe process from being loaded during system startup and from running in the background. It could however lead to a slighter higher startup time for Java applications.
Jqs.exe is not activated on Windows Vista as the system uses its own pre-loading system.
Tags: computer, computers, java, java quick start, jqs.exe, process, windows