Windows Sidebar
What is Windows Sidebar? (from Microsoft)
Windows Sidebar is a long, vertical bar that is displayed on the side of your desktop. It contains mini-programs called gadgets, which offer information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used tools. For example, you can use gadgets to display a picture slide show, view continuously updated headlines, or... Read more
Overview
Windows Sidebar is a program developed by Microsoft. The most used version is 6.0.6001.18000, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. Upon installation and setup, it defines an auto-start registry entry which makes this program run on each Windows boot for all user logins. A scheduled task is added to Windows Task Scheduler in order to launch the program at various scheduled times (the schedule varies depending on the version). The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. When installed, it will add a context menu handler to the Windows shell in order to provide quick access to the program. The main program executable is sidebar.exe. The software installer includes 36 files and is usually about 1.64 MB (1,714,775 bytes). In comparison to the total number of users, most PCs are running the OS Windows XP as well as Windows XP. While about 19% of users of Windows Sidebar come from the United States, it is also popular in Italy and Romania.
Program details
URL: www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/sidebargadgets.mspx
Help link: www.wincert.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1442
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\windows sidebar
Uninstaller: C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\uninst.exe
Estimated size: 1.64 MB
Files installed by Windows Sidebar
| Program executable: | sidebar.exe |
| Name: | Windows Sidebar |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\windows sidebar\sidebar.exe |
| MD5: | a445b20d851e7925a79a4a7a089c8f28 |
Additional files:
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sbdrop.dll
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regsvr32.exe - Sistema operativo Microsoft® Windows® (Microsoft(C) Register Server)
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wlsrvc.dll - MicrosoftR WindowsR Operating System (Windows Live Services)
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uninst.exe - Windows Sidebar
Behaviors exhibited
Context Menu Handler
- sbdrop.dll added to Windows Explorer under the name 'Gadgets' with a class of {6B9228DA-9C15-419e-856C-19E768A13BDC}.
Scheduled Task
- sidebar.exe is scheduled as a task named 'SidebarExecute' (runs on registration).
Startup File (User Run)
- sidebar.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'Sidebar' and executes as C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun.
Startup File (All Users Run)
- sidebar.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'Sidebar' which loads as "C:\Program Files\windows sidebar\sidebar.exe" /autoRun.
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
- sidebar.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe'.
Resource utilization averages
Show technical details
| sidebar.exe |
| Memory: | 30.21 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.0095209071% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.00511080% | |
| User CPU: | 0.00441011% | |
| CPU cycles/sec: | 15,312,299 | |
| Switches/sec: | 26 | |
| I/O reads/min: | 10.52 KB | |
| I/O writes/min: | 431 Bytes | |
How do I remove Windows Sidebar?
You can uninstall Windows Sidebar from your computer by using the Add/Remove Program feature in the Window's Control Panel.
- On the Start menu (for Windows 8, right-click the screen's bottom-left corner), click Control Panel, and then, under Programs, do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall a Program.
- Windows XP: Click Add or Remove Programs.
- When you find the program Windows Sidebar, click it, and then do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall.
- Windows XP: Click the Remove or Change/Remove tab (to the right of the program).
- Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Windows Sidebar.
OS VERSIONS
Win XP 91%
Win 10 0%
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HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
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USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 6%
Keep it 94%
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Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows XP |
96.04% |
|
| Windows 7 |
3.08% |
|
| Windows Vista |
0.44% |
|
| Windows 10 |
0.44% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Microsoft Windows XP |
96.03% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
1.99% |
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| Windows 7 Home Premium |
0.44% |
|
| Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
0.22% |
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| Windows 7 Starter |
0.22% |
|
| Windows Vista Ultimate |
0.22% |
|
Geography
19.38% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
19.38% |
| Italy |
8.04% |
| Romania |
6.80% |
| Poland |
4.54% |
| Iran |
3.92% |
| Russia |
3.51% |
| Thailand |
3.30% |
| Indonesia |
3.30% |
| Netherlands |
3.30% |
| Egypt |
2.89% |
| UA |
2.68% |
| Germany |
2.47% |
| Brazil |
2.27% |
| Philippines |
2.06% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| GIGABYTE |
27.43% |
|
| Dell |
15.19% |
|
| Acer |
13.08% |
|
| American Megatrends |
12.66% |
|
| Intel |
10.55% |
|
| Sahara |
8.02% |
|
| Hewlett-Packard |
6.33% |
|
| Toshiba |
2.53% |
|
| ASUS |
2.11% |
|
| Samsung |
1.27% |
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| Lenovo |
0.84% |
|
Common models |
| GBT AWRDACPI |
7.89% |
|
| NVIDIA AWRDACPI |
4.61% |
|
| INTEL DG31PR |
2.63% |
|
| Dell Computer Dimension 3... |
2.63% |
|
| INTELR AWRDACPI |
1.97% |
|
| MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL ... |
1.97% |
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About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a variety of products and services related to computing.
Publisher URL: www.microsoft.com