Impulse
What is Impulse?
Impulse is a digital distribution and multiplayer platform. Originally developed by Stardock to succeed Stardock Central, it was purchased by GameStop. Impulse facilitates the purchase, download and updating of software. The platform also provides blogging, friends-list, chat, game matchmaking, achievements and ranking to certain games. Impulse helps users purchase and download software. Purchases are tied to an account on GameStop's servers, and can be downloaded from anywhere that allows the use of the Impulse client.
Overview
The most used version is 1.0, with over 88% of all installations currently using this version. Upon installation, it defines an auto-start registry entry which allows the program run on each boot for the user which installed it. The main program executable is Impulse.exe. The software installer includes 67 files and is usually about 20.69 MB (21,698,774 bytes).
Program details
URL: www.stardock.com
Help link: www.stardock.com/support
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\Stardock\Impulse
Uninstaller: "C:\ProgramData\{0D3F1181-2990-450C-9561-37F58E771480}\Impulse_setup.exe" REMOVE=TRUE MODIFY=FALSE
Estimated size: 20.69 MB
Files installed by Impulse
| Program executable: | Impulse.exe |
| Name: | Stardock Impulse |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\Stardock\Impulse\Impulse.exe |
| MD5: | b7740cb81348730ee1a4e74dcd4aba00 |
Additional files:
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wbhelp2.dll - WindowBlinds for Win32 x86 machines (WindowBlinds Helper DLL)
-
MyDockClose.exe - ImpulseDock Shutdown Utility
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MyDockLib.dll - MyDock Dynamic Link Library
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wbocx32.ocx - WindowBlinds : DirectSkin
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Sd.dll - Stardock Common Library
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CleanImpulse.exe - Stardock Impulse (Impulse Cleaner)
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Impulse.exe
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ImpulseSelfRefresh.exe - Impulse Client SelfUpdater
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Sd.Central.Archive.dll - Stardock Archive Library
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Sd.Common.dll - Stardock Impulse Common Library
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Sd.InstallManager.dll - Stardock Install Library
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Sd.Uninstall.dll - Stardock Uninstall Library
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Sd.Web.dll - Stardock Net Library
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ImpulseDock.exe - Impulse Dock
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MyDock.Util.dll - MyDockUtil (MyDock Utility Library)
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Activate.exe - Activate (Stardock Product Activation)
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Stardock.Central.Security.dll - Security
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ImpulseMini.exe - Impulse (Impulse Stub)
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UninstHelper.exe - Add/Remove Programs Helper
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Sd.Irc.dll - Sd.Irc
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Sd.UI.dll - Sd.UI
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Interop.ShockwaveFlashObjects.dll - Assembly imported from type library 'ShockwaveFlashObjects'.
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Interop.IWshRuntimeLibrary.dll - Assembly imported from type library 'IWshRuntimeLibrary'.
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WBOCXLib.dll - Assembly imported from type library 'WBOCXLib'.
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sd.central.cvp.server.dll - sd.central.CVP.server
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ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.dll (by ICSharpCode.net) - #ZipLibrary (SharpZipLib for .NET Framework 2.0)
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VDialog.dll - VDialog
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7z.dll (by Igor Pavlov) - 7-Zip (7z Standalone Plugin)
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7za.exe (by Igor Pavlov) - 7-Zip Standalone Console
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7zxr.dll - 7z Standalone Extracting Plugin
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Console.dll - 7-Zip Console
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AxInterop.ShockwaveFlashObjects.dll
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DeElevator.dll
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DeElevator64.dll
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Sd.Central.Archive.XmlSerializers.dll
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sd.central.cvp.server.XmlSerializers.dll
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Sd.Common.XmlSerializers.dll
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Sd.InstallManager.XmlSerializers.dll
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Sd.Uninstall.XmlSerializers.dll
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StardockCentralDSkin.dll
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VistaBridgeLibrary.dll
Behaviors exhibited
Startup File (User Run)
- Impulse.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'ImpulseFastStart' and executes as "C:\Program Files\Stardock\Impulse\Impulse.exe" /fastload.
How do I remove Impulse?
You can uninstall Impulse 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 Impulse, 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 Impulse.
OS VERSIONS
Win 7 (SP1) 63%
Win 7 0%
|
|
WHEN IT STARTS
Auto-starting? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
|
|
USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 18%
Keep it 82%
|
|
Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows 7 |
66.92% |
|
| Windows 10 |
17.30% |
|
| Windows Vista |
10.49% |
|
| Windows XP |
5.30% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
40.48% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
16.00% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
9.14% |
|
| Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
8.81% |
|
| Microsoft Windows XP |
5.33% |
|
| Windows 8.1 |
4.46% |
|
Geography
58.84% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
58.84% |
| United Kingdom |
7.63% |
| Germany |
5.87% |
| France |
3.86% |
| Canada |
3.52% |
| Australia |
2.77% |
| Italy |
2.26% |
| Belgium |
1.01% |
| Netherlands |
1.01% |
| Sweden |
0.75% |
| Austria |
0.75% |
| DK |
0.75% |
| Czech Republic |
0.67% |
| Finland |
0.59% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Hewlett-Packard |
21.78% |
|
| Dell |
20.30% |
|
| Acer |
15.43% |
|
| GIGABYTE |
15.01% |
|
| ASUS |
11.84% |
|
| Toshiba |
4.02% |
|
| Intel |
3.81% |
|
| Lenovo |
2.96% |
|
| Samsung |
1.69% |
|
| MSI |
1.27% |
|
| American Megatrends |
1.06% |
|
| Medion |
0.85% |
|
Common models |
| HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook ... |
5.04% |
|
| Dell Inspiron 530 |
5.04% |
|
| HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... |
3.36% |
|
| HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... |
2.94% |
|
| ASUSTeK G73Jh |
2.52% |
|
| ASUSTeK G75VW |
2.10% |
|
About Stardock
Stardock is a software development company that initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but switch to Windows.
Publisher URL: www.stardock.com