Dell Dock High CPU Usage

Dell Dock™ has been around since mid 2008. For those how are not familiar with Dell Dock, It allows for OSX-like functionality, placing a bar of frequently used shortcuts at the top of the screen specially developed for Dell Laptops/Desktops. Additional icons can be dragged-and-dropped onto this bar, creating a useful time-saver that may help to make Vista / Windows 7 more user-friendly for those struggling to adjust.

Users can choose the Dock’s location, color, and adjust its contents however they see fit. This helps eliminate the clutter of icons on your desktop and avoids confusing which icon does what. By moving your mouse’s cursor over any of the icons on the dock, you will see the icon grow larger and a brief description will appear.  This helps you quickly find the correct icon for the application you want to run.

One of the problems encountered by many users is that the dock has a tendency of consuming between 4 – 10% of cpu resources while it is not being used. Below are a couple of possible solutions to solve this issue…

• Change the settings so that the dock would hide when not in use and only come back when the mouse approaches the edge of the screen.
• Right click on delldock.exe process in Task Manager, go to Compatibility tab and check Disable visual themes and Disable desktop composition.