Windows – One executable backgroundTaskHost.exe with many different Process Name

command lineprocesswindowswindows-10-v1703

OS Windows 10 Pro 64bit version 1703 build 15063.

  • When I start up the machine it shows two processes in Task Manager (disappear after 2 minutes). Two process have the same executable file (.exe) which is backgroundTaskHost.exe. But with two different process name.

  • First one is with process name "Cortana Background Task Host" and with command line "C:\Windows\system32\backtgroundTaskHost.exe" -ServerName:CortanaUI.AppXy7vb4pc2dr3kc93kfc509b1d0arkfb2x.mca.

Image:Cortana Background Task Host

  • Second one is with process name "Microsoft Account Background Task Host" and with command line "C:\Windows\system32\backgroundTaskHost.exe" -ServerName:App.AppXmtcan0h2tfbfy7k9kn8hbxb6dmzz1zh0.mca.

Image:Microsoft Account Background Task Host

  • My questions are::
  • How is this possible to use one executable in two process name?
  • And what are the -ServerName options in command line?
  • Is the .mca a file extension? Where is it stored?
  • Where the full .mca file name saved?

Update:: There are fourteen different command line associated with that background task and all are metro apps linked with it. Here all the images given::

Photos::Windows Metro Apps

Best Answer

In Windows 10 the Task Manager has become much more beautiful, but it has also lost some information.

The Task Manager of Windows 7 has distinguished between Application Name and Process Name. While the later is derived from the executable file-name, the Application Name is either derived from the title of the main top-level window of the application, or is specified when the process was launched (see in the CreateProcess API the parameter lpApplicationName).

In your case, the parent of all the processes you cite is svchost.exe, which is the process charged with the launching of system services. Apparently, in Windows 10 it makes an effort to give the started service a better application-name. This is an improvement over Windows 7, where svchost was a black box requiring manipulations to identify a wasteful service.

To summarize, two processes with the same executable can have different application-names specified by invocation or by execution.

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