[Eug Wanker]

It's in my startup items and I'm wondering if I can delete it from there.

[TimmyDee51]

You mean Startup Items in your Accounts pref pane? If that's the case, then I'd say yes, remove it. I don't think I have a single computer that has System Events.app in the Startup Items. Also, if it were required by the OS, I don't think Apple would have started it from there.

Which app do you think installed this? I'd be curious to know.

[Arkham_c]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
It's in my startup items and I'm wondering if I can delete it from there.

It's related to Folder Actions in AppleScript:

/System/Library/CoreServices/System Events.app

You can delete it from /Library/StartupItems though -- not sure why it would be there.

[Eug Wanker]

OK. Could it be that I installed a script list to the menu bar to convert the clipboard's text to an iPod note? I did that a few months ago, but hadn't checked the Start Items menu pane (in Accounts) since.

Maybe I'll just delete anyway, since that script doesn't seem to work anymore for some reason.

[larkost]

System Events is the gradual replacement for the finder in a lot of AppleScript/OSAScript processes. Since the finder is not guaranteed to be running all the time on MacOS X (either because it was replaced in special cases, or because no-one was logged in at the console and only the Login Window.app is running) a lot of script writers need something that they can access at any time, and System Events.app is the answer. Since it does not need to access the Window Server to run it can also be used by non-user logins (nobody, www, etc...) to run things, which allows AppleScript to be used in system administration.

It should not be in your Startup Items (any of them), as this should be started by the system at bootup.

[gcoghill]

Any idea why System Events is hogging my CPU? It uses up 60-90% constantly.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by larkost

System Events is the gradual replacement for the finder in a lot of AppleScript/OSAScript processes. Since the finder is not guaranteed to be running all the time on MacOS X (either because it was replaced in special cases, or because no-one was logged in at the console and only the Login Window.app is running) a lot of script writers need something that they can access at any time, and System Events.app is the answer. Since it does not need to access the Window Server to run it can also be used by non-user logins (nobody, www, etc...) to run things, which allows AppleScript to be used in system administration.

It should not be in your Startup Items (any of them), as this should be started by the system at bootup.

Yep. Beyond the features formerly handled by the Finder, it provides many services of its own as well, such as GUI scripting, property list parsing, some stuff to deal with QuickTime files, etc.

Basically, if you don't have it in your login items, it'll get started soon enough as soon as something sends an AppleScript to it anyway. I wouldn't remove it from the system, though, or you will break a lot of things.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by gcoghill

Any idea why System Events is hogging my CPU? It uses up 60-90% constantly.

Do you have folder actions on?

[gcoghill]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Do you have folder actions on?

Yep. Is that what's going on - constant monitoring?

edit: Folder Actions no longer on and not able to enable them, assume it's because I quit System Events.