What is osa.exe?

osa.exe is an executable file associated with Microsoft Office Suite. It stands for Office Startup Assistant and is developed by Microsoft. This file is typically located in the directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office.

The associated software, Microsoft Office, is a suite of productivity tools widely used for various tasks such as word processing, data management, presentations, and email. The osa.exe file is part of this suite and is designed to speed up the start-up process of Microsoft Office applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. It does this by preloading certain components of these applications.

osa.exe is not a critical system file and the Microsoft Office Suite can function without it. Its primary function is to improve the speed of launching Office applications, but it does this at the expense of consuming system resources, even when Office applications are not in use. If you rarely use Microsoft Office, or if your computer has limited resources, you might want to consider removing it to free up system resources. If you frequently use Office applications and your computer has ample resources, keeping osa.exe could help these applications start faster.

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Osa.exe file information

Windows Task Manager with osa — Osa.exe process in Windows Task Manager

The process known as Microsoft Office Wrapper or Microsoft Office XP component belongs to software Microsoft Office (version 97, Professional Edition, 97, Standard Edition) or Microsoft Excel (version 97) or Microsoft Word (version 97) or Microsoft Office XP Professional or Microsoft Office XP or Microsoft Office XP Professional with or Microsoft Office XP Small Business by Microsoft (www.microsoft.com).

Description: Osa.exe is not essential for Windows and will often cause problems. Osa.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files (x86)"—for example C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office\. Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 51,984 bytes (75% of all occurrences), 83,360 bytes or 61,440 bytes.
Osa.exe is not a Windows core file. The process starts when Windows starts (see Registry key: MACHINE\User Shell Folders, User Shell Folders). The program has no visible window. Therefore the technical security rating is 37% dangerous; however you should also read the user reviews.

Uninstalling this variant: You could uninstall the associated program (Start > Control Panel > Uninstall a Program > Microsoft Office), turn to the software developer, Microsoft, for advice or update the program.

Recommended: Identify osa.exe related errors

External information from Paul Collins:

"Microsoft Office Startup" is not required to run at start up. Application which launches common MS Office components to help speed up the launch of Office programs. It's somewhat of a resource hog, and some users claim there's no difference with or without it but it usually isn't required. Note - if you make use of the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar outside an office program this application will need to be enabled for it to show

Important: Some malware camouflages itself as osa.exe. Therefore, you should check the osa.exe process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend Security Task Manager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PC World.

Score

User Comments

Office XP Service Pack 3 update failed time and time again probably downloaded 100 times thanks microsoft for selling us works for windows then ms office 2007 now the problem shoudnt be happening with expensive paid software
jeffrey OBrien

I dont have Powerpoint,Office,him uses big CPU usage disable him!
NicN5ering

Hasn't been used in Office since Office XP. Not used in Office 2007 and above.
Franklin (further information)

After loading, prevented my pc from shutting down proper, repeatedly forced me to power reset, searched under SAFE boot multiple times, downloaded new antiviruses, didn't know it existed until loggedc in under 2nd admin acct and found it on dsktop. 2nd acct was not running it , and worked fine. installed as part of Powerpoint update, I don't have powerpoint!
Gary - Minneapolis Minnesota

End the process by going to TaskManager- select OSA.exe - Right Click- Endprocess. Your problem will solved.
vijay

C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT ACTIVESYNC\WCESCOMM.EXE

100% CPU upon startup, a serious computer slow-me-downer
staticpunk111

do not delete file. Simply delete its shortcut.

More comments can be found here:
(further information)

Summary: Average user rating of osa.exe: based on 82 votes with 9 user comments. 25 users think osa.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application. 5 users think it's probably harmless. 19 users think it's neither essential nor dangerous. 9 users suspect danger. 24 users think osa.exe is dangerous and recommend removing it. 7 users don't grade osa.exe ("not sure about it").

Best practices for resolving osa issues

A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with osa. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using 1cleanmgr and 2sfc /scannow, 3uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using 4msconfig) and enabling Windows' 5Automatic Update. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points.

Should you experience an actual problem, try to recall the last thing you did, or the last thing you installed before the problem appeared for the first time. Use the 6resmon command to identify the processes that are causing your problem. Even for serious problems, rather than reinstalling Windows, you are better off repairing of your installation or executing the 7DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth command. This allows you to repair the operating system without losing data.

To get your computer running as fast as it did on day one, you can 8reset your PC. Your personal files will remain intact, but any programs you installed will need to be reinstalled.

To help you analyze the osa.exe process on your computer, the following programs have proven to be helpful: ASecurity Task Manager displays all running Windows tasks, including embedded hidden processes, such as keyboard and browser monitoring or Autostart entries. A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware or a Trojan. A good Bantivirus software detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, malware and trackers from your hard drive.

Other processes

npggnt.des mccspservicehost.exe hdsentinel.exe osa.exe 2gistraynotifier.exe rbxfpsunlocker.exe bravecrashhandler.exe musnotification.exe lckfldservice.exe tbpanel.exe eyerest.exe [all]

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