IconMan_R service apparently useless

[nsprljan]

Still in the process of disabling bloatware - just came across this service in the subject. It is listed as "Realtek Card Reader Patch Tool", service name IconMan_R, path to binary C:\Program Files (x86)\Realtek\Realtek PCIE Card Reader\RIconMan.exe.

I was expecting this enables the functionality of SD card reading, but after disabling it I can still access/write my SD cards. So it seems harmless to disable. Anyone know what this service is for?

[rich912]

Hi nsprljan,

As you have probably gathered IronMan_R services is part of the Realtek USB 2.0 Card Reader installation package. No idea what function it performs but I doubt it would be classed as bloatware.

http://www.shouldiremoveit.com/Realtek-USB-Card-Reader-5378-program.aspx

Rich

[nsprljan]

Thanks for commenting! Note this is not the driver, but the "Realtek Card Reader Patch Tool" that I am disabling:

http://www.shouldiblockit.com/riconman.exe-7528.aspx

After reading descriptions on that page one would expect that not having this service would make reading from the memory cards at least limited in some way, if not disabled. So I tested this, and it seems it does not make any visble difference, at least not for the SD slot. So moving 557.2MB from the card results in this (averaged, with clearing the file cache between retries with MemAlloc):

Iconman_R disabled = 17.7MB/s

Iconman_R enabled = 17.6MB/s

Probably some bug patch, just as the name suggests, but would be nice to know why it has to run as a service?

[ericr3305]

Yeah, I have had this disabled on my Windows 7 laptop and it is infact classified as bloatware. I have had my Windows 7 laptop since November 2012. I do a lot of multitasking and intense gaming like Grand Theft Auto IV and Call Of Duty and that stuff, and have continued to find this Service absolutely useless. I use my computer for everything and I have never found a use for This service. There is your true and honest answer- It is not needed, so don't worry about your computer not working properly if it's Disabled. Whatever you do, it's useless. This does nothing to improve or mess up your RAM, HDD or SD Card, this was probably some kind of  fix for a bug that no longer exists, but they probably keep it in case the bug happens again, but it's safe to disable, dont worry about your computer not working, it will be fine.