The ctstray.exe process is an executable component file of the firmware resources and device driver software utilities that are distributed with internal sound adapter cards, external digital audio players and other products from Creative Technology. This means the ctstray.exe process is placed in the system as a pre-installed component file or included in the firmware packages and driver installer distributions of Windows-based desktops and mobile computing devices that are equipped with motherboards integrated with internal Creative Technology soundcards, such as Creative Sound Blaster Live and Creative Sound Blaster Audigy audio adapter devices. This also means the ctstray.exe process is distributed with the firmware resources, driver installers and built-in programs that are bundled with external Creative digital audio players, such as Creative Nomad Jukebox devices and Creative ZEN players. The ctstray.exe process is specifically deployed into the system by these Creative firmware components and device driver software utilities to assist in integrating user access functionalities to the control panel options and context menu items of these Creative devices via an icon placed in the Windows System Tray. This means the ctstray.exe process is used by these firmware resources and drivers to implement an icon into the Windows System Tray that can allow users to access the control panel options and context menu items of these Creative devices, in order to conveniently configure the device settings and use the other UI (User Interface) components of the control panel and management applets that are built into the software utilities of these Creative products.

Most non-system processes that are running can be stopped because they are not involved in running your operating system. ctstray.exe. is used by Creative Sound Blaster Firmware/Driver Software and Creative ZEN Firmware/Driver Software and Creative Nomad Jukebox Firmware/Driver Software, If you shut down ctstray.exe, it will likely start again at a later time either after you restart your computer or after an application start. To stop ctstray.exe, permanently you need to uninstall the application that runs this process which in this case is Creative Sound Blaster Firmware/Driver Software and Creative ZEN Firmware/Driver Software and Creative Nomad Jukebox Firmware/Driver Software, from your system.

After uninstalling applications it is a good idea to scan you Windows registry for any left over traces of applications. Registry Reviver by ReviverSoft is a great tool for doing this.

The ReviverSoft experts have not yet reviewed ctstray.exe

A process usually a part of an installed application such as Creative Sound Blaster Firmware/Driver Software and Creative ZEN Firmware/Driver Software and Creative Nomad Jukebox Firmware/Driver Software, or your operating system that is responsible for running in functions of that application. Some application require that they have processes running all the time so they can do things such as check for updates or notify you when you get an instant message. Some poorly written applications have many processes that run that may not be required and take up valuable processing power within your computer.

We have not received any complaint about this process having higher than normal impact on PC performance. If you have had bad experiences with it please let us know in a comment below and we will investigate it further.

The first thing you should do if ctstray.exe. is causing errors on your computer is to run a Windows registry scan with Registry Reviver If you are still seeing errors after this you should uninstall the program that ctstray.exe, belongs to, in this case Creative Sound Blaster Firmware/Driver Software and Creative ZEN Firmware/Driver Software and Creative Nomad Jukebox Firmware/Driver Software