Services Guide for Windows XP
When I first sketched
out the rough draft of what I wanted to include in The Elder Geek I
wasn't going to have a section dealing with Services. There are a
ton of sites out 'there' that go into excruciating detail on how to
extract the last ounce of performance by fiddling with the default
XP services. A few hundred e-mails later from readers wanting to
know why I didn't have a services section, here it is, ready for you
to peruse.
Frankly, I don't recommend you change any of the services from the
default installation of XP. Yes, you may pick up a tiny performance
gain by fiddling with the settings, but it won't be anything
substantial. It's just my opinion, but if you are in a situation
where these gains are necessary to achieve an increased level of
system performance, it would be wiser to upgrade the physical system
to one that is adequate to benefit from the XP operating system.
Please Read These Notes Relative To The Services Guide !
- Changing
services settings can be just as dangerous as editing the
registry. Have current -tested- backups of
your system/data and understand how to restore them if
something goes terribly wrong.
- I have not broken down the settings into different
'configurations' for purposes such as game playing, etc.
This seems pointless to me since each system is unique and
requires configuring differently.
- To edit the value for a service, launch services.msc from
the Run option on the Start Menu.
- The recommendations I've made regarding each service are
based solely on my personal experience. What I've found or
what works for me may bear no relation to what works for
you. |
What are services? By
definition, it's a program that runs invisibly in the background.
But can't the same thing be said for a number of programs that run
in the background such as anti-virus programs? Yes, but the real
difference is that services load and start running whether or not
anyone logs into the computer, unlike a program that is launched
from the Startup Folder under All Programs.
There are two ways to
view Services on your computer. The first is to use the MS
Configuration Utility by typing msconfig.exe in the Run box accessed
via the Start Menu, followed by clicking the Services tab. If you
want a quick visual of which items are running or stopped, this is
fine, but the information is limited. The preferred way to make
changes to services is to launch services.msc from the Run option on
the Start Menu. The Services window shown below will open.
Looking at the Services
window you can see it has columns for Name, Description, Status,
Startup Type and Log On As. This provides a quick overview of all
the services on your computer. Detailed information is available by
clicking any of the entries. The four captures below show the
property sheet, by tabs, for the Alerter Service.
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 |
 |
 |
|
General Tab |
Log On Tab |
Recovery Tab |
Dependencies Tab |
The table below
illustrates how I've set up the information for each service.
|
Service Name |
Alerter |
Process Name |
services.exe |
|
Default Settings |
XP Home
: Manual |
XP Pro
: Manual |
|
Microsoft Service
Description |
Notifies selected users and computers of administrative
alerts. If the service is stopped, programs that use
administrative alerts will not receive them. If this service
is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will
fail to start. |
|
Dependencies |
Workstation |
|
|
Real World Description |
If you're part of a network that sends and receives
administrative alerts this service is for you. |
|
Is this service needed? |
Possibly |
Recommended Setting: |
Manual |
|
Note |
|
Microsoft has assigned what they
call a Display Name to each service. I've used that name to create
the Services Index. It is the same name that appears in the Name
column in the Services Window. Supposedly this name can be changed
on the General tab if you want something more descriptive.
Service
Name - The name the service is actually called. This name is
often quite cryptic while at other times easily identifiable. It
comes from the General tab and cannot be modified.
Process Name - The name of the
actual process that is run when the service is activated. As you go
through the services you'll no doubt wonder why svchost.exe is
listed so many times as being the Process Name. The explanation can
be found
here. The Process Name is taken from the General tab.
Default Settings - These are the
default settings for the Home and Professional versions of XP when a
clean installation is performed.
Microsoft Service Description -
This is taken directly from the General tab. Some of the
descriptions are easily understood while others make no sense at all
to the average (or any other) user.
Dependencies - Lists any
additional services that are required for the service to run. The
information is taken from the Dependencies tab.
Real World Description - If I felt
the Microsoft Service Description was a bit vague or needed some
clarification this is where I tried to give you a better idea of
what the service does or why you might want it loaded.
Is This Service Needed? - There
are three choices here and I stress that these are strictly my
opinion.
A
Yes
means I believe it's essential to have this service
running and set to Automatic.
A
Possibly means that depending on your
hardware and software choices this service might be one you choose
to have enabled. It might have an Automatic, Manual, or Disabled
setting.
A
No
means that I see no point in wasting the resources on the
service and that your system shouldn't suffer any ill effects by
having it disabled. It will have a Disabled Setting.
Recommended Setting - Again, these
are my opinions only, but I feel that for most situations this
setting will give you a good balance between system functionality
and resource conservation.
Note - Anything else I want to
toss in I think you might find helpful.
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What's The Number One Question Asked About Services?
Without a doubt
the most asked question is what is svchost.exe and why is it
running so many times at once. That's a fair question,
especially if you've looked in Task Manager and seen it
listed three or four times, each instance gobbling up
memory. The official answer, straight from the mouth of
Microsoft is:
"Svchost.exe
is a generic host process name for services that run from
dynamic-link libraries (DLLs)."
I know; that
didn't tell you one whole hell of a lot, but if you really
want to know more about it and why it appears so many times
concurrently,
KB Article Q314056 is just a click away for the answers.
Happy (boring) reading.
A Description of svchost.exe in Windows XP
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Find out about all the services available whenever you are buying a new computer. Whether you are thinking about purchasing a whole new setup or just specific computer parts, make sure you read the fine print on warranties and service contracts. --- Additional Resource --- |
Alerter Service
Application Layer Gateway Service
Application Management Service
Automatic Updates Service
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
ClipBook Service
COM+ Event System Service
COM+ System Application Service
Computer Browser Service
Cryptographic Services Service
DCOM Server Process Launcher
DHCP Client Service
Distributed Link Tracking Client Service
Distributed Transaction Coordinator Service
DNS Client Service
Error Reporting Service
Event Log Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility Service
Help and Support Service
HID Input Service
HTTP SSL
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
Indexing Service
Internet Connection - Firewall (ICF) / Sharing (ICS) Service
IPSEC Services Service
Logical Disk Manager Service
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
Machine Debug Manager Service
Messenger Service
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service
Net Logon Service
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Service
Network Connections Service
Network DDE Service
Network DDE DSDM Service
Network Location Awareness (NLA) Service
Network Provisioning Service
NT LM Security Support Provider Service
Performance Logs and Alerts Service
Plug and Play Service
Portable Media Serial Number Service
Print Spooler Service
Protected Storage Service
QoS RSVP Service
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager Service
Remote Access Connection Manager Service
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Service
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator Service
Remote Registry Service
Removable Storage Service
Routing and Remote Access Service
ScriptBlocking Service
Secondary Logon Service
Security Accounts Manager Service
Security Center
Server Service
Shell Hardware Detection Service
Smart Card Service
Smart Card Helper Service
SSDP Discovery Service
System Event Notification Service
System Restore Service
Task Scheduler Service
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service
Telephony Service
Telnet Service
Terminal Services Service
Themes Service
Uninterruptible Power Supply Service
Universal Plug and Play Device Host Service
Upload Manager Service
Volume Shadow Copy Service
WebClient Service
Windows Audio Service
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) Service
Windows Installer Service
Windows Management Instrumentation Service
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
Windows Time Service
Wireless Zero Configuration Service
WMI Performance Adapter Service
Workstation Service
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