TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service

Service Name	LmHosts		Process Name		svchost.exe -k LocalService
Default Settings	XP Home : Automatic			XP Pro : Automatic
Microsoft Service Description	Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution.
Dependencies	AFD Networking Support Environment			Net BT
Real World Description	Rather a relic from the days when NetBIOS and WINS were an integral part of the network, but this service is seldom needed today.
Is this service needed?	Possibly	Recommended Setting:				Manual
Note	Updated to reflect SP2 changes.

11/20/2002 - A note from Serge about TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper

I would just like to comment on the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper system process. It seems that when it is disabled, online multiplayer video games cannot ping the master server to retrieve a list of game servers to play on. I have just confirmed that this occurs for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Half-Life Counter-strike on my machine. When set to automatic, the games ping the master server fine.

07/31/2004 - A note from Brandon

TCP/IP Netbios Helper Service is required in Windows 2000 domain environments even in native mode Without it file sharing does not work.

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