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Guide to Those Useless Windows XP Services

techtree.com — here is a look at the default set of services that come with a fresh installation of Windows XP. "We'll tell you the ones that you don't need and try to tell you why, so you can disable them without any problems."

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  • quentinp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Nice guide, thanks.
    • i440, on 10/12/2007, -9/+10There should be a guide similar to this one for kernel (re)compiling. I can use Linux, but I still don't know enough computerese to know which modules I do/do not need. Autodetection would be nice also.
    • danecook, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9Not really-the layout of that page is horrible with garbage everywhere-I like Black Viper's
    • JDines, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@i440: You haven't looked into Linux in a while, or you have a particularly difficult distribution at your disposal. The modern kernel can load and unload modules, and in most cases the distribution senses the need and configures things for you. There is typically no need to recompile your kernel, and unless you know what you are doing it is contra-indicated (your system won't work properly because you didn't tweak it right, and you will end up blaming Linux for your error Try Mandriva (was Mandrake.)

      If you go with Mandriva, read the alt.os.linux.mandriva newsgroup for a while, and post your questions there. There is a lot of highly competant help available there.
    • robbyt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2agreed... you don't get any noticeable boost from cutting options out of your kernel.
    • i440, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1JDines, robbyt:

      Thank you for the info. I actually use Ubuntu (formerly Debain, but I prefer Ubuntu since you can get up and running faster with it), and have used it recently, but I am not up to date with how Linux works I suppose.
  • Jduv, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I miss Black Viper.
  • RabbitAlex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6You can still find Black Viper's list on Majorgeeks.com. Just do a search for it.
  • iSEPIC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20for the lazy
    http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12
  • iSEPIC, on 10/12/2007, -20/+1for the lazy
    http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12
    • iSEPIC, on 10/12/2007, -18/+6I dont know why DIGG 3.0 posted this twice, I swear I only pressed "Submit Comment" once!
    • ptrcd003, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ive had installations fail halfway, and refuse to install or uninstall. Restoring is much easier than going through the registry and manually deleting entries.
  • xevidentx, on 10/12/2007, -11/+13System Restore Service
    "Performs system restore functions."
    I prefer trying to manually troubleshoot and fix, or reinstalling Windows in case of a fatal problem. I've never felt comfortable with using System Restore to "restore old versions of files" and all that, so I keep it disabled. It frees up memory and a good amount of disk space as well.

    wtf? system restore is one of the most useful windows xp features out there. i know on some machines where a windows update, beta ie7 install some third party software or a driver installation may go wrong, system restore will undo everything and go back to the previously stable restore point. without system restore enabled, troubleshooting alot of my friends and family's pc's would be a massive headache, especially where a clean install of xp is out of the question.
    • themarq, on 10/12/2007, -2/+24I beg to differ. I think the system restore is good for my Mom's computer (IE: not very tech savvy), but a waste of resources on mine. I have never once had to use it since I installed XP what... 4 years ago? Wow time flies
    • vexter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15System restore is also one of windows biggest security problems. Virus's and Spyware often target this area to hide from the less savy user.
    • rkolter, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I have to agree with xevidentx. I use system restore whenever I'm installing new software. Why? Because sometimes the uninstall doesn't work well. Sure, I could go and dig through the registry, and wipe out the files... but restore is a useful utility. Now, I don't think you need months and months of backups - but you can configure system restore to keep only a couple weeks of restore files.

      It's a definite keeper. Plus, since directions on how to get to the services and disable them are included in the article, people like themarg's mom might read this, and follow the directions, and disable it. Later, when they actually need a restore, blammo - it's gone.
    • kirk444, on 10/12/2007, -16/+2If people mindlessly follow "directions" posted on "some website" they deserve the trouble it may or may not cause for them in the future. For the rest of you, feel free to think for yourselves if you like, and when you write a service guide leave that one enabled.
    • cosmotic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I can't recal ever having a software install fail to the point where any sort of system restore would be of any benefit. Whenever I have used system restore, one of two things hapen: I have had to go back to a very old restore point because they arent done ruitinely, or going back to the restore point did NOT fix the problem I restored for AND it introduced new problems.

      I have NEVER seen any one succuessfuly use System Restore. And yes, it takes a lot of disk space and resources. Not for me.
    • poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -18/+61) System Restore is VERY handy.
      2) Anyone using the phrase "i beg to differ" is at least a bit of a douche.
    • wistar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I've used it exactly once and it so, so, so saved my ass.
    • pabster, on 10/12/2007, -7/+8Er, wrong. System Restore is a worthless POS. It sucks memory, wastes CPU cycles, and wastes disk space for nothing. Any serious muckup of an install will require you to wipe it and start over anyway.

      There's a reason tools like Acronis TI are so popular. There's really no need for System Restore.
    • stonr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have acronis, it is a very good program. I use it with an external hdd when i feel a significant change of my windows partition has been made. Me? i have it on by default, Can people tell me how big an impact it has? And please provide a scource if you can.
    • WaterDragon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1last time there was a list of WinXP tweaks on Digg, a couple of months ago, I tried some of them, and one of them totally screwed up my windows installation.
      It was only by using system restore,with a restore point from the previous day, that I was able to undo what had been done.
  • r123, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Wow!! I wished that microsoft had published this...
  • op12, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Why not disable them all? :)

    http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/07/running-windows-with-no-services.html
  • Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22Interesting, but not always accurate.

    TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
    "Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution."
    Nobody uses NetBIOS anymore. Get over it. Disable this.

    That runs in direct conflict with earlier comments about "most networks not on a domain." If you're not using a domain, and you have a small network, you are absolutely using NetBIOS resolution, as well as the Computer Browser. Furthermore, there are still third party apps (Symantec Antivirus Server for example) that use NetBIOS name resolution to find network resources.

    You don't need to use a third-party software to keep time in sync. At a command prompt: net time /setsntp: Find Stratum 2 time servers here: http://ntp.isc.org/bin/view/Servers/WebHome (If you're on a domain, onlt the PDC emulator should have the time server set in this way, other domain members will receive time sync from the PDC emulator.)

    Last note - this article was clearly written by someone who at least thinks he knows what he's doing. If you don't think you know what you're doing, don't go disabling services willy nilly just because you read about it on the Internets. You might have to replace your tubes
    • snurfle, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1ROFLMAO
    • rkolter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10NetBIOS is also used by many older games for running on local networks. If you're a fan of networking older games like Master of Orion II, you'll find yourself in a bind (no pun intended) when you disable this service.
    • Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4BAHAHA "in a bind" that was great. It took me a second.
    • Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Ack, Digg ate my formatting. I meant to say:

      net time /setsntp:NTPServername
    • creeptick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@Nougat: You're mostly right in that you need NetBIOS to see computers available on a non-domain-controlled network. However, if you have the host names of the systems (or their ip's), you don't need NetBIOS. NetBIOS really slows network browsing down as well due to the slow-ass nature of the archaic protocol. Personally, I'd recommend turning it off, and turning off the support for under the NIC properties. The only win OS to suffer from that would be Win95A if memory serves. YMMV.

      p.s. modded up for "might have to replace your tubes" ;)
    • robbyt, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14 the windows noobs...
      BIND is the DNS server that runs the entire internet's DNS
    • noamsml, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5robbyt: does it run in or on top of the tubes?
  • etresoft, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0WebClient looks like the WebDAV client. You might want that one.

    BTW, did anyone do any real performance testing to see what the effect of all this might be? I recommend running it in Virtual PC for the Mac, that way you can count how many times windows get redrawn - more than you realize.
  • SoxFanNH, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Cool and useful little guide.
  • Muddle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10He misses Black Viper and I do to. His site wasn't just about services. He was a real person who shared a portion of his life with others. Like a lot of people I don't like huge, sterile conglomerate sites who's main purpose appears to be slamming adverts down your throat by forcing you to click ten dozen links to find the info you need.
    • iSEPIC, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2Yes, MUCH AGREED with you there! 100%
  • silentw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I've done performance testing, and read articles on the performance gains. They are, unfortunately, negligible. I can no longer see a worthwhile reason to spend half an hour going through all your services, manually turning them off (and I did do this several times). Nice article, though, and a good look into the internals of Windows.
    • fooplex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That's why I made a little cmd file on my desktop to do this automatically. It stops all services and processes I don't need for playing my game, so I know I'm getting as many tubes as my cpu can deliver! hehe

      It's not worth it if you're doing it manually, one service at a time in services.msc. Don't do that.
    • SanityInAnarchy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1It's not worth it, period.

      If services are slowing you down, it's probably only one or two. Or not even that -- most likely it's a system tray icon. ***** Norton -- or worse, McAffee.

      But then, if I want to make sure I'm getting the absolute most cycles for my game, I'll run Linux. On a well-maintained OS, services don't matter, and Linux has been easier for me to maintain.
    • TiberiusDRAIG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Games? Linux?

      Oh...snake.
  • Wolfman2000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2So THAT'S how to turn off the error service! Thanks digitalgopher!
  • ITAvenger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Follow the link iSEPIC gave, it's much more informative than the original guide.
  • jessethouin, on 10/12/2007, -15/+9"Useless Windows XP"

    Just quoting the title, that's all... ;)
    • gothamcityprjct, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Har harhar har har!

      ....
      ....

      No.
  • Aurarch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I run windows xp with 15 processes B)

    not sure if you can go much lower
    • Jduv, on 10/12/2007, -0/+312 is the min.
    • shredswithpiks, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I remember an article where it ran ok with zero...
    • albator, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1I use only 4. My windows take 8 sec to boot from bios screen to desktop

      And system restore is 4 newbie, just clone your pc with a imagin software.
    • ptrcd003, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You want me to reimage my whole pc whenever an installation goes bad?
    • robbyt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2who really knows how many other processes are hidden from your view though?

  • denaje, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3CAREFUL. Some of those services are necessary/useful. Don't go disabling any of those unless you actually understand why you don't need them.
    • poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19CAREFUL! Some people like to look smart by posting vague warnings that contain no detailed, valuable or informative information.
    • jp71270, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1Carefull, people can't spell.
    • bobthebuilder25, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2informative information, now that's how i like my information
    • poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1its the best kind! :)
    • jtibble, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1oooh, beat down denaje :D
  • scantling, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3squeezing the most out of your computer
    that's what it's about !!!!
    i encourage this for everybody's computer
  • poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11because it's spread out over six SLOW LOADING pages, here it is, quick and easy:

    Guide to Useless Services (Windows XP SP2)
    Aalaap Ghag
    Dec 30 2005


    null


    null

    An operating system is made up of various components that work with each other. The OS isn't just one object - it's a collection of smaller objects, each of which performs a different task. Their conjunction is what makes an "operating system". Windows calls these components "services", Linux calls it "daemons" and so on. Each service in Windows is essentially, to put it in a simpler way, an application that stays running in the back doing its job when required. Now each service takes up some memory, which isn't good if your system has a low amount of memory (like 256MB or less). Fortunately, not all of the default services are required by all users, so you can turn some of them off to free up some memory.

    In this guide, we'll take a look at the default set of services that come with a fresh installation of Windows XP with Service Pack 2. We'll tell you the ones that you don't need and try to tell you why, so you can disable them without any problems. Each service has three options: automatic, manual and disabled. Automatic is essentially "run at startup"; Manual is a service that is started only when required; Disabled is when a service doesn't start at all. Based on the type of a user you are, there are different settings to recommend, but we'll take the safe route and tell you to disable the services that won't cause important features of your Windows to stop working. If you're comfortable with trying out stunts, you can go ahead and disable some of the other services that aren't mentioned here. If something stops working, you can just turn the service back on - there's no permanent effect. Also, since this is a guide to unneeded services that can be disabled, we won't list the services that are already disabled after Service Pack 2 (like Alerter and Messenger) in an effort to keep the list as simple as possible.



    One more thing you have to note is that this list is primarily aimed at home users, so we'll be taking out most of the intranet/network related services that don't affect Internet connectivity. If you're using an office workstation with a proper server and all that jazz, you shouldn't be reading this guide.

    To enable or disable services, go to Start -> Run -> and type "services.msc" and hit Enter.

    Computer Browser
    "Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers."
    Contrary to what it may sound like, disabling this service still allows you to browse a network in your office. And of course, you don't need this at home. Disable it.

    Distributed Link Tracking Client
    "Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network domain."
    This one sounds useful, but only if you often create files on one computer, shortcuts to those files on another computer, and then move the original files around the network. Not many people do so. In fact, not many people even have NTFS on their Windows for some orthodox reason. Not required on FAT32, at home or even at work if your scenario doesn't match with the description. Disable it.



    Error Reporting Service
    "Allows error reporting for services and applictions running in non-standard environments."
    I.e. "Send system information to Microsoft." No thanks. Disable it.

    Help and Support
    "Enables Help and Support Center to run on this computer."
    This is okay to leave as-is if you hit F1 a lot, but if you almost never need to use the built-in help features (as opposed to just Googling for the problem - always a better option), then disabling this service would be a good idea. Now the problem is that the service automatically gets turned back on when required even if its disabled, so keeping it disabled is actually a better option to keeping it on automatic.

    Indexing Service
    "Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language."
    Use AvaFind (link to review) and/or Google Desktop Search instead. Just disable it - no questions asked.



    Net Logon
    "Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain."
    Useless for single machines or even most networks out here that don't actually have a domain. Disable.

    NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
    "Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using NetMeeting over a corporate intranet."
    As a general rule of thumb, avoid any combination of "remote" and "internet/intranet". If you don't want people to use NetMeeting to connect to your computer and see your desktop over the Internet/Intranet, disable this please.

    Network Location Awareness (NLA)
    "Collects and stores network configuration and location information, and notifies applications when this information changes."
    And how is that going to help you? Disable it.



    Network Provisioning Service
    "Manages XML configuration files on a domain basis for automatic network provisioning."
    Not necessary for home and/or simple networks. Disable.

    Performance Logs and Alerts
    "Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert."
    There are other, more efficient ways of tracking performance of your machine(s) than using this service, if at all you need to do so. Most home users will never need it. Disable it.

    Portable Media Serial Number Service
    "Retrieves the serial number of any portable media player connected to this computer."
    Unless you use some 100% Windows Media based/compatible ("PlaysForSure") portable audio/video device and Windows Media Player, this service is useless. iPod and regular flash based MP3 player users don't need it. Disable it.



    QoS RSVP
    "Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets."
    This is an interesting concept to give more bandwidth to applications that request it, unfortunately, not many actually do this QoS thing, so it doesn't make sense to enable it. You can use cFos Speed for better bandwidth prioritization that actually works.

    Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
    "Manages and controls Remote Assistance."
    Remote Assistance should be avoided. Disable this service.

    Remote Registry
    "Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer."
    We'll let you guess this one out...



    Secondary Logon
    "Enables starting processes under alternate credentials."
    This offers the "Run As" option to limited user accounts to be able to temporarily run some applications as an administrator (after entering the password, of course). Standalone machines usually have just one account with administrator access and other accounts, if any, are also usually administrators. You should keep this service only if your limited users often need to run applications with admin access, otherwise disable it.

    Security Center
    "Monitors system security settings and configurations."
    That thing that pops up and tells you when your firewall is down, your anti-virus is out of date, or automatic updates are turned off. Personally, I like the alerts because then I know my anti-virus was unable to download its updates. I don't really bother with the firewall and my automatic updates are always on. If you've never needed or received any alerts on these events, this service can be disabled. The feature doesn't offer any protection by itself - it is only a monitor. Not really required.

    Server
    "Supports file, print, and named-pipe sharing over the network for this computer."
    Only if you share files on a network would this be required. If you disable the Server service, you may still be able to access other shares, so you won't be entirely unconnected. Decide and disable if not required.



    Smart Card
    "Manages access to smart cards read by this computer."
    How many of you actually use smart cards with your computer? Disable this.

    SSDP Discovery Service
    "Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network."
    Most people don't have any UPnP devices on the network, so this service is useless. Do not confuse this with standard PnP (Plug-n-Play), which remains unaffected if this service is disabled.

    System Restore Service
    "Performs system restore functions."
    I prefer trying to manually troubleshoot and fix, or reinstalling Windows in case of a fatal problem. I've never felt comfortable with using System Restore to "restore old versions of files" and all that, so I keep it disabled. It frees up memory and a good amount of disk space as well.



    TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
    "Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution."
    Nobody uses NetBIOS anymore. Get over it. Disable this.

    Themes
    "Provides user experience theme management."
    For performance reasons (or if you're just bored of all Blue), you may want to use the classic Windows 2000-style interface. You can switch to it from the Desktop Properties dialog, but there's no reason to have the service running if you're not using Luna / Default Blue, so disable it. Remember: if you're using the Luna / Default Blue interface, this service is necessary.

    Uninterruptible Power Supply
    "Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer."
    If you don't have a UPS, you don't need this service. If you have a UPS that you use independent of the computer (i.e. without automatic turn off etc.), you don't need this service. Even if you do have a UPS that requires installing its own software for power management, this service is not required. Use it only if your UPS connects to your PC via a COM port and automatically gets Windows to work with it (not many).



    Universal Plug and Play Device Host
    "Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices."
    Works along with the SSDP service that we doubt you require. Don't know what UPnP is? Disable this.

    WebClient
    "Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify Internet-based files."
    Not a very popular feature. Disable it. If some features in Internet Explorer don't work for you, then you may need it. But then, why are you using IE, again? Huh?

    Windows Time
    "Maintains date and time synchronization on all clients and servers in the network."
    I've kept this on. In fact, I'm so particular about having the correct time on my system, I've actually increased the update frequency from weekly to daily. If you don't share the same enthusiasm as me, you can disable this service. You can use a freeware, third party, on-demand time sync utility that will not need this service to be running, saving you memory.



    Wireless Zero Configuration
    "Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters"
    I don't have any WiFi devices or networks to get on to, so I've disabled it. If you don't have any WiFi, do the same.

    WMI Performance Adapter
    "Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers."
    Nobody is really sure what to do with this thing. I've never needed it, and it's unlikely that you ever will. Off with it.

    Workstation
    "Creates and maintains client network connections to remote servers."
    If your're sharing files and folders over a network, leave this on. If not, disable it. This is not needed or even utilized in a standalone PC. This doesn't affect Internet connectivity.



    That's it. These are the 29 services that "are no longer required." You can get rid of on your Windows XP SP2 system to free up some memory and CPU and gain some performance out of it. We haven't thought about doing a similar guide for Windows 2000, but if you guys really want one, do post comments asking for it. Have a nice evening and a very happy new year!
  • enforcerpsu, on 10/12/2007, -7/+9I do not recommend removing system restore service. This has saved my ass a few times and I am NOT a novice computer user. This is a good guide, but I disagree with the article in this case.
    • creeptick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4System restore is too hit-or-miss to be truly useful: either you're wasting a lot of space to keep multiple restore points, or you'll find out your last restore available is screwed because it doesn't go back far/near enough. A backup solution in combination with an install shield is a much better bet.
    • reevolutn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0system restore casues more problems then it fixes
    • myfanwy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3what's an install shield?
    • creeptick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1install shield = utility tracking _everything_ a program installation does
      not to advocate piracy here but a lot of shareware installs will use throw a small dll in a system folder, a hidden registry setting, or something even more invasive (low level) and never clean it up. Some of them do it out of poor design some do it to prevent the user from reinstalling and getting around the nag screen. Whichever case, these files/entries slowly pile up and start slowing down the system. An install shield keeps track of all the changes to your system, so that when you uninstall, it gets rid of everything associated with that app. The windows Add/Remove Programs uninstaller is woefully underwhelming when it comes to keeping track of these things. (if there's no install.log, it doesn't even show the installed program in list.. *sigh*)
    • monsieurevil, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Try undoing yet another shyte ATI driver snafu without system restore. If you just take a quick snapshot before installing, all is forgiven no matter how badly it goes. Used every time before an ATI install, had to use it to recover from said ATI install on two separate occasions.

      Disk space is cheap.. a penny a MB. Stop worrying about it.
    • spectre_25gt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1System Restore is a haven for viruses and spyware. I keep it disabled at all costs.
    • shosterman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@creeptick
      What would you recommend as a good uninstaller/monitor? Is Cleansweep still around?
  • bigteebo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I tried my danged hardest to remove un-needed proceses. It ended up taking forever for my system to boot, and ended up with oddball errors on certain operations.

  • scantling, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0alot of the computers in use today are behind the curb when it comes to performance
    people can't afford a new computer every two years
    memory upgrades and optimization is the key to performance
  • dogred, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I must have missed something, but more than once I was thinking, "He didn't even explain what this service DOES." Like the computer browser service. If all machines on a network have this enabled...they will all fight to be top dog...if they are all XP. An XP will beat a 2000 box. With that said, I still didn't say what it does...just what happens when it is initialized/runs. Granted it isn't needed...but what does it do?

    UPnP...he asks me do I know what it is?? Disable it!! Well okay...but why are you asking a novice what it is? If a novice didn't know what something was...I would not tell them to just disable it.

    Another thing...instead of disabling services...set them to manual and stop them. This will allow the machine to start the service if needed...then it will stop it. I do this for CD Burning...it works just fine.
    • reevolutn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2do does having a service "stopped" mean that its not using resources? seems a safer way to do things
    • dogred, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@reevolution
      Yes and No.
      Having a service stopped, but the service is in "Automatic" mode....if you stop it...it is stopped for now. but the next time you reboot...it will be started again. If you stop the service and set it to "Manual", then the next time you reboot, it will not be started until it is needed.
    • Xiata, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Stopped services aren't running unless an application requests that the service needs to be running. SO yes, it isn't using resources.

      However, sometimes applications request a useless service to be ran for no particular reason, which is why it is useful to disable *some* of the services you don't wish to run. And as always, it's always safer assuming that something might need it, so manual is the way to go.
  • SanityInAnarchy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Seems like the majority of these services are useful sometimes, but not for most people, most of the time. If they're not being used, they shouldn't use any CPU at all.

    Which means, if you ever have to move that computer into work (put it on a domain, say), or donate it to a charity, or get work done on it, you're going to cause a lot of grief for whoever has to go re-enable all those services. Yeah, it's easy if you know which ones are supposed to be on, and if you think of services. But I imagine there's a good chance they'll spend half an hour messing with the physical network...
  • ilitirit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4After years of experimenting with different settings and observing the effects, I have come to the conclusion that disabling the standard Windows services does little to improve performance. The kicker is that I still do it anyway :
  • xevidentx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I beg to differ. I think the system restore is good for my Mom's computer (IE: not very tech savvy), but a waste of resources on mine. I have never once had to use it since I installed XP what... 4 years ago? Wow time flies

    - if you do alot of installing/uninstalling of hardware,drivers and whatnot it is very useful. so before you use your trolling tone please think of many power/expert users who use this instead of being a "total douche"
  • pathfindertech, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I used guides like these in the past and they only seem to really screw up my system. I never will follow a guide like this again. I don't reccomend it at all. No digg.
  • SgtBeavis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Why disable Performance Logs and Alerts? That service is set to Manual by default and only runs when you run Perfmon or a 3rd party perfmormance monitoring utility relies on Perfmon's providers.

    As for System Restore. Well, I've personally never needed to use it. However, since the majority don't know how to read a memory dump, I'd leave it on or at least get a Ghost or Acronis image. BTW, I recommend Acronis. Symantec totally screwed up PowerQuest P2I when they bought it and turned it into Ghost and LSR.
  • aalaap, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Interesting! I like it! LOL!
  • Jegzzy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Can i set everything to manual then?
  • jtu100, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Distributed Link Tracking Client - AFAIK this also the thing that keeps shortcuts pointing to their targets even if you move the target.
  • jtu100, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Hasn't it been shown that disabling all the services only saves something like
  • mrinternet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Geez, this is essentially the same in accurate (and potentially dangerous) junk that was actually picked up on diggnation in eps 53 I think. If anyone actually does this they risk some serious danger to their PC.

    http://digg.com/software/Tweak_XP_for_gaming

    95% percent OK 5% dangerous is not very good.
    Anyone that agrees should make this inaccurate.
  • NeutronDecker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Worst Advice I've seen..............If you want good advice....look for "Black Viper" his layout is good....
  • grimfandango, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1agreed, some of the advice in the article is bad news and can screw Windows and/or other other applications.
  • asurroca, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is great becaues of the discussion and useful links provided, but the original link itself is terrible. It provides very few options, and some of those options are, in fact, important to some users. BlackViper/Majorgeeks, that's a great list I've always referred to though, glad it was posted in one of the first comments ;)
  • mobilehavoc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Amazing, this story has so many diggs people will actually blindly follow that totally crappy guide which lists several Windows services you NEVER want to disable.

    And as somebody else mentioned, the only time disabling them will give you any performance/memory boost is if you're extremely limited on memory 256MB or less - in which case you shouldn't be running XP SP2 in the first place.

    No digg - reported as innacurate. Use other lists but this linked one is terrible - after following their guide you'll free up memory and your system won't start.
  • mshomam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://www.closet-organizer-reviews.com
  •  

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