Guide to Useless Services (Windows XP SP2)

[dbarrow]

http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=70112&cat_id=584

*Another GUIDE on turning off or trimming down SERVICES that you don't need or require.
*WORD OF WARNING:
As I have stated repeatedly, playing with SERVICES can be dangerous! Make changes there ONE AT A TIME and WRITE THEM DOWN! Effects may not be noticed until something calls a SERVICE you have DISABLED that is no longer running and it could take days or even weeks before that happens. Then you have something not working and can't figure out why or where. This makes it most important to keep a running list of your SERVICES with notes on any modifications and the date you did them.

[Pi rules]

Thanks for the link! :wave: When I benchmarked my PC I stopped every service possible (I couldn't print, go on a network, etc.) for the best possible result. I don't recommend it, though.

[golfmore]

Blackviper has a good list also. Even has a config file to do it for you.

[mylanta]

I think this is as dangerous as registry cleaners and personally I have never seen anything good come from either.

[dbarrow]

http://www.dead-eye.net/WinXP%20Services.htm
http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2765

The ORIGINAL Blackviper Services Guide

I don't think anything has ever equalled this as a well informed guide. Blackviper had a very extensive knowledge in networking and many of his tweaks vastly improved the "generic" one-size-fits-all defaults in XP.
He was working on an SP2 updated version, which is different and which I had at one time.
He ran into some legal difficulties with MS hounding him and vanished.
The original version, as noted in the link, still survives.
I have a printed copy somewhere.

Since SP2, it is not uncommon for many programs to now add themselves, or parts of themselves, as a SERVICE.
It is often a crapshoot whether to disable that service.
In some cases, the program will no longer work.
In other cases, it is possible to set that SERVICE as MANUAL and it will still start when called but does not soak up overhead by remaining started and automatic on boot.

In light of the above, it is advisable to maintain a list of Services and their settings and be alert when adding any new program or driver to determine if it has added a new Service.

If in doubt, the MANUAL setting is always a good choice as the service will not start but still can start if called, however; once started and running, it may remain so until the next logoff or reboot.
It is a good idea to be aware of the NUMBER of RUNNING PROCESSES (Task Manager) and know what a "bare bones" reboot will run (Service started and running upon boot).
After extensive use, you notice your machine slogging a bit, check the number and if it has increased, you have a Service that was started manually and is still resident.

In previous discussion of SVCHOST, we mentioned that many programs can be running under one of the several svchost.exe processes and while that will not increase the total number, may be consuming a ton of system resources. A program that does not close itself completely and leaves a process running under svchost or as a Service can slog your performance considerably. The problem is, they are almost invisible unless you are keenly aware of your "baseline" of running processes and amount of resources consumed.
Logoff or reboot to clear this overhead.