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A list of all the 'standard' services
| Name | Service (Key) | Process | Description | Status |
| Alerter | Alerter | Services.exe [HKLM\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\Alerter\Parameters] [HKLM\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet \Services\SysmonLog\Log Queries\<alertname> |
Distribute administrative alerts to specific users or machines. e.g. Performance Monitor thresholds are distributed as alerts. Requires the Messenger and Workstation services to be started. |
Manual. May be disabled if the alerts are not needed. |
| Alerts and Performance Logs (Win 2K) | sysmonLog | smlogsvc.exe | Configure performance logs and alerts. | Manual. May be disabled if the alerts are not needed. |
| Application Layer Gateway Service (XP) | ALG | alg.exe | Support for Internet Connection Sharing and the Internet Connection Firewall | Automatic |
| Application Management (Win 2K/XP) |
appmgt | Services.exe or svchost.exe | Installation services (Add/Remove Programs) - Assign, Publish, and Remove. | Manual |
| Automatic Updates (Win 2K/XP) |
wuaUserv | svchost.exe -k wugroup | Enable the download and installation of critical Windows updates. | Automatic. If the service is disabled, the operating system can be manually updated at the Windows Update Web site. |
| Background Intelligent Transfer Service (Win 2K) | BITS | svchost.exe -k BITSgroup | Transfer files in the background using idle network bandwidth. | Automatic. If the service is stopped, features such as Windows Update, and MSN Explorer will be unable to automatically download programs and other information. |
| COM+ Event System | Event System | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Automatic distribution of events to subscribing COM components. | Manual |
| Clipbook Server | Clipsrv | Clipsrv.exe | Provides support for the Clipbook Viewer, which allows the clipboard of the source machine to be accessed remotely. | Manual or disable. |
| Computer Browser | Browser | Services.exe | Actively collect the names of NetBIOS resources on the network, creating
a list so that it can participate as a master browser or basic browser (one
that takes part in browser elections). This maintained list of resources (computers) is displayed in Network Neighborhood and Server Manager. |
Automatic. If the machine is not connected to a LAN (stand-alone), or will not participate as a master browser or take part in elections, then feel free to change the status to disabled or manual. This does not equate to disabling TCP/IP so internet browsing is still possible. |
| Cryptographic Services (XP) | CryptSvc | svchost.exe | Management of Certification Authority certificates. | Automatic |
| DHCP Client | Dhcp | Services.exe or svchost.exe | Manage network configuration by registering and updating IP addresses and DNS names. | Automatic |
| Distributed Link Tracking Client (Win 2K/XP) | TrkWks | Services.exe or svchost.exe | Send notification of files moving between NTFS volumes in a network domain. | Automatic or manual. |
| Distributed Transaction Coordinator (Win 2K/XP) |
msdtc | MSDTC.exe | Coordinate transactions that are distributed across two or more databases, message queues, file systems, or other transaction protected resource managers. | Manual |
| DNS Client (Win 2K/XP) |
Dnscache | Services.exe | Resolves and caches Domain Name System (DNS) names. | Automatic |
| Directory Replicator | Replicator | Lmrepl.exe | Replicate specified files & folders between computers. The host is the export server, and the target machines are called import computers. Replication is configured under Server in the Control Panel. |
Automatic Domain Controllers need this to replicate the Netlogon share. |
| Error Reporting Service | Ersvc | svchost.exe | Report errors back to Microsoft in Redmond. | Automatic or disabled. |
| EventLog | EventLog | Services.exe | Record System, Security, and Application Events. Viewed with the MMC Event Viewer (eventvwr.exe in NT). |
Automatic |
| Fast User Switching Compatibility (XP) | FastUserSwitching Compatibility | svchost.exe | Enable multiple users to login to the same PC simultaneously. | Manual |
| Fax Service (Win 2K/XP) |
Fax | faxsvc.exe | Send and receive faxes | Automatic or Manual or Disable. |
| Help and Support (XP) | helpsvc | svchost.exe | Help and Support Center | Automatic. |
| Human Interface Device Access (XP) | HidServ | svchost.exe | Support for extra keyboard 'hot buttons' and other multimedia input devices. | Disable |
| IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service (XP) | ImapiService | imapi.exe | CD-Rom Burning | Automatic. |
| Indexing Service (Win 2K/XP) | cisvc | cisvc.exe | Index the contents and properties of files on local and remote computers.
RESOURCE HOG |
Disable. |
| Internet Connection Sharing (Win 2K) Internet Connection Firewall (XP) |
SharedAccess | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Network address translation, addressing, and name resolution services for all computers on your home network through a dial-up connection. | Automatic. unless you have chosen to disable the Application Layer Gateway Service for some reason. |
| IPSEC Policy Agent (Win 2K/XP) |
PolicyAgent | lsass.exe | Manage IP security policy and starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) and the IP security driver. | Automatic or Disable. |
| License Logging Service | LicenseService | Llssrv.exe | License tracking on a server or DC (Domain Controller). | If disabled then licensing status alerts will not be generated. |
| Logical Disk Manager (XP) | Dmserver | services.exe or svchost.exe | Required by the MMC Disk Management plug-in. | Automatic. |
| Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service (XP) | Dmadmin | dmadmin.exe /com | Administrative service for disk management requests | Manual |
| Message Queuing (XP) | mqsvc.exe | Message Queuing | ||
| Message Queuing Triggers (XP) | mqtgsvc.exe | Message Queuing | ||
| MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service | swprv | dllhost.exe | Microsoft Backup Utility | Manual or Disable |
| Messenger | Messenger | Services.exe | Process the delivery of pop-up messages sent by the Alerter service, or
via NET SEND. The messages appear on the recipient's machines, and must
be clicked OK to disappear. This service is also required to receive any messages sent by the Messenger service from another machine. This service is not related to Windows Messenger |
For stand-alone machines - disable this service. For machines on a network, you may want to also consider disabling this service to avoid misuse of the 'NET SEND' command. |
| Network Connections (Win 2K/XP) |
Netman | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Manage objects in the Network and Dial-Up Connections folder (LAN and remote connections.) | Manual |
| Net Logon | Netlogon | Lsass.exe (Local Security Authority Subsystem) |
Network Authentication: maintains a synced domain directory database between
the PDC and BDC(s), handles authentication of respective accounts on the
DCs, and authenticates domain accounts on networked machines. |
Automatic - when connected to a domain. Manual for stand-alone machines. |
| NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing | Nmnsrvc | mnmsrvc.exe | Allows authorized people to remotely access your Windows desktop using NetMeeting. | Manual or Disabled. |
| Network DDE | NetDDE | Netdde.exe | Support the network transport of DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) connections.
Such connectivity is mostly a relic from the NT 3.x days, and interaction
with Windows for Workgroup clients. Some Win32 NetDDE APIs are still used,
but such APIs are thunked down to 16-bit. Requires Network DDE DSDM to be started. |
Manual or Disabled. |
| Network DDE DSDM | NetDDEdsdm | Netdde.exe | Manage shared DDE conversations (from shares like: \\computername\ndde$).
|
Manual or Disabled. |
| NLA - Network Location Awareness (XP) | nla | svchost.exe | Part of Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) and the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) | Automatic. unless you have chosen to disable the Application Layer Gateway Service for some reason. |
| NT LM Security Support Provider | NtLmSsp | Services.exe | Extends NT security to Remote Procedure Call (RPC) programs using various
transports other than named pipes. RPC activity is quite common, and most RPC apps don't use named pipes. |
Manual |
| Plug and Play | PlugPlay | Services.exe | Plug and Play. Do not disable this service. |
Automatic |
| Universal Plug and Play | UPNPhost | svchost.exe | Device Host Detect and configure external UPnP devices. UPnP device = platform independent. |
Manual or Disabled. |
| Protected Storage | ProtectedStorage | Pstores.exe | Encrypt and store secure info: SSL certificates, passwords for Outlook, Outlook Express, Profile Assistant, MS Wallet, and digitally signed S/MIME keys. | Automatic. |
| QoS RSVP (Win 2K) |
rsvp | rsvp.exe -s | Provide network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets. | Manual or Disabled. |
| Remote Access Auto Connection Manager or Remote Access AutoDial Manager |
Rasauto | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Activates automatic dial-up when a URL link is clicked. Required for some but not all RAS, ADSL or Cable connections. |
Manual or disabled. |
| Remote Access Connection Manager (Win 2K/XP) |
Rasman | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Required for most but not all RAS, ADSL or Cable connections. | Manual or disabled. |
| Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (XP) |
RDSessMgr | sessmgr.exe | Remote Desktop Help Session Manager. | Manual or disable if you don't use it. |
| Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator | RpcLocator | Locator.exe | Maintain the RPC name server database, requires the RPC service (below) to be started. Database of available server applications. | Manual. |
| Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service or Remote Procedure Call (RPC) |
RpcSs | Rpcss.exe or svchost -k rpcss | This RPC subsystem is crucial to the operations of any RPC activities
taking place on a system (DCOM, Server Manager, User Manager) Rpcss.exe is also known as dcomss.exe (Distributed Common Object Model). |
Automatic |
| Remote Registry Service (Win 2K/XP) |
RemoteRegistry | regsvc.exe | Allow remote registry manipulation. | Automatic or disabled. |
| Removable Storage (Win 2K/XP) |
Ntmssvc | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Manage removable media, drives, and libraries. | Manual. |
| RIP Listener (XP - option) |
Listen for RIP announcements from routers and modify the routing table accordingly. | To use the RIP Listener service, your adjacent routers must support the RIP v1 protocol. You'll find the RIP Listener service under Add/Remove Windows Components - Networking Services. | ||
| Routing and Remote Access (Win 2K/XP) | RemoteAccess | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Allow incoming connections via dial in or VPN. | Disable for security reasons or Manual |
| RunAs Service (Win 2K) Secondary Logon (Win XP) |
secLogon | services.exe or svchost.exe | Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. | Automatic or Disable. |
| Schedule or Task scheduler |
Schedule | atsvc.exe or mstask.exe | This service is required for the use of the AT command, which allows the
scheduling of commands (Jobs) to be run on the machine, at a specific date
& time. Under NT it's a Resource Hog. Under XP it's used by some auto-tuning operations. |
Automatic |
| Security Accounts Manager (Win 2K) | SamSs | lsass.exe | Stores security information for local user accounts. | Automatic |
| Server | LanmanServer | Services.exe | Support for file sharing, print sharing, and named pipe sharing via SMB services. | Automatic. Disable on an IIS Server or if no resources are shared. |
| Shell Hardware Detection (XP) | ShellHWDetection | svchost.exe | CD Autoplay | Automatic. |
| Simple TCP/IP Services (Win 2K) |
SimpTcp | tcpsvcs.exe | Supports the following TCP/IP services: Character Generator, Daytime, Discard, Echo, and Quote of the Day. | |
| Smart Card (Win 2K/XP) |
ScardSrv | SCardSvr.exe | Manages and controls access to a smart card inserted into a smart card reader attached to the computer. | Manual or Disabled |
| Smart Card Helper (Win 2K/XP) | ScardDrv | SCardSvr.exe | Provides support for legacy smart card readers attached to the computer. | Manual or Disabled |
| SNMP Service (Win 2K/XP) |
Snmp | snmp.exe | Agents that monitor the activity in network devices and report to the network console workstation. | Automatic (if installed) |
| SNMP Trap Service (Win 2K) | Snmptrap | snmptrap.exe | Receives trap messages generated by local or remote SNMP agents and forwards the messages to SNMP management programs running on this computer. | Automatic (if installed) |
| SSDP Discovery Service | SSDPSRV | svchost.exe | Simple Service Discovery Protocol. Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network |
Manual or Disabled |
| Spooler or Print Spooler |
Spooler | Spoolss.exe or Spoolsv.exe | The NT printing subsystem. | Automatic - If you print documents. If no printing is ever done set to manual or disabled. If you are having trouble with a printer not responding, you can try restarting this service. This cancels all pending print jobs. |
| System Event Notification (Win 2K/XP) |
SENS | svchost.exe -k netsvcs | Track system events such as Windows logon, network, and power events.
Notifiy COM+ Event System subscribers of these events. |
Automatic. |
| System Restore Service (XP) |
srservice | svchost.exe | Creates system snap shots. [ RESOURCE HOG ] |
Automatic or Disabled. Before stopping this service disable in Control Panel, Performance, system. |
| TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper or TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service |
lmHosts | Services.exe | Support for name resolution via a lookup of the LMHosts file. (Netbios/Wins)
This is an alternative to the more standard DNS lookup. |
If you use an LMHosts file for name resolution, set to automatic. If you don't then set to manual. |
| Telephony | TapiSrv | Tapisrv.exe | Telephony API (TAPI) support for programs that control telephony devices and IP based voice connections. e.g unimodem modems. | Manual |
| Telnet (Win 2K) |
TlntSvr | tlntsvr.exe | Allows a remote user to log on to the system and run console programs using the command line. | Manual or Disabled. Presents a security risk when running. |
| Terminal Services (XP) | TermService | svchost.exe | Required for Fast User Switching, Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance | Disable |
| Themes (XP) |
Themes | svchost.exe | XP Active Desktop Themes, and quick launch toolbars [ RESOURCE HOG ] |
Disable. |
| Upload Manager | uploadmgr | svchost.exe | Upload Manager. | Disable |
| UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply | UPS | Ups.exe | Support for an Uninteruptable Power Supply (UPS) physically connected to the machine. | Not every UPS will need or use this service. |
| Utility Manager (Win 2K) | UtilMan | UtilMan.exe | Starts and configures accessibility tools from one window | |
| Volume Shadow Copy (XP) |
VSS | vssvc.exe | MS Backup - A volume shadow copy is a picture of the volume at a particular moment in time. That means a computer can be backed up while files are open and applications running. | Manual or Disable. see MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service |
| WebClient (XP) |
WebClient | svchost.exe | Allow access to web-resident disk storage from an ISP. WebDAV "internet disks" such as Apple's iDisk. | Disable |
| Windows Audio (XP) | AudioSrv | svchost.exe | Sound Driver | Automatic or disable if no sound card. Note that disabling the sound driver won't stop sounds from playing - you just won't hear them. |
| Windows Image Acquisition | stisvc | svchost.exe | Required for some but not all scanners. | Manual |
| Windows Installer | MSIServer | MsiExec.exe /V | Install, repair and remove software according to instructions contained in .MSI files. | Manual |
| Windows Management Instrumentation (Win 2K/XP) | WinMgmt | C:\WINNT\System32 \WBEM\WinMgmt.exe |
Provides system management information. | Automatic |
| Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions (Win 2K) | Wmi | Services.exe | Provides systems management information to and from drivers. | Manual |
| Windows Time (Win 2K) | W32time | services.exe | Update the computer clock by reference to an internet time source or a time server. | Automatic or disable. |
| Wireless Zero Configuration | WZCSVC | svchost.exe | Configure wireless network devices. | Automatic or disable. |
| WMI Performance Adapter | WmiApSrv | wmiapsrv.exe | Collect performance library information. | Manual |
| Workstation | lanmanworkstation | Services.exe | Communications and network connections. Services dependent on this being started: Alerter, Messenger, and Net Logon. |
Automatic. or Manual - for a stand-alone PC with no LAN or internet connection. |
The following services are added by Internet Information Server,
IIS (inetinfo.exe)
FTP Publishing Service, IIS Admin, Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP),
World Wide Web Publishing Service.
Related commands:
SC - Service Control
WinMSD
- List running services
Safe mode - Press F8 during bootup to start with mimimal services running.
Recovery - The Recovery Console
Links
Glossary
of Windows 2000 services - Microsoft.com
