Services ? !

Windows provides many, and some apps add a few.

All are a tax on system resources, and are usually enabled by default,
but can be easily disabled using msconfig or oyher appropriate
utility.

A majority are NOT needed in many or most circumstances.

The trick is to disable as many as possible without compromising
something important.

Black Viper gives some guidance but doesn't always work. For me, it's
a matter of tedious trial 'n error. Many errors.

Over time, I've learned some of which can be safely and properly
disabled. To date this includes 94 disabled out of 151, or roughly 5
out of 8.

I firmly believe that still others, perhaps many, can be disabled, but
again tedious trial 'n error.

I keep track of things with captures of 13 screens of msconfig.
Anyone is welcome to a peak of mine, and I'd be interested in anyone
elses.

On Sat, 31 Mar 2018 18:02:40 -0400, wrote:
Windows provides many, and some apps add a few.

All are a tax on system resources, and are usually enabled by default,
but can be easily disabled using msconfig or oyher appropriate
utility.

A majority are NOT needed in many or most circumstances.

The trick is to disable as many as possible without compromising
something important.

Black Viper gives some guidance but doesn't always work. For me, it's
a matter of tedious trial 'n error. Many errors.

Over time, I've learned some of which can be safely and properly
disabled. To date this includes 94 disabled out of 151, or roughly 5
out of 8.

I firmly believe that still others, perhaps many, can be disabled, but
again tedious trial 'n error.

I keep track of things with captures of 13 screens of msconfig.
Anyone is welcome to a peak of mine, and I'd be interested in anyone
elses.

If a service is found unneeded, I wouldn't suggest directly disabling it,
unless it's unwanted. Unneeded or rarely used services should be
reconfigured to start on demand instead. Windows 7+ (or maybe Vista+) is
smart enough now. It'll stop any on-demand services when they're no longer
in use after several minutes. Keep in mind though. Not all third party
services are configured to support the new service auto-stop feature.

If a service is found unneeded, I wouldn't suggest directly disabling it,
unless it's unwanted. Unneeded or rarely used services should be
reconfigured to start on demand instead. Windows 7+ (or maybe Vista+) is
smart enough now. It'll stop any on-demand services when they're no longer
in use after several minutes. Keep in mind though. Not all third party
services are configured to support the new service auto-stop feature.

You seem to be suggesting leaving all enabled. Manual or auto or
what ? If I do that, performance degrades. e.g. - much longer boot
time, etc.

If disabling a service doesn't result in any repercussions whatsoever,
then isn't that better ?

Why have spinning wheels that serve no benefit ?

wrote

| I keep track of things with captures of 13 screens of msconfig.
| Anyone is welcome to a peak of mine, and I'd be interested in anyone
| elses.

I think I have 18 running on XP. Win7 is
more bloated. I have more there but don't
weed them so carefully as I don't use Win7
so much. I just generated the following list
with a WMI script:

AcrylicServiceController - Acrylic DNS Proxy Service
AudioSrv - Windows Audio
DcomLaunch - DCOM Server Process Launcher
dmserver - Logical Disk Manager
Eventlog - Event Log
Netman - Network Connections
OAcat - Online Armor Helper Service
PlugPlay - Plug and Play
ProtectedStorage - Protected Storage
RpcSs - Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
SamSs - Security Accounts Manager
ShellHWDetection - Shell Hardware Detection
Spooler - Print Spooler
stisvc - Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
SvcOnlineArmor - Online Armor
Themes - Themes
winmgmt - Windows Management Instrumentation
wscsvc - Security Center

Many of those are software I installed, like
Online Armor firewall and Acrylic DNS proxy.
I have WMI enabled only because I use it
myself.

But it varies for different people. For instance,
I don't enable DHCP because I use fixed IP
addresses. Others may need DHCP. Some will
ned various networking services. But if you
don't it is a good idea to disable them. They're
just security risks if you're not on an intranet.
And of course there's the pure junk: Services
installed by printers, itunes, etc.

For anyone interested, WMI actually provides
full control over services. The following script
is what I used to generate my list. Just save it to
Notepad and save as something like services list.vbs:

'----------------- begin script.
'-- Watch out for wordwrap. The line that starts with
' Set AllServs should end with: "'Running'")
' That's all on 1 line.
' Likewise, sList = sList... ends with: & vbCrLf

Dim WMI, AllServs, oServ, sList, FSO, TS

On Error Resume Next
Set WMI = GetObject("WinMgmts:")

Set AllServs = WMI.ExecQuery("select * from Win32_Service where State =
'Running'")
For Each oServ in AllServs
sList = sList & oServ.Name & " - " & oServ.DisplayName & vbCrLf
Next
Set AllServs = Nothing
Set MSI = Nothing
MsgBox sList

'----- optional -----------------------
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set TS = FSO.CreateTextFile("C:\services list.txt", True)
TS.Write sList
TS.Close
Set TS = Nothing
Set FSO = Nothing

On Sun, 1 Apr 2018 12:32:12 +0100, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message ,
writes:

If a service is found unneeded, I wouldn't suggest directly disabling it,
unless it's unwanted. Unneeded or rarely used services should be
reconfigured to start on demand instead. Windows 7+ (or maybe Vista+) is
smart enough now. It'll stop any on-demand services when they're no longer
in use after several minutes.

Interesting; I didn't know that. (Any idea what "several" is?)

I believe all of them which are part of the OS installation, and which
aren't constantly used by the system or applications. e.g. for my system:

- Application Experience [AeLookupSvc]
- Application Management [AppMgmt]
- Diagnostic System Host [WdiSystemHost]
- Multimedia Class Scheduler [MMCSS]
- Secondary Logon [seclogon]
- Software Protection [sppsvc]
- Virtual Disk [vds]
- Volume Shadow Copy [VSS]
- Windows Connect Now [wcncsvc]
- Windows Image Acquisition [stisvc]
- Windows Installer [msiserver]
- Windows Module Installer [TrustedInstaller]
- Windows Update [wuauserv]
- WMI Performance Adapter [wmiApSrv].

Some of them are originally configured to either Automatic, or
Delayed-Start; and I've reconfigured them to Manual.

Also: SSDP Discovery [SSDPSRV]. But it starts and stops frequently. So I've
disabled it instead, since I've no need for it for most of the time.

On Sun, 01 Apr 2018 06:48:46 -0400, wrote:

If a service is found unneeded, I wouldn't suggest directly disabling it,
unless it's unwanted. Unneeded or rarely used services should be
reconfigured to start on demand instead. Windows 7+ (or maybe Vista+) is
smart enough now. It'll stop any on-demand services when they're no longer
in use after several minutes. Keep in mind though. Not all third party
services are configured to support the new service auto-stop feature.

You seem to be suggesting leaving all enabled. Manual or auto or
what ? If I do that, performance degrades. e.g. - much longer boot
time, etc.

If disabling a service doesn't result in any repercussions whatsoever,
then isn't that better ?

Why have spinning wheels that serve no benefit ?

If you're concerned about boot time, I'd suggest reconfiguring services
which are set to Auto by default, to Delayed-Start. Delayed-Start services
will start only after most other services which are configured to Auto. But
keep in mind of service dependencies, and any Autorun-ed applications which
require those services.

On Sun, 1 Apr 2018 08:51:58 -0400, Mayayana wrote:
stisvc - Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)

I've set this to Manual. For applications which unable to start it when they
need it, I use a batch file or other script which starts the service before
running the application, and wait for it to close, then stop the service.

wscsvc - Security Center

Believe it or not, I've no need for it.

Many of those are software I installed, like
Online Armor firewall and Acrylic DNS proxy.
I have WMI enabled only because I use it
myself.

WMI has become an important component since Vista. So important to the point
that configuring it to Manual would be ineffective, and it always starts at
boot and stays running.

But it varies for different people. For instance,
I don't enable DHCP because I use fixed IP
addresses. Others may need DHCP. Some will
ned various networking services. But if you
don't it is a good idea to disable them. They're
just security risks if you're not on an intranet.
And of course there's the pure junk: Services
installed by printers, itunes, etc.

True. I use static IP too, but I still need DHCP for my VM NICs. Everyone
have different needs.

For anyone interested, WMI actually provides
full control over services.

Well, unfortunately, in applies to XP and olver Windows versions. On Vista+,
the Administrators group has been demoted; and any user which is a member of
that group is no longer able to start/stop a service, by default.

"JJ" wrote

| stisvc - Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
|
| I've set this to Manual.

I enable because I sometimes use it in scripting.
I think my printer/scanner also uses it, rather
than TWAIN.

| For anyone interested, WMI actually provides
| full control over services.
|
| Well, unfortunately, in applies to XP and olver Windows versions. On
Vista+,
| the Administrators group has been demoted; and any user which is a member
of
| that group is no longer able to start/stop a service, by default.

And you can't elevate? Otherwise, what are we
talking about? This whole thread is about adjusting
services. I'm assuming that everyone here is not
running as "real admin".

I still maintain that if a service is totally un-needed, then it's
probably better to disable it and preclude a waste of resources. So
far for me, that's 94 of 151, and I haven't had any glitches in days.
If you find a disabled service is needed for something, then enabling
it is just a click away. A no-brainer IMHO.

wrote

|I still maintain that if a service is totally un-needed, then it's
| probably better to disable it and preclude a waste of resources. So
| far for me, that's 94 of 151, and I haven't had any glitches in days.
| If you find a disabled service is needed for something, then enabling
| it is just a click away. A no-brainer IMHO.

I'd agree with that. If you don't need it
thn thre's no sense leaving the option for
software to start it without asking. But it
can get confusing. Usually if something fails
because a service is disabled you won't get
an informative message. It just won't work.

So it's important to know about the details
of what you disable. For instance, I always
disable Windows Update. Recently I had to
download a Win8 install disk ISO from MS and they
required that I use a discombobulated method
of downloading their downloader and ISO
maker, or some such. There was no excuse for
such a complication. All they needed to do was
to provide a link to the ISO. But for whatever
reason they wanted a chance to snoop on my end.
(Luckily I keep a sacrificial lamb Win7 box for
just that kind of sleaze.)

The ISO maker didn't work. I finally realized that
it was set to run as a Windows Update function.
So I needed to enable WU. But I also needed to
enable BITS for WU to work.

Someone who'd just heard advice to disable
Windows Udpate (or BITS) would have done
a lot more head scratching in that situation.
Notably, Microsoft didn't have the sense to
program in an error window to say, "WU and
BITS must be enabled for this operation."

As I said, a tedious process of trial 'n error.

Hence my quest to share with others.

wrote:
As I said, a tedious process of trial 'n error.

Hence my quest to share with others.

But it's a hobby though, right ?

You should be able to drop it down to just RPC,
as you can no longer disable RPC. (There's probably no reason
to even be listing RPC any more, as you should not be
able to change it.) RPC is Remote Procedure Call, and
even calls that resolve on 127.0.0.1, go through the service.
The software doesn't know, before it starts, exactly
where the call is destined.

Now, here's a guy after your own heart.

https://www.native-instruments.com/f...cesses.188396/

"After getting tired of audio drops, I decided to determine the minimum
amount of processes needed to load Windows and run Traktor S4 & Traktor Pro 2.6.

It turns out there are only 5 service items and 0 startup items needed.

A typical Windows 7 machine has 50-100 processes going at once. I was
able to bring that number down to 20, and the results are amazing!

the 5 required services, which a

Multimedia Class Scheduler
NIHardwareService
Power
Windows Audio
Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
"

See, you can go off the deep end. What fun.

I wonder if file sharing still works ?

Paul

On 31/03/2018 23:02, aka SteveGG wrote:
All are a tax on system resources, and are usually enabled by default,
but can be easily disabled using msconfig or oyher appropriate
utility.



Please use Linux; You are too stupid to use an advanced system like
Windows 7, or Windows 8.1 or Windows 10;

/--- This email has been checked for viruses by
Windows Defender software.
//https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/comprehensive-security/


--
With over 600 million devices now running Windows 10, customer
satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows.

"Mayayana" on Sun, 1 Apr 2018 11:31:57 -0400
typed in alt.windows7.general the following:

Someone who'd just heard advice to disable
Windows Udpate (or BITS) would have done
a lot more head scratching in that situation.
Notably, Microsoft didn't have the sense to
program in an error window to say, "WU and
BITS must be enabled for this operation."

It probably never occurs to the folks at Microsoft, that not
everybody is as enamored of their latest changes, as they are.
Or that anyone would a) want to turn of those service, or B) know
how.

tschus
pyotr
--
APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection. It is the language of the
future for the programming techniques of the past: it creates a new generation
of coding bums.
-- Edsger W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5

In message , JJ
writes:
On Sun, 1 Apr 2018 12:32:12 +0100, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message ,
writes:

If a service is found unneeded, I wouldn't suggest directly disabling it,
unless it's unwanted. Unneeded or rarely used services should be
reconfigured to start on demand instead. Windows 7+ (or maybe Vista+) is
smart enough now. It'll stop any on-demand services when they're no longer
in use after several minutes.

Interesting; I didn't know that. (Any idea what "several" is?)

I believe all of them which are part of the OS installation, and which
aren't constantly used by the system or applications. e.g. for my system:
[]
Sorry, I was asking about the "several" in the place you used that word,
not which services.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Security is the perfect excuse to lock you out of your own computer.
- Mayayana in alt.windows7.general, 2015-12-4