Windows
XP Professional
Services Configuration Files
Thank you for
trying the "Services Configuration Files" by eXPerience.
By disabling
useless services, you can improve system performance and
also help to
make your system more secure.
To use these
files, simply double click one of the included registry files of your
choice
numbered 001 to 005 and after clicking OK, reboot your machine so
the changes to
the services configuration can take effect. If you find yourself
in any sort of
a mess with things not working in Windows, the solution is simple,
just run the
001 file and your system will be returned back to how it would be
on a normal
default installation.
If you know
what you are doing with Windows services, you can simply copy the first
file
"001 - DEFAULT.REG" and rename the copy to something like "CUSTOM.reg"
then, open
that CUSTOM.reg file with Notepad and set each service how you want it.
Under every
service you will see it says "Start"=dword:" then a number which will
either say
00000002, 00000003, or 00000004. The settings are...
"Start"=dword:00000002
= Automatic startup
"Start"=dword:00000003 = Manual startup
"Start"=dword:00000004 = Service is disabled
Here is a
rough guideline for the amount of system memory (RAM) Windows will be using
with
each configuration file, this is on a clean install of Windows, no firewall, antivirus or
other programs running and with Windows set on the "Windows
Classic" theme...
DEFAULT................
77Mb RAM
SLIGHT.....................
68Mb RAM
LITE..........................
61Mb RAM
HARDCORE...........
48Mb RAM
MANIAC..................
39Mb RAM
So as a
general rule of thumb, you are saving about 10Mb RAM every time you move to a
more
crazy configuration! If you are using the Windows Luna theme or similar
theme then
add 5Mb or 10Mb to those figures, and don't forget to keep the "Themes" service enabled
if you want to use any theme other than "Classic"
(this does not need the Themes service).
You can easily
access your services window by clicking Start > Run and then type
"services.msc"
(without the quotes) then when the services window opens, just find the
service in the list (they are
all in alphabetical order) and double click
the service, there you can set the drop down box to
"Automatic" startup type
and start the service, no reboot is needed when you do this manually,
but
a reboot is needed if you run any of the preset registry files included here.
001 - DEFAULT
This is the
standard Windows XP Professional services setup. If you have any
problems
running any of the other files here, just double click this 001 file, click
OK and
reboot, then your services will be back to normal.
002 - SLIGHT
This disables
unneccesary services but it will not disable anything that might be
used under normal usage like a
printer, digital camera or Windows Themes (Luna),
LAN network, Remote
Desktop and so forth. This
configuration will not save you much
RAM memory, but it does disable
certain "dangerous" services like
"Remote Registry".
Here is the
full list of disabled services in the SLIGHT configuration...
-------------------------------
*
Alerter
ClipBook
Error Reporting Service
* Human
Interface Device Access
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
Indexing Service
* Messenger
* Network DDE
* Network DDE
DSDM
Remote Registry
* Routing and
Remote Access
* Telnet
Windows Time
-------------------------------
* = Already
disabled on a default setup.
003 - LITE
This setup is
a litte more daring than the last! This LITE setup will disable
several more
services that are generally not used, but even this LITE setup
still keeps
Windows Update, digital camera functionality, printer and so forth.
Here is the
full list of disabled services in the LITE configuration...
------------------------------------------------------
* Alerter
Application Management
ClipBook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
DNS
Client
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support
HTTP SSL
* Human
Interface Device Access
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
* Messenger
MS
Software Shadow Copy Provider
* Network DDE
* Network DDE
DSDM
NT
LM Security Support Provider
Portable Media Serial Number Service
QoS
RSVP
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
Remote Registry
* Routing and
Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Security Center
SSDP Discovery Service
System Restore Service
* Telnet
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Volume Shadow Copy
WebClient
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
Windows Time
WMI
Performance Adapter
------------------------------------------------------
* = Already
disabled on a default setup.
004 - HARDCORE
OK this is
getting a little scary! If you use this HARDCORE file, you will
lose a lot
more functionality like Windows Update, printing, digital cameras,
but you will
still have all your networking capabilities - THIS DOES NOT
include Remote
Desktop - you will lose Remote Desktop, but normal file
sharing on a
LAN network will be fine.
Here is the
full list of disabled services in the HARDCORE configuration...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service (Needed for FTP sites)
Application Management
Automatic Updates (Just use Firefox and visit Windiz Update)
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
ClipBook
COM+ Event System
COM+ System Application
Cryptographic Services (Set on disabled, you might get pop
ups about unsigned drivers)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
DNS
Client
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support
HTTP SSL
* Human
Interface Device Access
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager (Detects plugged in external hard
disks)
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
* Messenger
MS
Software Shadow Copy Provider
Net
Logon
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
* Network DDE
* Network DDE
DSDM
NT
LM Security Support Provider
Performance Logs and Alerts
Portable Media Serial Number Service
Print Spooler (Vital for printing)
QoS
RSVP
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
Remote Registry
Removable Storage
* Routing and
Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Security Accounts Manager
Security Center
Shell Hardware Detection
Smart Card
SSDP Discovery Service
System Event Notification
System Restore Service
* Telnet
Terminal Services
Themes (Needed to display the "Luna" Theme)
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Volume Shadow Copy
WebClient
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) (Needed for scanners and
cameras)
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (Needed for a wireless internet
connection)
WMI
Performance Adapter
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = Already
disabled on a default setup.
005 - MANIAC
This
configuration is enough to make a grown man cry! If you use this MANIAC
file, there is
a lot to take into account - before all the explination about risks, let
me
just point out how to manually enable this service or that service in
case you
are crazy enough to use this configuration. To manually enable a
single service,
do this...
1 - Click: Start
2 - Click: Run
3 - Type: services.msc
4 - Click: OK
5 - Find the
service: Double click it
6 - Set it to: Automatic (in the drop down box)
7 - Click: Apply
8 - Click: Start (The "Start" button in the services console!)
9 - The
service is set to start with Windows and is started, no reboot is
needed.
Now you know
how to get into the Services console, make sure if you do use
this MANIAC
configuration that you look through this list to see if it can solve
the
problem - in most cases it will, for example suddenly after using the MANIAC
file, you cannot connect to the internet, this is because of the "DHCP Client"
service, so it says this below next to "DHCP Client". Maybe it is not so
maniac
to use the MANIAC configuration but only if you know what you're doing
(or you
can follow basic instructions as described here!)
You will lose
the "DCOM Server Process Launcher" and "Windows Installer"
meaning if you
are planning to install any more programs, they will not install
(Windows Installer based programs) but this does not mean currently installed
programs won't run, disabling DCOM only applies to programs you have yet to
install - they won't install unless you enable "DCOM Server Process
Launcher"
and "Windows Installer"again manually in services.msc.
Here is the
full list of disabled services in the MANIAC configuration...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service (Needed for FTP sites)
Application Management
Automatic Updates (Just use Firefox and visit Windiz Update)
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
ClipBook
COM+ Event System
COM+ System Application
Computer Browser (Needed to browse other computers on a
LAN/network)
Cryptographic Services (Set on disabled, you might get pop
ups about unsigned drivers)
DCOM Server Process Launcher (Needed if you install OR
uninstall programs!)
DHCP Client (Needed for many internet connections! Needed
in VMware for this too!)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support
HTTP SSL
* Human
Interface Device Access
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager (Detects plugged in external hard
disks)
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
* Messenger
MS
Software Shadow Copy Provider
Net
Logon
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network Connections (Possibly needed for SOME internet
connectivity)
* Network DDE
* Network DDE
DSDM
Network Location Awareness (NLA) (Part of Internet
Connection Sharing (ICS) component)
Network Provisioning Service
NT
LM Security Support Provider
Performance Logs and Alerts
Portable Media Serial Number Service
Print Spooler (Vital for printing)
Protected Storage (Needed for Windows to remember your
passwords and also "Auto Complete")
QoS
RSVP
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager (Needed for Dial-Up
connections)
Remote Access Connection Manager (Needed for Dial-Up and
Internet Connection Sharing)
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
Remote Registry
Removable Storage
* Routing and
Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Security Accounts Manager
Security Center
Server (Needed for file and print sharing on a LAN network)
Shell Hardware Detection
Smart Card
SSDP Discovery Service
System Event Notification
System Restore Service
Task Scheduler (Needed for things like scheduled AntiVirus
scans and Defragmenters)
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper (Sometimes needed to ping the master
server for online gaming!)
Telephony (Absolutely vital for Dial-Up connections!
Ethernet is OK with this disabled)
* Telnet
Terminal Services
Themes (Needed to display the "Luna" Theme)
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Volume Shadow Copy
WebClient
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) (The
name of this explains it enough!)
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) (Needed for scanners and
cameras)
Windows Installer (Needed if you install OR uninstall
programs!)
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (Needed for a wireless internet
connection)
WMI
Performance Adapter
Workstation (Needed for file and print sharing on a LAN
network)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = Already
disabled on a default setup.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES: If you
run this MANIAC registry file, you will
only be left
with four services running, these are:
------------------------------------------
Event Log
Plug and Play
Remote
procedure Call (RPC)
Windows Audio
------------------------------------------
With this
configuration, not including the 3.5Mb of RAM that
Task Manager
itself uses up... your system will be running on:
RAM
Usage.......... 35.7Mb
Processes.............
11
Threads.................
131
Handles.................
1780
Hope
you enjoy
these registry files and save a bit of RAM memory!
All
registry
file configurations devised by eXPerience