Boosting Performance by Disabling Unnecessary Services on Windows XP Pro Systems

Q

This tutorial shows you how to boost performance by stopping and disabling unnecessary services on Windows XP Professional systems with Service Pack 1. In the end, 56 services could be disabled; 14 services could be defined to run in "Manual" mode; only 17 services need to be defined to run in "Automatic" mode.

✍: FYIcenter.com

A
If you followed our Disabling Unnecessary Services tutorial on a Windows XP Professional system with Service Pack 1 installed, you can reduce the running services to a minimum level of 31 essential services need to be running in "Automatic" or "Manual" mode. All other 56 services can be disabled.

With less services running, your system will need less than 250MB of memory to start up. This will greatly boost your system performance.

The suggested minimum set of running services can still allow you to visit Internet and use all local network services.

Summary of suggested services settings for Windows XP Pro SP1 system:
Service NameStartup TypeUsage Note
AlerterDisabledUsed for delivering local network alerts.
Application Layer Gateway ServiceDisabledBase service for Windows firewall or Internet Connection Sharing.
Application ManagementDisabledMay needed for removing applications.
ASP.NET State ServiceDisabledUsed by ASP .NET applications.
ATI HotKey PollerDisabledSupport hot keys to control multiple monitors.
Automatic UpdatesDisabledAutomatically getting system updates from Microsoft Websites.
Background Intelligent Transfer ServiceDisabledUsed by Automatic Updates to transfer files.
Broadcom ASF IP monitoring service v6.0.3AutomaticInstalled as part of Broadcom network devices.
ClipBookDisabledUsed by ClipBook Viewer.
COM+ Event SystemDisabledUsed for System Event Notification.
COM+ System ApplicationDisabledUsed to support COM+ components.
Computer BrowserDisabledMaintains a list of computers on the local network.
Cryptographic ServicesAutomaticMay needed for Windows Media Player.
DHCP ClientAutomaticNeeded for Internet connections.
Distributed Link Tracking ClientDisabledUsed for tracking files over local networks.
Distributed Transaction CoordinatorDisabledUsed for local network resource management.
DNS ClientAutomaticUsed to resolve DNS names.
Error Reporting ServiceDisabledUsed to send error reports to Microsoft support center.
Event LogAutomaticThis is an essential service.
Fast User Switching CompatibilityDisabledUsed for switching between logged in users.
FaxDisabledUsed for sending and receiving fax.
FTP Publishing ServiceDisabledUsed to allow other computers to download files.
Help and SupportDisabledUsed for getting on-line support documents from Microsoft.
Human Interface Device AccessDisabledUsed to support hot buttons on special input devices.
IIS AdminDisabledUsed to manage Internet Information Services.

Continue to Part II.

2006-12-27, 38420🔥, 0💬