Windows Vista: The Complete Reference (Complete Reference Series)

Windows has dozens of services -special programs running in the background that other programs (including Windows itself) rely on. Most of the services are vital parts of the operating system, but some aren't. For example, if your computer isn't on a LAN, you don't need to run the Computer Browser service, which maintains an updated list of the computers on your LAN.

To see and configure the services running on your computer, choose Start Control Panel System And Maintenance Administrative Tools and click the Services icon. Or, choose Start Accessories Run, type services.msc , and press ENTER. Either way, you see the Services window. Maximize the window and enlarge the columns so you can read the names and descriptions of the services. Click the Extended tab at the bottom of the window if it's not already selected, so that you see information about the selected service. To read all the information about a service, double-click it so that its Properties dialog box appears.

Services that don't say "Started" in the Status column aren't running, so skip them. Look at each service that is running. If you don't understand what it does, don't stop it.

If a process on the Processes tab of the Windows Task Manager window is taking large amounts of CPU time, a program may be running out of control. To check whether it's a service, note the name of the program and search the Services window for the program name (it appears in the Path To Executable box in the service's Properties dialog box).

You can stop or pause a service by double-clicking the service and clicking the Stop or Pause button on the General tab of the Properties dialog box that appears. To restart a stopped service, click the Start button. Click Resume to restart a paused service. You can also control when the service starts by setting the Service Type on that General tab to Manual (you have to start the service), Automatic (the service starts when Windows starts), or Disabled (the service never starts).

To disable a service so that it doesn't restart when you restart Windows, set its Service Type to Manual. Or, use the System Configuration Utility: choose Start Accessories Run, type msconfig , and press ENTER. Click the Services tab to see a list of services. To disable a service whenever you start Windows, clear its check box.