Tip: XP minimal services list

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DelJo63

Many have asked and there's been multiple attempts at showing a list of minimal
services to operate XP. This is my attempt to list services used on a laptop where battery
power is a main concern. Reducing startups and services is a major means to reduce paging and conserve memory usage.

That said, the attachment is an export from XP/Pro SP2 Services.msc into a
spreadsheet, sorting it on the Startup Type {Auto,Disabled,Manual}.
The results attached here is a TAB Delimited txt file for easy import or just raw
viewing with notepad.exe

Clearly there are specific services from my hardware (Toshiba MX35-s161) and
installed software that will differ for every user, but this can be a starting point
to help you trim your system to a lean-mean machine.

edit: added ms word formatted file with table
 

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  • Services-List.txt
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  • Service-List.doc
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you can also open the 'System Properties' - click on the 'Advanced' tab - choose 'Performance Settings' - and click radio button for 'adjust for best performance.'

From there you can check the boxes of performance features that you don't want to loose.

I have found this method to free up a lot of resource and in turn power. (could be wrong about the power though. I am always plugged in - just sometimes to much going on for my little machine. This has usually helped the bog down)
 
When I was new to Windows XP and came across the Services, I was amazed! Wanting to know what each did and if I should allow it to run, I became a frequent visitor to the Black Viper site.

It is an excellent reference. Basically all of the Services start out on Automatic. This means they will start at boot and run in the background. Some of those Services are specific and only need to run in particular circumstances. Others, when on Automatic, present security risks.

I've been an advocate for years for users to investigate their Services, check the Dependencies and change start up to Disable or Manual when possible. This has served me well and I encourage others to do the same.

In a way, it's similar to new, installed programs to put themselves on Startup unless told otherwise. Most don't need to be there. But with Services, it's even more of a potential threat because some can be used to gain access to a machine.
 
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