TweakHound - Tweaking Windows Vista, page 8

TweakHound's Vista Services Recommendations

Giving good, detailed recommendations on Services settings is nearly impossible. I do not know what your computer experience level is, what sort of privileges you run under, how many people use the computer, or what version of Vista you are running. With that in mind...

These recommendations are how I would set up a computer in my house. Most of them (except the first table) assume you are running under an Admin account. Before you security nuts get on my back...Yes I know, but I and most Geeks run under Admin in Windows and in truth most home users do too. Though running as a Standard User in Vista is better than previous Windows versions it is still a PITA, unlike Linux.

*Note - A change in the recommendation for the ReadyBoost service. ReadyBoost, ReadyBoot, and Vista's new prefetching scheme are all tied together. To take advantage of all these options you should leave the ReadyBoost service enabled even if you do not have a ReadyBoost drive. If not the basic scheme defaults back to an XP-like setting. During testing the biggest effect I noticed was a 10-15 second difference in boot times (faster after re-enabling ReadyBoost).

Step 1

Open your services, Press the Windows + R keys (= Start > Run), type services.msc.

Maximize the window.

You'll see a column labeled Status. Double-click it so that all the services that are started are up top.

These are the only ones you need to worry about. If it isn't started, leave it alone.

See pics below for an example. (click on thumbnails for a larger image)

The services screen in its default state.

The services screen ordered with started services at the top.

TweakHound's Vista Services Recommendations - Absolute Safe Settings
Disable	If you are not comfortable adjusting Services or do not understand them either leave them alone or use these settings.
	DFS Replication Diagnostic Policy Service (change to manual) Distributed Link Tracking Client IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules IPsec Policy Agent KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator Offline Files Remote Registry (for security reasons) Tablet PC Input Service Windows Error Reporting Service Windows Search (if you do a lot of searching on your computer then leave this alone)

TweakHound's Vista Services Recommendations - Desktop

Disable

Safe

Networked

Sharing (non-essential stuff off)

Networked

Not sharing from this computer

DFS Replication
Diagnostic Policy Service (change to manual)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
IPsec Policy Agent
KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Offline Files
Remote Registry (for security reasons)
Secondary Logon
Security Center
SSDP Discovery (for security reasons)
Tablet PC Input Service
Terminal Services
Windows Defender
Windows Error Reporting Service
Windows Search

DFS Replication
Diagnostic Policy Service (change to manual)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
IP Helper
IPsec Policy Agent
KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Offline Files
Remote Registry (for security reasons)
Secondary Logon
Security Center
SSDP Discovery (for security reasons)
Tablet PC Input Service
Terminal Services
UPnP Device Host
Windows Defender
Windows Error Reporting Service
Windows Search

Computer Browser*

DFS Replication
Diagnostic Policy Service (change to manual)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Function Discovery Provider Host
Function Discovery Resource Publication
IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
IP Helper
IPsec Policy Agent
KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Offline Files
Remote Registry (for security reasons)
Secondary Logon
Security Center
Server
SSDP Discovery (for security reasons)
Tablet PC Input Service
Terminal Services
UPnP Device Host
Windows Defender
Windows Error Reporting Service
Windows Search

* - if you want to use the Computer Browser service

you'll need to keep the Server service enabled

TweakHound's Vista Services Recommendations - Desktop, part 2

Disable

Not Networked

Tweaked Out (Geeks Only!!!)

Computer Browser
DFS Replication
Diagnostic Policy Service (change to manual)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Function Discovery Provider Host
Function Discovery Resource Publication
IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
IP Helper
IPsec Policy Agent
KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Offline Files
Remote Registry (for security reasons)
Secondary Logon
Security Center
Server
SSDP Discovery (for security reasons)
Tablet PC Input Service
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Terminal Services
UPnP Device Host
Windows Defender
Windows Error Reporting Service
Windows Search

Computer Browser

Desktop Window Manager Session Manager
DFS Replication
Diagnostic Policy Service (change to manual)
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Function Discovery Provider Host
Function Discovery Resource Publication
IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
IP Helper
IPsec Policy Agent
KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Offline Files
Print Spooler
Remote Registry (for security reasons)
Secondary Logon
Security Center
Server
SSDP Discovery (for security reasons)
Tablet PC Input Service
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Terminal Services
Themes
UPnP Device Host
Windows Defender
Windows Error Reporting Service
Windows Event Log (I wouldn't disable this)
Windows Search
Windows Time

TweakHound's Vista Services Recommendations - Laptop

Best results will most likely be achieved in between this 2 categories.

Disable

Safe

Tweaked Out (Geeks Only!!!)

Computer Browser

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Tweaking Windows Vista - Article Menu

Index

Service Packs

Desktop, Start Menu, Taskbar, and Notification Area
Visual Tweaks
Drive & File System Tweaks
Security Center & Other Security Related Tweaks
The Page File, SuperFetch, and ReadyBoost
Windows Vista Services Guide
Vista Services Recommendations
Internet & Networking Tweaks
Clean, Defrag, & Optimize

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