Windows 7 - msconfig question

When I enter "msconfig" into the search box, a window opens that is titled system configuration. Five tabs are shown, and I know that I can choose the "startup" tab and uncheck items to speed up starting and shutting dowm my computer. My question is about the "services" tab. There are sooooooo many items listed here! Can I uncheck any of them and how would I know which ones? Thanks!

You typically don't want to mess around with much here unless you REALLY know what they do.

You can start by checking the box at the bottom left that says " hide all microsoft services "

this will remove all of the services that are a part of critical OS functions.

Some of these things in here may still be very important to the smooth functioning of your machine.

For example, your GPU services will still be listed. I would be careful about items in this list.

After you hide the microsoft services, the list should only be about 15 or 20 items long.. depending on the number of aftermarket programs you have installed.

You can have a look here:

http://www.blackviper.com/2010/12/17...onfigurations/

However it is very dangerous, one wrong step could cause Restoring from an Image or a Clean Install.

However it is easy to go to Run - "services.msc" as you have more control.

If you like you can click "Hide Microsoft services" and untick them all after Googling like Gromit said.

Don`t touch them. The only thing you might change in msconfig are your startup services.

Please visit Black Viper's Website. Here you shall learn a lot about which services to stop and which ones to run as manual or automatic.

There is also a lovely optimizer utility in the later versions of Tuneup Utilities that starts a service when you start the associated program and closes it automatically when you shut it down. This controls to an extent the number of running services

After hiding MS Services, you can uncheck everything except your AV. If you use an HP or other OEM computer maker's Wireless Manager you may need to leave it checked until you find out how to turn it off to default to Windows 7's superior wireless manager.

This is called running a Clean Boot. It cuts out all of the freeloaders - including the useless factory utilties which have much better versions built into Windows 7.

Black Viper was useful in XP and Vista in trimming services, before Windows 7 made him unnecessary by setting all Services not absolutely needed at boot to Manual and developed fast triggers for them. Allowing programs to freeload on Startup and Services in msconfig is a user oversight, not a System one.

Also on the Boot Tab, Change the timeout from 30 to 3. It does make a difference.

Unless you use a Multiboot system you might miss it. No GUI Boot shaves 20 seconds from the animation though.

It's now 2012, and it shouldn't have to be stated, but please do NOT visit or even acknowledge QuackViper's website. It is simply mind-blowing that people put any faith into his site, or are completely unaware of why he's known as QuackViper around the enthusiast community. There are honestly forums you'd be banned from for simply mentioning his site!

Okay, now that I have that out of the way, there is no reason at all to edit or change ANY service, unless you have a specific reason to alter a third-party service (Bonjour, anyone?). It is a proven fact, beaten to death, and rehashed that unused services do not use up any system resources.

It's been said millions of time, but the best tweaking advice for Windows 7 is to leave it alone. The rules that applied to Windows XP no longer apply with Windows 7.

Then again, if a person is trying to build an unstable system, disregard everything I've said.

+1 DeaconFrost