Task scheduler

raboot said:

Hello... I have been disabling individual tasks (and triggers) for a long time. Since XP days. I am a PC gamer and like to run "lite." I go thru "services" also, disabling what I can that I think I do not need. But I do not turn off Task Scheduler in Services. That stays running.

That may have been required for Windows XP. But it is pointless and not required for Windows Vista or Windows 7. Windows built-in services or tasks do not in anyway effect performance. Third-party applications and services effect performance.

There are numerous tasks that start and stop and I haev yet to realize any bennefit from disabling either the task service or individual tasks.

If you display RSS feeds via desktop gadget (or in IE). They would no longer update.

Scheduled scans for MSSE or Defender would no longer run. Windows Backup, Defrag are a couple more scheduled utilities that run in the background. Offline files, System Restore (VSS) the list goes on.

Even the reliability monitor has a scheduled task to update and collect information for the report/graph.

But the great thing? At no given moment are all of these running at the same time. They individualy start, complete the task and stop.

My recommendation would be to at least remember what services you are disabling, preferably by quickly documenting it, so that you can undo those changes in the future should a problem arise.

I have been burned twice over the years by disabling services as per blackviper, but then only to discover at some future point that an OS or network problem with which I had been struggling was ultimately related to a service being disabled. Good way to learn lessons but at the cost of time and some frustration.

Yes, of course. Great advice. We all learn the ins and outs over time. I think frustration comes from so many things, not just turning a service on or off.

ba5ik said:

Unless you the user knows exactly what a particular service is for (educate yourself on what all the services do) and are not relying on some guys website ( went to that site BTW, would not recommend his advice), then feel free to turn off services that are not needed for your particular setup.

If YOU don't know what a service does then don't disable it because someone said its okay.

I only use blackviper as a guide, not as gospel. I do know what each process is for, I do not turn them off for the sake of it. I only turn off what I will not need or use. Been at this a very long time, building my own (and others) systems for years. When you know, you know.

That may have been required for Windows XP. But it is pointless and not required for Windows Vista or Windows 7. Windows built-in services or tasks do not in anyway effect performance. Third-party applications and services effect performance.

Is there any documentation on this? I want to take your advice, but just saying so does not make it so.

raboot said:

Is there any documentation on this? I want to take your advice, but just saying so does not make it so.

Windows Internals 5th Edition, page 598, I/O Prioritization.
Windows Internals 5th Edition, page 809, Page (Memory) Priority.

Or you can read these here:
Windows Administration: Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 1
Windows Administration: Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 2

Every background task Windows runs does so in a low priority.

logicearth said:

raboot said:

Is there any documentation on this? I want to take your advice, but just saying so does not make it so.

Windows Internals 5th Edition, page 598, I/O Prioritization.
Windows Internals 5th Edition, page 809, Page (Memory) Priority.

Or you can read these here:
Windows Administration: Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 1
Windows Administration: Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 2

Every background task Windows runs does so in a low priority.

Thank you, I am not so stuck to say I can always learn more. Information is knowledge.

even disabling few services i don't think it is not going to help much with performance. i'd say keep the services running as it is but you can disable the ones you know for sure is not a system service.