Services I can safely remove from a fresh install?

[NeroDevil]

Hey all, basically I've installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Ultimate on my rig, but I want to disable ALL unnecesary services and startup items. Can someone give me a list of services and startup programs that are safe to remove? Thanks in advance!

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello MY5T.






It is a very bad idea to disable/remove services in Windows 7, forget what you learned with XP, that strategy doesn't work in W_7, it will cause untold problems; you will get better performance leaving it at default.

If you feel the need to tweak something, have a look at the tutorial at the link below to optimize Windows 7; leave services alone.


How to Speed Up the Performance of Windows 7

 

[NeroDevil]

Thanks BFK! Although the reason I was going for services wasn't for performance, but because of a problem. When Windows boots, it can sometimes act insanely slow, like, theres a 2 second mouse lag and everything! Yet booting in safe mode is perfectly stable, so I diagnosed a possible service to be the culprit. I'm not sure if it's a correct concluion though. ^^;

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello again.







Maybe it's a start-up program/app that is slowing you down, have a look at this tutorial at the link below and be sure to post back to keep us informed.


Troubleshooting with MSCONFIG

 

[NeroDevil]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot. Oh and it's a fresh install with nothing installed yet, so it's probably a Microsoft thing causing the issue. I'll post back if I get anywhere, just hope for the best!

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

OK mate, do keep checking back as someone may have an idea for you at any time.

 

[marsmimar]

As Bare Foot Kid said, if you aren't sure what effect disabling/removing services will do to your computer, it's best to leave them alone. However ... if you have the means to make a system image just in case something doesn't work out, you might give a look at Black Viper's website. A lot of his recommendations for "safe" tweaks involves changing some services from automatic to manual. You're not actually disabling them as they will run when needed, just not at startup and this could improve boot time.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

As Bare Foot Kid said, if you aren't sure what effect disabling/removing services will do to your computer, it's best to leave them alone. However ... if you have the means to make a system image just in case something doesn't work out, you might give a look at Black Viper's website. A lot of his recommendations for "safe" tweaks involves changing some services from automatic to manual. You're not actually disabling them as they will run when needed, just not at startup and this could improve boot time.

Imaging as an 'experiment' is an excellent idea; have a look at this tutorial.

Imaging with free Macrium

 

[Layback Bear]

I let my services stay at default but checking to make sure that anything that allows remote access is not working. I recommend if you use Black Viper to print a copy and keep notes of what you change. Things that I do on fresh install is use Windows 7 built in Create a Repair Disc and the Create a Backup before changing anything.

 

[Hondajt]

OH oh oh!!! I might know this. I bet you have a USB mouse and keyboard, don't you? Try swapping them for serial ones, and I bet that fixes the problem.

OR

Just unplug the mouse, then restart the computer without a mouse. If that doesn't fix it, plug the mouse back in, and unplug the keyboard, then restart.

What was happening for me, was the computer was having issues with my USB port when a keyboard was plugged in that had special keys. I think it thought it was a storage device since it had special keys (like internet, email, volume, etc...). I learned how to fix the problem later, but first, you have to diagnose if that is the problem!

Keep us up to date!

OH, and you seriously need to add more RAM. I highly reccomend at least 2GB of RAM. Windows 7 runs much smoother then.

 

[LeeWhittington]

An easy solution to tweaking the Windows Services, using the recommendations of Black Vipers site, there is an application I created posted here on the site that does just that.

For most users, using the Safe Tweak option is the best option.

http://www.sevenforums.com/performa...dows-services-automatic-tweaking-utility.html

 

[Layback Bear]

IMHO you can tweak for ever and get no ware with 512 Ram on Windows 7! I have found that Windows 7 doesn't need tweaks like the older operating system. If you want a little something changed and want to know how just post your question here. If you read around on this site you will find that many Tweaking Programs in many cases cause more problem than there worth. That being said 512 Ram just don't get it with Windows 7.

 

[stormy13]

IMHO you can tweak for ever and get no ware with 512 Ram on Windows 7! I have found that Windows 7 doesn't need tweaks like the older operating system. If you want a little something changed and want to know how just post your question here. If you read around on this site you will find that many Tweaking Programs in many cases cause more problem than there worth. That being said 512 Ram just don't get it with Windows 7.

Not too mention the pretty much unsupported chipset on the motherboard. The only thing listed in his specs that actually has a current driver is the video card, the rest hasn't seen a driver update in years.

 

[gregrocker]

I uncheck all startup freeloaders in msconfig>Startup except AV and gadgets/stikynotes. Use the Win7 built-in utilities like Wireless manager instead of factory bloatware.

Use a lightweight free AV like MS Security Essentials with the Windows Firewall.

Clean and order the HD perfectly using state-of-the-art free CCleaner and Auslogics Disk and Registry defraggers monthly.

Everything that can be set to Manual in Win7 is already set there. Win7 has become the Black Viper.

 

[Maxxwire]

I agree Windows 7 services are set much better than than in Vista or XP. Even though I counted 164 services on my Win 7 desktop and of the 98 that are set to run on automatic or manual only 35-45 of them run throughout the day and 43 are running as I type this.

~Maxx~
.

 

[Mellon Head]

I would remove exactly no services from Windows 7. It's pretty balanced as it is, and once you start monkeying around with the services and the registry, you stand a good chance of messing something up.

If you must fiddle, be sure to do a system image first. And I agree with everyone that says "More RAM" That's probably the biggest reason for the slowdown, and tweaking isn't going to help that at all.

 

[Maxxwire]

Once you start monkeying around with the services and the registry, you stand a good chance of messing something up.

I agree! Don't mess around with the registry you might mess things up, but removing completely unneeded services like for a fax machine or remote access to your desktop that have absolutely no dependencies is just a matter of housekeeping and there plenty of these unneeded services that MS has scheduled to run regularly that only consume system resources the removal of which on a hardware and RAM challenged computer can make a noticeable difference to the user.

As is always advised make a fresh restore point, have a reliable System Image backup, and a 3rd party Image Backup as insurance consult the expert advise at Black Viper Web Site, keep it simple and you have nothing to fear. I don't even start my computer in the mornings without a full set of backups because with Windows anything might happen and its always advisable to have a full set of backups ready to use.

If you have any doubts or apprehensions about learning the intricacies of what 150+ different Win 7 services do and how they interact with and depend on each other then just leave the services as they are especially if you have a powerful computer that services won't slow down unless you're one of those people like me who doesn't like to carry excess unneeded junk no matter how fast the computer is.

~Maxx~
.