Disabling Services or Removing in nLite

[Doctor Trout]

Hey guys,

I have a question about XP services really. Is disabling a service in Windows, more or less the same thing as deleting in from the installation in nLite?

I mean, basically, if when I install Windows XP, I disable the service, and never use it, might I just as well remove it in nLite? I suppose, what I'm really asking is, when you disable a service, does that stop all of it, or do some bits of it remain, that removing the service in nLite would remove? The thing is, when I run my computer, I don't use many services, maybe about half a dozen on automatic and half a dozen on manual. Does that mean that I can remove all the ones set to disabled in nLite with no ill effects?

Thanks guys.

[gdogg]

no it is not the same thing.

disabling services, via services.msc , will never do what nlite does, for increasing system performance and startup speeds.

[Yzöwl]

I'm sure that many arguments will ensue on this, but:

• Having a bunch of services which are never used will not degrade performance.
  Removing a bunch of services, which may in the future be required will degrade performance.
  

To be quite honest other than disabling the indexing service, I am yet to see any real benefit in changing any of SP2s default Automatic service configurations.

Most people here will have 1GB or more of RAM and a hard drive in excess of 80GB, so what loss in real terms is there by taking out or disabling parts of the OS, which may some day be required.

[gdogg]

microwinX, need I say more.

maybe if you use that, you'll be able to see benifits.

with me, I cannot bear, the slowness, of a full version of xp, even on my computer, disabling 90% of services would be a must, and even that doesn't do anything compared to nlite.

Edited March 30, 2006 by gdogg

[Doctor Trout]

So, would you say that, if you have a service always disabled in Windows, it's best to remove it in nLite. I mean, I always have COM+ disabled, does that mean I should remove that in nLite, for example then?

[gdogg]

yes that is pretty much how it works.

[Lazy8]

There is no performance difference between a disabled and a removed service. nLite users will gleefully remove an unnecessary service for the satisfaction of freeing up the hard drive storage. Nothing against that--most of them won't miss a thing, and have better uses for those MBs.

Just be sure they are ones you won't miss later on. Services are interdependent. Programs often rely on them, and spotting their dependencies is often a matter of guesswork. Your specific complement of software and the unique ways you use your PC make it difficult to give advice relevant to your needs. Yzöwl and gdogg represent widely disparate views, and each is equally satisfied with their own results. You'll have to test at least some of your guesses on your own, possibly by selectively disabling them (a good simulation of a removed service).

[Yzöwl]

Okay, I Googled microwinX and found it to be a specialist version of XP with its own section on these boards. This is not the correct forum for that project so please keep its discussion to its own area.

However, as you should know both the COM+ services in both Pro and Home editions, are set to Manual. Therefore if you don't need them, they will not run and therefore will not degrade performance.

[Lazy8]

So, would you say that, if you have a service always disabled in Windows, it's best to remove it in nLite. I mean, I always have COM+ disabled, does that mean I should remove that in nLite, for example then?

You can certainly get away with removing it. Doublecheck the ComPlus Applications folder in your Program Files directory, to be sure. Descriptions and configuration hints are provided in these locations, among others:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm

http://www.beemerworld.com/tips/servicesxp.htm

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/blkv.../servicecfg.htm

[Gouki]

Something that has not been discussed, yet, it's security.

I have the opinion that a Service wich will not be used, doesn't have to be there in the first place. Yzöwl - before deleting/disabling a service, you know if you are gonna need it or not, therefor, it will never 'hurt' performance in the long run.

As for security, I think we all share the same opinion. I'm not even gonna start with the 'Default VS nLited' war, I'm just gonna say that, if a service is exploitable (wich allot of them have been), the risk of been hacked is *allot* less (~ 0) on the computer in question than the ones that have it running.

This is so obvious that we dont even any discussion.

The same goes to everything else ... There is a exploit found on X, you dont have X, you wont be vunerable.

As for the Thread Starter question, it all comes down to this:

If you know exactly what you are doing (What services do, if you need them, etc), then removing and disabling will do the same. However, if you don't need them, removing would be a 'cleaner' job.

[Yzöwl]

@ Gouki

It just depends how you want to use your system, if you want minimum components and have the time to check compatability of every new application for things it will, by default, expect to be there, then that's fine by me. You may know full well whether you intend to use a component, but you've no idea whether future addons, updates, fixes and applications will. People who have the time and inclination to do that are welcome to do so, but that use is more specialist and should remain so. Most users are best advised to leave them in, due to those OS exploits, any hotfix created will need to be carefully analyzed and tested on your individual installation for both necessity and compatability. This section of the board is not dedicated to that sort of specialization, and although, subject to the moderators, you are free to post whereever you want, the problem is that on a daily basis I see posts here from people wanting help after having removed things which were designed to be there.

[Gouki]

@ Yzöwl :

I tottaly agree with you.

That's why I said that, if anyone knows *exactly* what they are doing, there should not be any problems. However, you are right about saying that allot of people, on daily basis, come here and ask instructions on how to add something back to their install.

Bottom line: If you have the time to 'study' the requirements of a application, to study the Service function and to think on the long run, go for it.