TweakHound - Tweaking Windows 7
Services

Services
Why: Use less system resources, increased security
Why not: You may lose functionality.

I've really been dreading writing this section because I know I'm going to catch some flack for it. There are various guides around the net telling you disable this or that service without informing you of the consequences. Just try following some of them and watch your error logs, oops, they disabled error logging too. Some of these guides are quite complex and still come up short on advice that is good for your particular scenario. There aren't very many services I'm going to recommend to disable. Here is why:
1 - Windows 7 manages services far better than Vista. Startup and memory use in particular.
2 - Networking, internet services, and external devices (things you plug in to your computer) have all increased in ability and complexity.
3 - Users all do something different with their computers. To correctly write an all-out services tweak guide would require several dozen configuration recommendations.
4 - I'm specifically avoiding disabling anything that has do do with ipv6 (see the networking section for more info).

We'll start off with what I've got disabled on my main computer.
This is a fully networked computer but does not use HomeGroup.
Some of these were disabled by default.
(*I disabled Superfetch because I've got an SSD.)


This is what I've got on my laptop.
It is not networked. Some of these were disabled by default.

 

Recommendations
These are recommendations of Services that are safe to disable but are enabled by default.
If you have any doubts about disabling these then set them to Manual.

Networked Using HomeGroup  -  Safe To Disable
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Media Center Extender Service
Offline Files
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service

Not Networked  -  Safe To Disable
(see Network & Internet section of this guide for more info)
Computer Browser
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Function Discovery Resource Publication
HomeGroup Provider
Media Center Extender Service
Offline Files
Server
SSDP Discovery
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
UPnP Device Host
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service

Services You May Want Disable Over Security Concerns
These are set to Manual by default.

ActiveX Installer -  ActiveX is considered by many to be a security risk. Disabling this turns over the security settings to the individual application IE, Office, etc.
It is tied to UAC so is unneeded and probably unused if UAC is disabled.

Remote Registry - I've always recommended disabling this. Considered by many (including myself) to be a security risk.


The table below lists the services that start automatically (exported straight from the services window as a .csv file)
With the exception of the above 2 services they are the only services you need to concern yourself with.
If you do not see a particular service in your Window do not worry. Not all services are in all Windows 7 versions.

Configure Or Disable Services
Press the Windows + R keys and type services.msc .
Change the order of Services by clicking on the main tab in each column (Name, Description, Status, Startup Type, Log On As).
Clicking the Status tab will order the services by started or not.

Name	Status	Startup Type	Notes
Application Experience	Started	Manual
Application Information	Started	Manual
Background Intelligent Transfer Service	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)
Base Filtering Engine	Started	Automatic
CNG Key Isolation	Started	Manual
COM+ Event System	Started	Automatic
Computer Browser	Started	Manual	Not needed if not networked
Cryptographic Services	Started	Automatic
DCOM Server Process Launcher	Started	Automatic
Desktop Window Manager Session Manager	Started	Automatic
DHCP Client	Started	Automatic
Diagnostic Policy Service	Started	Automatic	enables problem detection, troubleshooting and resolution
Diagnostic Service Host	Started	Manual	used by Diagnostic Policy Service
Diagnostic System Host	Started	Manual	used by Diagnostic Policy Service
Distributed Link Tracking Client	Started	Automatic	Not needed at home.
DNS Client	Started	Automatic
Function Discovery Provider Host	Started	Manual	Not needed if not networked
Function Discovery Resource Publication	Started	Automatic	Not needed if not networked
Group Policy Client	Started	Automatic
HomeGroup Listener	Started	Manual	Will not start if you leave HomeGroup.
HomeGroup Provider	Started	Manual	Safe to disable if not using HomeGroup
IP Helper	Started	Automatic
Microsoft .NET Framework NGEN v2.0.50727_X86	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)
Multimedia Class Scheduler	Started	Automatic
Network Connections	Started	Manual
Network List Service	Started	Manual
Network Location Awareness	Started	Automatic
Network Store Interface Service	Started	Automatic
Offline Files	Started	Automatic	Safe to disable if not needed.
Peer Name Resolution Protocol	Started	Manual	Not needed if not networked
Peer Networking Grouping	Started	Manual	Not needed if not networked
Peer Networking Identity Manager	Started	Manual	Not needed if not networked
Plug and Play	Started	Automatic
Portable Device Enumerator Service	Started	Manual
Power	Started	Automatic
Print Spooler	Started	Automatic	This involves more than printing. Some apps use this for file/document conversion too.
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)	Started	Automatic
RPC Endpoint Mapper	Started	Automatic
Security Accounts Manager	Started	Automatic
Security Center	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)
Server	Started	Automatic	If not sharing files safe to disable. However The Computer Browser Service and HomeGroup Listener service depend on this.
Shell Hardware Detection	Started	Automatic
Software Protection	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)
SSDP Discovery	Started	Manual	Not needed if not networked
Superfetch	Started	Automatic
System Event Notification Service	Started	Automatic
Task Scheduler	Started	Automatic
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper	Started	Automatic	Needed for older Windows and Linux connectivity. Safe to disable if not connecting to these machines.
Themes	Started	Automatic
UPnP Device Host	Started	Manual	Not needed if not networked
User Profile Service	Started	Automatic
Windows Audio	Started	Automatic
Windows Audio Endpoint Builder	Started	Automatic
Windows Defender	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)	Disable this through Control Panel if not needed. If you install Microsoft Security Essentials it sets this to manual.
Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework	Started	Automatic
Windows Event Log	Started	Automatic
Windows Firewall	Started	Automatic
Windows Management Instrumentation	Started	Automatic
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)	Safe to disable if not sharing or using advanced sharing.
Windows Modules Installer	Started	Manual
Windows Search	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)	Uninstallable.
Windows Update	Started	Automatic (Delayed Start)
WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service	Started	Manual
Workstation	Started	Automatic

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Tweaking Windows 7 - Article Menu

1.   Index 2.   Desktop, Start Menu, Taskbar 3.   Customize The Start Menu and Taskbar 4 .  Customize The Notification Area & Explorer 5.   Drive & File System Tweaks 6.   Security Related Tweaks 7.   The Page File, SuperFetch, and ReadyBoost 8.   Services 9.   Internet & Network Tweaks 10. Power Options 11. Windows Backup And Recovery Options 12. Regedit Only Tweaks 13. Tweaking Apps (freeware) 14. Bad Tweaks 15. Clean, Defrag, & Optimize 16. Cool Tools