Start/Stop - Activate/Deactivate windows services

[Overnight]

1. How to identify the common Windows services that you can activate or deactivate :

- Start
- Run
- type "services.msc" and click OK

Then you obtain the list of services with description, status, start mode and session dependency.

Possible Status : ContinuePending, Paused, PausePending, Running, StartPending, Stopped, StopPending

Possible start mode : Manual, Automatic, Disabled

Example : if service "Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)" start mode is set to Disabled, you won't be able to use Windows firewall
Note : this service start mode is usually set to Automatic

2. How to identify the full list/history of available services even those invisible with Method 1 :

- Start
- Run
- type "regedit" and click OK

Find the following : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
Here you are !

You can see there are lots of new entries because many system services are not immediately available : standard users shoudn't handle these ones.

Example : "PCIIde" service is related to core system file pciide.sys and IDE controllers

You can change a service start mode directly from registry this way :
- select service
- select DWORD value "Start" in right pane
- right-click, select Modify
- set the value :

• 0 - Boot (be careful)
• 1 - System (be careful)
• 2 - Automatic
• 3 - Manual
• 4 - Disabled
  

You can find a list of windows services explained here :
http://www.ss64.com/nt/syntax-services.html

See you later !