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Running Windows With No Services

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stripping-the-fat dept.

mattOzan writes "So how many of the almost 4 dozen default-enabled services does Windows XP really need in order to preserve basic functioning, like web surfing and running applications? Zero, as it turns out. Mark Russinovich at Sysinternals demonstrates that if certain steps are followed, Windows XP will still run with only two active processes: System and Csrss.exe. No Smss.exe, Winlogon.exe, Services.exe, Lsass.exe... And, contrary to the expectations of various lead engineers at Microsoft, even Internet Explorer will still work under such conditions."

3 of 619 comments (clear)

  1. No Thanks by fembots · · Score: 5, Informative
    From the friendly article:

    The bottom line is that this stripped-down Windows configuration is not practical, but makes a cool demonstration of just how little of Windows is required for basic functionality.

    • There will be a delay before Explorer redraws the desktop
    • won't be able to logoff
    • Networking is also crippled
    I don't think this stripped-down Windows provides even the most basic functionality expected by many users nowadays.

    It's like patients are treated as long as their hearts are beating, even though everything else has shut down.

    --
    Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
    1. Re:No Thanks by toddbu · · Score: 5, Informative
      I've got my own list of stuff that I turn off right after a fresh install. Everything runs just great. Remember, this is a list of stuff to turn OFF:

      Alerter
      Automatic Updates
      COM+ Event System
      Distributed Link Tracking Client
      Error Reporting Service
      Help and Support
      IIS Admin
      Infrared monitor
      IPSEC Services
      Logical Disk Manager
      Machine Debug Manager
      Messenger
      Network Location Awareness (NLA)
      Remote Registry
      Simple Mail Transport Protocol
      System Event Notification
      System Restore Service
      Task Scheduler
      Themes
      Upload Manager
      WebClient
      World Wide Web Publishing

      Because Windows services support dependencies, some stuff will turn itself back on when needed. But at least you don't take the hit at boot time.

      --
      If you don't want crime to pay, let the government run it.
  2. For services you actually should disable... by rdwald · · Score: 5, Informative

    Take a look at Black Viper's list of WinXP SP2 services.