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Auto Start and System Services
Earlier versions of Windows used the startup menu to specify programs which are loaded into memory on boot up. Win2k and Windows XP still employ Auto Start for some programs, but also handle most system-based app’s a bit more efficiently with System Services, which are started in the background before Windows boots up. XP’s improved multitasking allows these app’s to run without seriously affecting your audio performance most of the time. But while some of these background app’s are essential to Windows’ operation, many are not. These non-essential applications can be disabled by opening Control Panel and selecting “Administrative Tools”, then choose “Services”.
Now here’s where it gets a bit complicated. You’ll find a lengthy list of services, along with (sometimes vague) descriptions of what each does. It will also specify whether the particular service is running presently, as well as whether it loads automatically on boot up, manually (called up by either the user or a program), or is disabled. You can edit any service by double clicking on it. Some services can not be disabled for safety reasons – without these Windows will not run, or will suffer serious performance issues.
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It’s strongly recommended that you not completely disable any services without knowing what they do, and whether other programs or services depend on them. (Example: disabling the Portable Media Serial Number retrieval, described in its profile only as “retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer”, will disable the “dongles” used by programs like Cubase, Nuendo and Logic.)
It’s difficult to define a list of what’s safe to disable and what’s not, since many of the services are determined by the usage of your particular system. For example, if your computer is solely dedicated to audio, you can safely disable any printers, DNS clients, etc., but if you use it for other purposes like Internet browsing, you must leave DNS active.
Generally speaking, these are the services you do NOT want to disable:
As to other services, if you’re not sure what it does your safest bet is to set it to Manual rather than disabling it.
As with earlier versions of Windows, some of the more non-essential boot up programs are loaded into the Startup menu, rather than through System Services. These are usually (though not always) displayed in the system tray. To see which programs are set up for Auto Start, go to Windows’ Start menu, select Run and type in “msconfig” (without the quotes). Select the startup tab to view a list of app’s loaded for Auto Start. Note that while it’s also possible to disable auto load app’s by editing the registry, this is generally speaking far more risky, and only recommended for experienced users. An incorrect edit to your registry can cause your entire system to crash horribly. In any case, if you decide to do any edits to your registry, make sure you’ve backed it up first.
A note regarding virus programs: many virus scanning applications will, under W2K and XP, install as system services (i.e., load in the background) by default. It’s best to avoid using these in favor of those that offer the option of running as free-standing apps. When doing any audio work or installing audio applications, it’s best to make certain you don’t have any virus software running.
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