svchost???

M

mitch529

Guest
When I open my task manager I have 4 of these svchost.exe running.

one of them is at 12,764k and the rest are between 2-3... What is this file running and is it necessary or can it be disabled?

I can stop it but when I restart my computer it is right back again. any help anyone?? thx
 
it is a normal windows file, nothing to be concerned about, as far as getting rid of it, I don't think u can or should.
 
svchost ("service host") is a "wrapper" executable that provides a home for a number of "services" in XP (and 2K).

Services are sort of like daemons in Unix-like systems, or TSRs in DOS (a much cruder mechanism). They're basically Win32 apps that the system needs running in background to support some of the things you need to do in the foreground. The "shared service process" mechanism allows the system to NOT have to have one process for each service.

Go to a command prompt and type

tasklist /svc

and you'll get a list of the services running in each "wrapper". (You'll also find some services living in the "services" process.) These service names btw are the "internal" names, the names of the "servicename keys" under HKLM\System\CCS\Services in the registry. They are usually obviously related to, but not quite the same as, the more descriptive service names you'll find in the Services applet. If you double-click on the descriptive name in the Services applet the resulting screen will show you the internal name; to go in the other direction, look in the registry.

There are several different "tweak guides" out there that will tell you to shut down unnecessary services "for increased performance"; I haven't been able to measure any such benefit, and it's very easy to hose your system by doing too much of this... but that's another topic. It IS true that shutting down unneeded services can reduce your startup time, and is also good for security in some cases.

Back to the svchost processes...

tasklist /v

will show you the reason for having several of them: They're running under different security IDs.

Don't worry about the memory used (I'm assuming you're looking at "mem usage" in the Processes tab in task manager). First, that memory is not all exclusive to these processes, and second, if a) one of those processes is idle and b) some other process needs more memory than is 'available', the OS will reclaim some memory automatically from idle processes. Conversely, if it isn't idle, something you are doing is clearly using at least one of the services in the process, so you don't want the memory reclaimed...

Really, the numbers you're reporting are usually evidence of nothing worse than a system with plenty of RAM and not much to do -- so the system hands out RAM to processes that need it, and lets them keep it, even if they're not doing much. If the situation changes, XP will clamp down on the idle processes.
 
hey jeh...glad your poping in once in a while...now a quick question on a service, since you brought that up...(I'm glad you realize the benefit of turning off some unneeded for a faster boot)...anyway, I don't share files of any sort, now turning off the workstation service is a huge time saver...am I sacrificing anything but file sharing here?
 
Originally posted by dealer
I don't share files of any sort, now turning off the workstation service is a huge time saver...am I sacrificing anything but file sharing here?
Well, if your system can still do everything you need it to do, then no. :D

btw, "LanManWorkstation" is the service that allows your machine to access shared files; "LanManServer" is the one that allows it to provide shared files.
 
Correct - Workstation intiates and maintains the protocols necessary for your system to act as a CLIENT in a client/server environment.
 
THX!

Hey everyone thx for your help.

Jeh I appreciate your time in explaining your information, a very big help.
 
Originally posted by jeh

Well, if your system can still do everything you need it to do, then no. :D

I know that part, that's why I'm happy with it...on the other hand, sometimes, as you put it, you can get a gain one place, and trade it off somewhere else that you don't realize... so I'm wondering if there was a tradeoff that wasn't apparent:rolleyes:
 
Well, the "gain" in this case is in bootup time, and the "loss" would be sometime in the future, if you ever need that function! But it's trivial to turn it back on.
 
Originally posted by jeh



btw, "LanManWorkstation" is the service that allows your machine to access shared files; "LanManServer" is the one that allows it to provide shared files.

this info will come in VERY handy when I need to access shared files, but don't want to provide access to my files...way to go, jeh;)
 
oh baby...if this works, that's going to be in my next post on the my favorite tweaks thread, unless you want to put it there, jeh
 
Originally posted by dealer
this info will come in VERY handy when I need to access shared files, but don't want to provide access to my files...way to go, jeh;)
Well, thanks, but really, it isn't like it's a secret... anyway, all you need to do for the latter is to NOT create any shares, and have a non-obvious password on your login. I believe the "administrative share" is there by default on every partition (share name C$ for C:, etc.) but someone has to know your login and password to access it, and you can of course delete it if you want to.
 
how do you desable this "workstation" service then, iam not on a lan, and woudl like faster boot ups if possable.
thanks
 
Click "Start", click "Run", and type:-
Services.msc
and click "OK"
Then scroll down to the bottom and double-click the word Workstation
and in Startup type make it Disabled
Click "Apply" and "OK"
 
how do you disable this "workstation" service then, iam not on a lan, and would like faster boot ups if passable.
thanks.

of all the tweaks...dissableing this service is one of my top 5...that's why I was concerned about a trade off that I might not have seen...

here's what you'll get from turning this service off...off, or manual should eliminate most of that hiccup you See on boot...you know, when the hourglass tells you windows is ready, but it isn't...and then the hourglass comes back and says "ooops...fooled you, try it now"...turning this service off should solve that problem
 
Originally posted by jeh

Well, thanks, but really, it isn't like it's a secret... anyway, all you need to do for the latter is to NOT create any shares, and have a non-obvious password on your login.

ahaa...I think I git you on this, jeh...I have user accounts, and I do want to share files with them, but there are times i don't want to give access to my personal files when I'm on a network...now I do get access to some shared files because of my business, but when someone needs one of my files, I send it, so access to my files is not necessary
 
What would I lose if I disable the workstation service?
 
well, if you share your files over a network, you need this service...I personally use lan lines to access the internet in any number of locations, and have never had to turn the workstation on...but as I said, I don't share my files
 

Members online

No members online now.

Latest profile posts

Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

Forum statistics

Threads
62,015
Messages
673,494
Members
5,621
Latest member
naeemsafi
Back