Zakho Technical Institute Department of Information Technology
Operating System
4. Windows Administrative Tools
Lecturer: Sipan M. Hameed
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Contents
Operating System ...... 1
4. Windows Administrative Tools ...... 1
4. Windows Administrative Tools ...... 4
Introduction - Administrative Tools in Windows 10 ...... 4
Component Services Administration ...... 6
4.2.1 Ways to Open Windows Services ...... 6
4.2.2 How to Open Windows Services Windows 10 – (8 Ways) ...... 6
Understanding and Managing Windows Services ...... 11
4.3.1 "Startup Type" for Service ...... 11
4.3.2 What Are Services Exactly? ...... 11
4.3.3 Looking at Services in Task Manager for Windows 8.x ...... 15
4.3.4 Using Process Explorer to Look at Services ...... 18
4.3.5 Should You Disable Services? ...... 18
4.3.6 Administering Services from the Command Prompt ...... 19
4.3.7 Final Thoughts ...... 21
How to start and stop services manually on Windows 10 ..... 21
4.4.1 How to manage services using Services console ...... 21
4.4.2 How to manage services using Task Manager ...... 26
4.4.3 How to manage services using PowerShell ...... 27
4.4.4 How to manage services using Command Prompt ...... 33
System Configuration utility ...... 39 2
4.5.1 introduction ...... 39
4.5.2 ways to start System Configuration in Windows ...... 40
4.5.3 things you can do with System Configuration, in Windows ...... 49
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4. Windows Administrative Tools Introduction - Administrative Tools in Windows 10
Administrative Tools is a folder in Control Panel that contains tools for system administrators and advanced users.
The tools in the folder might vary depending on which edition of Windows you are using.
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These tools were included in previous versions of Windows. The associated documentation for each tool should help you use these tools in Windows 10. The following list provides links to documentation for each tool. The tools are located within the folder C:\Windows\System32\ or its subfolders.
1. Component Services 11. Recovery Drive 2. Computer Management 12. Registry Editor 3. Defragment and Optimize 13. Resource Monitor Drives 14. Services 4. Disk Cleanup 15. System Configuration 5. Event Viewer 16. System Information 6. iSCSI Initiator 17. Task Scheduler 7. Local Security Policy 18. Windows Firewall with 8. ODBC Data Sources Advanced Security 9. Performance Monitor 19. Windows Memory Diagnostic 10. Print Management
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Component Services Administration
You can use the Component Services snap-in in Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to configure and administer Component Object Model (COM) components, COM+ applications, and the Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC). Component Services is designed both for system administrators and for application developers. For example, administrators can manage components, and developers can configure routine component and application behavior, such as participation in transactions and object pooling.
4.2.1 Ways to Open Windows Services
4.2.2 How to Open Windows Services Windows 10 – (8 Ways)
You can easily access Windows Services in Windows 10 with several ways.
4.2.2.1 Way 1. How to Open Windows Services from Run
Press Windows + R, type services.msc in Run dialog, and hit Enter key to open it.
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4.2.2.2 Way 2. Access Windows Services with Search
Click Start or the Cortana Search Box, type services, and click the best-matched result to open Windows Services application.
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4.2.2.3 Way 3. Find Windows Services App from Start Menu
Click Start menu, scroll down the list to find Windows Administrative Tools to expand it. Click Services to open it.
4.2.2.4 Way 4. How to Open Services.msc in Control Panel Open Control Panel in Windows 10, click System and Security in Control Panel window, and click Administrative Tools. Find Services shortcut in the list and double-click it to open it.
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4.2.2.5 Way 5. How to Open Services.msc from Command Prompt
Press Windows + R, type cmd, and hit Enter to open Command Prompt in Windows 10. Then type the Windows Services command line services.msc and hit Enter to open it.
4.2.2.6 Way 6. Start Services in Windows 10 with PowerShell
Press Windows + X and choose Windows PowerShell to open PowerShell. Type Windows Services command services.msc in PowerShell window, and hit Enter to open Windows Services.
4.2.2.7 Way 7. Enable Windows Services from Computer Management
Open Computer Management in Windows 10. Click Services and Applications from the left pane to expand it. Click Services to open it.
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4.2.2.8 Way 8. Create a Shortcut for Windows Services To quickly access Windows Services application, you can create a desktop shortcut for Windows Services app. Right-click the black space of computer desktop screen, and click New -> Shortcut. In Create Shortcut window, you can input services.msc, and click Next. Type a name for the shortcut and click Finish to create a shortcut for Windows Services. Then when you want to open Windows Services, you can double-click its desktop shortcut icon to quickly access it.
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Understanding and Managing Windows Services
A service is an application type that runs in the system background without a user interface and is similar to a UNIX daemon process. Services provide core operating system features, such as Web serving, event logging, file serving, printing, cryptography, and error reporting.
4.3.1 "Startup Type" for Service
• Automatic - With a service in this state, it will start at boot time. Some services, when no longer required, will also automatically stop when not needed. If you find you do not need a service, place it into Manual or Disabled. • Automatic (Delayed Start) - With a service in this state, it will start just after boot time. Some services, when no longer required, will also automatically stop when not needed. If you find you do not need a service, place it into Manual or Disabled. • Automatic (Delayed Start, Trigger Start) - With a service in this state, it will start just after boot when specifically called. • Manual (Trigger Start) - This is a version of Manual mode that allows Windows to start a service when specifically called and Microsoft’s answer to “too many services running all the time”. • Manual - Manual mode allows Windows to start a service when needed. However, very few services will start up when required in Manual mode. If you find you need a service, place it into Automatic. • Disabled - This setting will stop a service from starting, even if needed. Errors in the Event Viewer will show up complaining of that fact. Some services, while Disabled, will constantly complain. However, this situation is taken care of if placed in Manual. The service descriptions identifies those that should be in Manual vice Disabled.
4.3.2 What Are Services Exactly?
Windows services are a special type of application that is configured to launch and run in the background, in some cases before the user has even logged in. They can be configured to run as the local system account. Services are designed to run continuously in the background and perform system tasks, like backing up your computer or running a server process that listens on a network port.
Back in the Windows XP days, services could be configured to run interactively and run alongside the rest of your applications, but since Vista, all services are forced to run in a special window session that can’t interact with your local desktop. So a service that tries to open a dialog box or show you a message won’t be allowed to do so.
Unlike regular applications, which can be simply launched and run under your user account, a service must be installed and registered with Windows, which requires an administrator account, and usually a User Account Control prompt before that happens. So if you don’t allow an application to run as administrator, it cannot just create a service to run in the background.
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4.3.2.1 The Services Panel
Windows has always used the Services panel as a way to manage the services that are running on your computer. You can easily get there at any point by simply hitting WIN + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog, and typing in services.msc.
The Services panel is fairly simple: there are a list of services, a status column to show whether it is running or not, and more information like name, description, and the startup type of the service. You’ll notice that not every service is running all the time.
While you can select a service and either right-click it or click the toolbar buttons to start, stop, or restart it, you can also double-click to open up the properties view and get more information.
Disabling the service is as simple as changing the Startup type drop-down to disabled and choosing Apply, although you can also change it to Manual or automatic with a delayed start. From this dialog you can see the full path to the executable as well, which can help in many cases when you want to see what exactly the service is running.
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The Log On tab allows you to choose whether the service is logged on as the local system account or under another account. This is mostly useful in a server environment where you might want to run a service account from the domain that has access to resources on other servers.
You might notice the option for “Allow service to interact with desktop”, which we mentioned earlier – by default, services are not allowed to access your desktop unless this box is checked, and this checkbox is really only there for legacy support.
But just checking that box doesn’t immediately give them access – you would also need to make sure that the NoInteractiveServices value in the registry is set to 0, because when it is set to 1, that checkbox is ignored and services can’t interact with the desktop at all. Note: in Windows 8, the value is set to 1, and interactive services are prohibited.
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Services aren’t supposed to be interactive because all windows exist in the same user terminal with access to common resources like the clipboard, and if they are running along with other processes there could be an issue where a malicious application running in a normal user process could attempt to gain more access through a service, and considering that services run as the local system account, that probably isn’t a good thing.
The Recovery tab allows you to choose options for what happens when the service fails. You can choose to automatically restart the service, which is generally the default option, or you can run a program or restart the computer.
The Run a program option is probably the most useful, since you could set Windows to automatically send out an email if the service fails more than once – a helpful option in a server environment. It’s definitely much less helpful on a regular desktop.
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The dependencies tab shows which services depend on a particular service, and which services depend on the one you are looking at. If you are planning on disabling a service, you should probably consult this section first to make sure nothing else requires that service.
4.3.3 Looking at Services in Task Manager for Windows 8.x
The regular services panel hasn’t changed much in years, but thankfully there is a much better way to look at which services are running, and which of those services are using a lot of resources.
Task manager in Windows 8 has a new Services tab, which allows you to stop and start services, but also comes with a “Search online” option, and even more useful, the “Go to details” option.
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Once you’ve selected Go to details from the menu, you’ll be switched over to the Details tab, and the process that is responsible for that service will be highlighted.
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As you can see, the process responsible for the Distributed Link Tracking is taking up 28,712 K of memory, which seems like a lot, until you realize that the particular svchost.exe process is actually responsible for a whole bunch of services.
Right-click it again, and then select Go to Services, and you’ll see what we’re talking about. Now many services are selected in the Services window, and you’ll notice they are all in the LocalSystemNetworkRestricted group, and they are all currently running.
So that 28 MB of memory is actually being used for a whole set of services, which makes it more understandable why it is using all that memory.
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4.3.4 Using Process Explorer to Look at Services
If you want a much clearer view of what services are running under each process, your best bet is to pull out Process Explorer, find the service in the list, double-click it, and then go to the Services tab. This method works on any version of Windows.
Hint: in Process Explorer all the services should be in the tree underneath services.exe.
4.3.5 Should You Disable Services?
Unfortunately, many crapware applications install Windows Services during their installation process, and use them to keep their nonsense running in the background and re-launching repeatedly. Other applications implement a Windows Service to provide functionality that you might not need. These are the services that you should disable.
Our general rule is that Microsoft’s built-in Windows services should be left alone – Windows 8 or even Windows 7 has done a good job of cutting down the services to just really important functionality, and you won’t gain much in the way of resources by disabling those services.
What you should definitely do, however, is look for any services that are not part of Windows, and try to deal with them instead. If you don’t have any idea what the service is, or it is for an application that you don’t want running all the time, you should do some research and decide whether to disable it.
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4.3.5.1 Don’t Disable, Set to Manual
One of the rules that we like to follow is to avoid disabling services, since that can cause problems and errors. Instead, just try setting the service to Manual start.
If you find that a particular service needs to be running, but maybe doesn’t need to be running immediately, you can also change it to Automatic (Delayed Start) instead, which will delay starting until the system calms down after boot.
4.3.6 Administering Services from the Command Prompt
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Some operations just can’t be done through the graphical user interface. If you want to delete a service, for example, you can only do that through the command line.
Note: please do NOT delete services.
You can query the status of a service using the sc command, like this: sc qc eventlog
There are many other commands and operations that you can perform, including deleting a service, which we would only recommend if you have malware on your system that is running as a service. sc delete
Do not delete services.
You can also do other things, like stopping and restarting services from the command prompt using the sc utility. For example, to stop the distributed link tracking client, use this command: sc stop TrkWks
To start it again, use sc start
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4.3.7 Final Thoughts
How to start and stop services manually on Windows 10
On Windows 10, services are programs that run in the background without a user interface and enable system features (such as printing, networking, remote access, File Explorer, Windows Search, updates, etc.) and apps to operate as intended. Although the system does a pretty good job managing background services, sometimes, you may need to control them manually when a feature or app isn't working correctly, or an app requires you to manage its services manually. Whatever the case it might be, Windows 10 includes at least four methods to stop, start, disable, or enable services using the Services console, Task Manager, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to manage system and apps services on your computer. • How to manage services using Services console • How to manage services using Task Manager • How to manage services using PowerShell • How to manage services using Command Prompt
4.4.1 How to manage services using Services console
Using the Services consoles is perhaps the simplest method to stop, start, disable, or enable one or multiple services on Windows 10.
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4.4.1.1 Stop service
To stop a running service using Services, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Services and click the top result to open the console. 3. Double-click the service that you intend to stop. 4. Click the Stop button.
Quick tip: You can also manage the state by right-clicking the service and selecting the option. Or you can select the service and then use the controls at the top to start, stop, pause, or restart.
5. Click the Apply button. 6. Click the OK button.
Once you complete the steps, the service will stop running on the device.
If you're unable to stop a system service, consider that some services are required for the operation of Windows 10, and they can't be stopped.
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Once you complete the steps, the service will stop running on the device.
If you're unable to stop a system service, consider that some services are required for the operation of Windows 10, and they can't be stopped.
4.4.1.2 Start service
To start a service on Windows 10, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Services and click the top result to open the console. 3. Double-click the service that you intend to stop. 4. Click the Start button.
Source: Windows Central
5. Click the Apply button. 6. Click the OK button. 23
After you complete the steps, the service you specified will start for the current session.
4.4.1.3 Disable service
To set a service a disabled, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Services and click the top result to open the console. 3. Double-click the service that you intend to stop. 4. Click the Stop button. 5. Use the "Start type" drop-down menu and select the Disabled option.
6. Click the Apply button. 7. Click the OK button.
Once you complete the steps, the service will no longer start automatically after restarting your device.
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4.4.1.4 Enable service
To enable a specific service, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Services and click the top result to open the console. 3. Double-click the service that you intend to stop. 4. Click the Start button. 5. Use the "Start type" drop-down menu and select the Automatic option.
These are the Startup types on Windows 10:
o Automatic – service starts at boot. o Automatic (Delayed Start) – service start after boot. o Manual – starts service manually as needed. o Disabled – stops service from running.
6. Click the Apply button. 7. Click the OK button.
After you complete the steps, the Windows 10 or app service will enable, but if it was in a stopped state, you'd need to start it manually or restart the device for the service to run.
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4.4.2 How to manage services using Task Manager
Task Manager also includes a section to quickly manage services for Windows 10 and apps.
To stop, start, or restart a service using Task Manager, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Task Manager and click the top result to open the app.
Quick tip: Windows 10 includes many other ways to open the experience, including right- clicking the taskbar and selecting the Task Manager option and using the Ctrl + Shift + ESC keyboard shortcut.
3. Click the Services tab. 4. Right-click the service name, and select one of the options: o Stop. o Start. o Restart.
Quick note: Task Manager only displays the service name, not the display name. For example, if you're using this method, you'll the "Print Spooler" defined as "Spooler."
Once you complete the steps, the service will respond to the option you selected.
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4.4.3 How to manage services using PowerShell
You can also use PowerShell commands to manage background services for Windows 10 and apps.
4.4.3.1 Stop service
To stop a specific service with PowerShell, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. (Optional) Type the following command to view a list of all the services and press Enter:
Get-Service
4. Type the following command to stop a service and press Enter:
Stop-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME"
For example, this command stops the printer spooler service on Windows 10:
Stop-Service -Name "spooler"
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In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name of the service that you intend to stop. If you want to use the display name, replace -Name for -DisplayName and then specify the display name of the service.
Alternatively, you can also use this variant of the command to stop the service:
Set-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME" -Status stopped
In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name of the service that you intend to stop. If you want to use the display name, replace -Name for -DisplayName and then specify the display name of the service. You only need the quotation marks if there's a space within the name.
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Quick tip: If you're getting a dependency error, you can append the -force option in either of the commands to stop the service. For example, Stop-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME" -Force.
After you complete the steps, the PowerShell command will stop the service on your device.
4.4.3.2 Start service
To start a Windows 10 or app service with PowerShell, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. Type the following command to start a service and press Enter:
Start-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME"
For example, this command starts the printer spooler service on Windows 10:
Start-Service -Name "spooler"
In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name of the service. Using the display name is supported, replacing -Name for -DisplayName and then specify the display name of the service.
Alternatively, you can also use this variant of the command to start a service:
Set-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME" -Status running
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In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name of the service. If you want to use the display name, replace -Name for -DisplayName and then specify the display name of the service.
Once you complete the steps, the service will start on your computer.
4.4.3.3 Disable service
To disable a service using a PowerShell command, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. Type the following command to disable a service and press Enter:
Set-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME" -Status stopped -StartupType disabled
In the command, update "SERVICE-NAME" for the name of the service. If you want to use the display name of the service, then replace -Name for -DisplayName and specify the service name. If you want to disable the service without stopping it immediately, you can remove the -Status stopped portion of the command.
For example, this command disables the printer spooler service on Windows 10:
Set-Service -Name "spooler" -Status stopped -StartupType disabled
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After you complete the steps, the PowerShell command will disable the specified service.
4.4.3.4 Enable service
To enable a specific background service with PowerShell, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. Type the following command to enable a service and press Enter:
Set-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME" -Status running -StartupType automatic
For example, this command enables the printer spooler service using PowerShell:
Set-Service -Name "spooler" -Status running -StartupType automatic
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Quick note: You may able to use the display -DisplayName option, but the command may also prompt you to supply the name of the service, adding an extra step to the process. If you want to enable the service without starting it immediately, you can remove the - Status running portion of the command.
Once you complete the steps, PowerShell will enable the service specified with the command.
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4.4.4How to manage services using Command Prompt
If you're comfortable using the command line, Command Prompt offers the "net" command (older) to stop or start, or the "sc" command (newer) to stop, start, disable, or enable services on Windows 10.
4.4.4.1 Stop service
To stop a Windows 10 or app service with Command Prompt, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. (Optional) Type the following command to view a list of all the services and press Enter:
sc queryex state=all type=service
Source: Windows Central
4. Type the following command to stop a service and press Enter:
net stop "SERVICE-NAME"
In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name or display name of the service. You only need the quotation marks if there's a space within the name.
For example, this command stops the printer spooler using the service name:
net stop "spooler"
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Source: Windows Central
Alternatively, you can also use the more advanced "sc" command:
sc stop "SERVICE-NAME"
For example, this command stops the printer spooler using the service name:
sc stop "spooler"
Source: Windows Central
After you complete the steps, the command will stop the specified service on Windows 10.
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4.4.4.2 Start service
To start a service with the command line, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. Type the following command to start a service and press Enter:
net start "SERVICE-NAME"
In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name or display name of the service. You only need the quotation marks if there's a space within the name.
For example, this command starts the printer spooler using the service name:
net start "spooler"
Source: Windows Central
Alternatively, you can also use the "sc" command:
sc start "SERVICE-NAME"
For example, this command starts the printer spooler using the service name:
sc start "spooler"
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Source: Windows Central
Once you complete the steps, the command will execute and start the service you specified.
4.4.4.3 Disable service
To disable a service with Command Prompt, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. Type the following command to disable a service and press Enter:
sc config "SERVICE-NAME" start=disabled
In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name of the service that you want to disable.
For example, this command disables printer spooler using the service name:
sc config "spooler" start=disabled
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Source: Windows Central
4. (Optional) Type the following command to stop the service and press Enter:
sc stop "SERVICE-NAME"
Quick note: When you disable a service, it doesn't stop the current state of the service. You can either restart your computer or stop the service using the above command.
After you complete the steps, the sc command will run disabling the Windows 10 or app service you specified.
4.4.4.4 Enable service
To enable a service with a command, use these steps:
1. Open Start. 2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. 3. Type the following command to enable a service and press Enter:
sc config "SERVICE-NAME" start=auto
In the command, replace "SERVICE-NAME" for the name of the service that you want to enable.
For example, this command enables the printer spooler automatically using the service name:
sc config "spooler" start=auto
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Source: Windows Central
These are alternative commands to enable a particular service:
o Manual: sc config "SERVICE-NAME" start=demand o Automatic Delayed: sc config "SERVICE-NAME" start=delayed-auto 4. (Optional) Type the following command to start the service and press Enter:
sc start "SERVICE-NAME"
Once you complete the steps, the service will enable and start automatically on reboot according to the command you used.
You can only use the "net" command to start or stop services. The "sc" command allows you to perform more tasks, including start, stop, enable, or disable services, among other options. If you're choosing to manage services with command lines, then, in either case, it's best to use the service name instead of the display name.
Also, when using any of the methods outlined above, consider that making modifications to the default settings can alter the operation of one or more features that depend on that service negatively affecting the experience. Furthermore, if you restart a service, you might be required to start its dependencies manually as well to make the app or feature operational again.
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System Configuration utility
4.5.1 introduction
The System Configuration utility finds and isolates issues. However, it is not a startup management program.
You can easily reset or change the configuration settings in Windows 10 to include preferences for the following settings:
• Startup options • Services that are set to start during the startup process • Programs that are set to load during the startup process
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4.5.2 ways to start System Configuration in Windows
4.5.2.1 Open the System Configuration tool by using search (all Windows versions) As with most Windows tools, you can start this utility in several ways. In Windows 10, click or tap inside the search box on the taskbar, start typing “system configuration” or “msconfig” and then click or tap the System Configuration search result.
System Configuration, msconfig
In Windows 7, search for “system configuration” or “msconfig” in the Start Menu and then click on its shortcut.
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System Configuration, msconfig
In Windows 8.1, switch to the Start Screen and type “msconfig”. When the search results are shown, click or tap on msconfig. Note that, in Windows 8.1, searching for “system configuration” yields no results.
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System Configuration, msconfig 4.5.2.2 2. Open the System Configuration tool by using the Start Menu (Windows 10 only)
Unlike Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, Windows 10 also includes a shortcut for System Configuration in the Start Menu. Open the Start Menu and scroll down to the Windows Administrative Tools. In this folder, click or tap the System Configuration shortcut.
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System Configuration, msconfig 4.5.2.3 3. Open the System Configuration tool by using the Run window (all Windows versions) The Run window offers one of the fastest ways to open the System Configuration tool. Simultaneously press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to launch it, type “msconfig”, and then press Enter or click/tap on OK. The System Configuration tool should open immediately.
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System Configuration, msconfig 4.5.2.4 4. Open the System Configuration tool by creating a shortcut for it, anywhere you want (all Windows versions)
Regardless of the Windows version you use, you can create a shortcut to the System Configuration tool and then use it. The shortcut can be placed anywhere you want, like on your desktop or in a shortcuts folder, for example. When creating the shortcut, use the term msconfig as the target location.
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System Configuration, msconfig
If you need help creating shortcuts, this tutorial explains the whole process: How to create shortcuts for apps, files, folders and web pages in Windows.
4.5.2.5 5. Open the System Configuration tool by using the Command Prompt or PowerShell (all Windows versions)
The System Configuration tool can also be started from the Command Prompt or PowerShell. All you have to do is launch any of them, type msconfig, and then press Enter on your keyboard.
System Configuration, msconfig 4.5.2.6 6. Open the System Configuration tool by using the Task Manager (all Windows versions)
You can also open the System Configuration tool using the Task Manager. Simultaneously press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to launch the Task Manager. If you are using a Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 device, and the Task Manager opens up in compact mode, click or tap on “More details.” Then, open the File menu, click or tap on “Run new task,” and type the command msconfig in the “Create new task” window. Finally, press Enter on your keyboard or click or tap OK.
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System Configuration, msconfig 4.5.2.7 7. Open the System Configuration tool by using the shortcut from our collection (all Windows versions) We assembled an extensive collection of shortcuts for Windows. Download it, extract it and you can find the System Configuration shortcut in the Administration Tools subfolder for your Windows version.
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System Configuration, msconfig 4.5.2.8 8. Open the System Configuration tool by using its executable file (all Windows versions) In all Windows versions, the System Configuration tool is actually an executable file called msconfig.exe, which is found in the “C:WindowsSystem32” folder. If you want, you can open the tool by double-clicking or double-tapping on this executable file.
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System Configuration, msconfig
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4.5.3 things you can do with System Configuration, in Windows
Do you know how excellent the System Configuration (msconfig.exe) tool from Windows is? Although it is a small and somewhat hidden tool, it allows you to change quite a few things about the way Windows works. Among other things, the System Configuration tool lets you configure how Windows starts, change the boot procedure, select startup services, and programs, and also start a series of useful administrative programs. If you want to know more about the things you can do with System Configuration. 4.5.3.1 1. Choose what drivers and services are loaded at Windows startup
The System Configuration tool, also known as msconfig.exe, is a window with settings and shortcuts. They are all split into several tabs, and each tab gives you access to different things. The first tab in the System Configuration window is called General, and it is the place where you can configure how Windows starts.
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
In the “Startup selection” list from the General tab, you can choose to make Windows do a:
• “Normal startup”: meaning that Windows starts as is, with ALL the installed startup items, drivers, and services. This mode should be selected by default on most Windows 49
devices, except when you have already made some changes to what drivers, services or apps are loaded at boot time. • “Diagnostic startup”: this mode is similar to booting into Safe Mode. Safe Mode runs only Windows services and drivers. Besides them, the Diagnostic startup might also run, on top of them, networking services or important services from third-party applications such as your antivirus, firewall or security suite. This mode is useful if you want to rule out Windows files and services as being the source of system instability problems. Note that if you select the “Diagnostic startup” and then click or tap Apply, the “Selective startup” is the one shown as selected. However, there is nothing to worry about, as this is quite normal. It happens because the “Diagnostic startup” is a “Selective startup” with a predefined set of settings. • “Selective startup”: makes Windows start only with its essential services and drivers. Furthermore, it also allows you to select other services and startup items that you want to run, from the Services and Startup tabs.
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
It is also important to note that if you switch between startup modes, do some troubleshooting and then go back to using the “Normal startup” again, all the services and startup items are going to be enabled at startup.
If what you want is to stop some apps, drivers or services from starting automatically with Windows, you need to go through the list of services and startup items and edit them again. You can see how to do that, later in this guide. For now though, note that once you make changes, the “Selective startup” is going to be checked as the active startup selection.
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4.5.3.2 2. See what operating systems are installed on your PC and choose which one is the default
The System Configuration tool also offers a graphical way of choosing which of the operating systems installed on your PC loads first. In the System Configuration tool, switch to the Boot tab, and you can view all the operating systems installed on your computer and select the default one if you have a multi-boot setup. To select a new default operating system, click or tap on it and then on “Set as default.”
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
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4.5.3.3 3. Choose how long the PC waits for you to select the operating system to be booted
If you have a multi-boot setup, another important setting is the Timeout setting. The number of seconds you set represents how long your PC waits for you to select one of the available operating systems when booting. If no choice is made during the set time, the default operating system starts.
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
By default, the Timeout is set to 30 seconds. If you have a multi-boot setup, you might want to set it to a smaller value. We, for instance, prefer to set the Timeout to only 10 seconds. This way, if we do not select another operating system, the total boot timing of the default one is not affected that much.
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4.5.3.4 4. Change some advanced settings about how Windows boots, like how many processor cores or how much RAM it can use
For the Windows operating system installed on your computer, the System Configuration tool also lets you configure complicated details about the way it boots.
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
For each of the existing operating systems, if you click or tap on the “Advanced options” button, you can set things such as the number of processors (cores) allocated to the operating system at boot, or the maximum amount of RAM available to it.
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System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
If you set a maximum number of processor cores and RAM, Windows continues to correctly identify the real number of cores that the processor has and the amount of physical RAM. However, it can only use the limited number of processor cores and the maximum memory that you have set.
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4.5.3.5 5. Make Windows boot into Safe Mode
For each Windows operating system installed on your PC, the System Configuration tool also lets you select if you want to make it boot into Safe Mode. To do that, in the Boot tab, you must check the option called “Safe boot” and select one of its available options:
• Minimal – the normal safe boot, with a user interface and no networking services enabled. • Alternate shell – opens the Command Prompt in Safe Mode. The networking services and the graphical user interface are disabled. • Active Directory repair – a normal safe boot which runs, additionally, the Active Directory services and features. • Network – the normal safe boot with networking services enabled.
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
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4.5.3.6 6. Disable the Windows boot loading screen, log the startup process, use standard video drivers and others
Also in its Boot tab, the System Configuration tool gives you a set of advanced options which can be applied to both standard and Safe Mode boot procedures:
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
• “No GUI boot” – during boot, you are not shown the usual loading screen, only a black screen with no information. • “Boot log” – during boot Windows writes a complete log with information about the startup process. Usually, it can be found at this location: “C:WindowsNtbtlog.txt.” • “Base video” – this option is handy if you just installed lousy video drivers. It makes a standard Windows startup, with the difference that it loads only the standard video drivers that come with Windows, instead of the ones specific to your video card. • “OS boot information” – this option should be used together with “No GUI Boot.” The usual Windows loading screen will get replaced with a black screen, displaying complete information about the drivers that are loaded during the startup process. If your Windows crashes during boot, this visualization mode can be useful to identify the driver that causes the crash.
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4.5.3.7 7. Select what services are started with Windows
The Services tab from the System Configuration tool shows a list of all the services that start when Windows starts. For each service, you see its name, the manufacturer, the current status and the date when it was disabled if it was disabled.
You can check the services you want to run at startup and uncheck the ones you do not. If you desire to see only third-party services, installed by your applications, check the box that says “Hide all Microsoft services.”
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
The selections you make in this tab are applied only to your current startup selection, from the General tab. If you were using a “Normal startup,” and then you disabled some services, the startup selection gets changed automatically to “Selective startup.”
If you need help in deciding which services to stop from running at startup, read this guide: Which Windows services are safe to disable and when?.
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4.5.3.8 8. Manage the startup programs (only in Windows 7)
If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 8.1, the Startup tab gives you just a link to “Open Task Manager.” This is because the management of your computer’s startup apps is done using the Task Manager.
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
However, if you are using Windows 7, the Startup tab shows a list of all the programs and files that start when Windows starts. For each item, you see its name, the manufacturer, the command used to start it, which is usually the path towards the program and additional parameters if used, and the registry startup location where it is stored and the date when it was disabled if it was disabled.
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System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
One thing to remember about the registry location is that, if you see one starting with HKLM, it means that the startup item is “global” – applied to all user accounts defined on the active operating system. Disabling them from one user account means that they get disabled for all user accounts.
The locations starting with HKCU are for startup items active only for the current user account. They might not be starting up for other user accounts. Also, they need to be disabled individually, for each user account, if you want to prevent them from starting altogether.
Just like the Services tab, the selections you make are applied to your current startup selection, from the General tab.
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4.5.3.9 9. Launch administrative programs and panels
Few people know about the Tools tab in System Configuration and what it does. If you click on it, you get a list of Windows administrative tools such as System Information, the Registry Editor, Event Viewer, Performance Monitor and so on.
For each tool, System Configuration shows its name and description. If you click or tap on it, you can see the command used to start it, in the Selected command field. To run any of the available tools, select the one you want and click or tap Launch.
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As you can see, the Tools tab from System Configuration is handy as it lists administrative tools generally used during troubleshooting system stability or performance problems.
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4.5.3.10 Save the changes you have made in System Configuration
After you are done making all the changes you wanted, do not forget to press Apply or OK, so that they are applied. Also, if you are using the tool for the first time, when you close it, you might be informed that you need to restart your PC for the new settings to take effect.
System Configuration, msconfig, Windows
If you do not want to see this message again, check the box that says “Don’t show this message again” and choose the restart option you prefer.
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