Lesson Twentyone - How to Stop Unnecessary Services

Do your games run just a little too slow? Maybe you could use just a touch of extra speed. What you need to do is stop some of the many background programs that aren't required for games.

Then, when you are done playing, re-start these programs to allow Windows to run normally. There are many tiny programs (called "services") that hide in the shadows, eating away resources, and making your games run sluggishly.

Unfortunately, these programs are needed for Windows to run, so we can't eliminate them permanently. But there is no reason to not just stop them temporarily. What's the easiest way to do this?

The simplest way is to make a couple of batch files (a mini-program that runs a series of DOS commands), one for stopping the services, and another for re-starting them when you're finished with the game.

To begin, open up a Notepad window by clicking the Start menu and selecting the "Run..." command. Then, type in "notepad" (without the quotes) and press enter.

In the blank Notepad window, copy and paste in the following fourteen lines of commands:

Save As

Step 4:

You now have a file on your desktop called "Stop Services" that will stop all the unnecessary services when ran.

Next, we need to make a batch file that will re-start the services.

To do this, repeat steps 1-3 using the fourteen command lines below and the file name "Start Services.bat".

NET START "Cryptographic Services"
NET START "DHCP Client"
NET START "DNS Client"
NET START "Network Connections"
NET START "Norton AntiVirus Auto Protect Service"
NET START "Print Spooler"
NET START "Protected Storage"
NET START "Remote Access Auto Connection Manager"
NET START "Shell Hardware Detection
NET START "Symantec Event Manager"
NET START "Task Scheduler"
NET START "Themes"
NET START "Windows Management Instrumentation"
NET START "Windows Time"

Step 5:

Great! Now we are ready to test our batch files.

Locate the "Stop Services" file on your Windows Desktop, and double-click.

You should see a black window pop-up and scroll some lines of text as it tries to stop the various services. After a few seconds, the window should disappear.

Now you'd be ready to begin playing, hopefully with an added boost of speed!

DOS window

Depending on your system configuration, stopping certain services will require you to stop other related services as well. The batch file will confirm this, asking for your permission.

If this occurs (as shown below), type "y" (without quotes) and press the Enter key.

DOS window2

Again, due to different configuration settings, when some services (such as "Themes") are turned off, your desktop will change appearance. This is normal, and your desktop will be restored when you re-start the services.

Step 6:

As soon as you have finished playing, you'll want to select the "Start Services" program to allow Windows to operate normally. Once more, a black window should appear, scroll some text, and disappear after a few seconds.

Start

Go on - Breathe life into your PC today!

Major Jane Raymond USAFA

MER/IT

UNCLASSIFIED / FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Information contained in this document is designated by the Department of Defense (DoD) as For Official Use Only (FOUO) and may not be released to anyone without the prior permission of NHQ CAP and/or CAP-USAF.

LINKS OR REFERENCES TO INDIVIDUALS OR COMPANIES DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT OF ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE YOU MAY RECEIVE FROM SUCH SOURCES.