There are two levels to the working of Windows. One is the process level, which consists of, well, processes, which are started by applications, which you may open yourself, or those which run at startup. The other level, is underground. It’s under the hood stuff which the average user doesn’t mess around with. Processes is something you can fiddle around with, simply by bringing up the Task Manager in Windows.
Services are basically processes which are very tightly bound to the functioning of the operating system. You can’t directly start or stop them, but they can definitely ruin your day. Confused? You ought to be, because that’s the state of mind a malfunctioning services leaves you in. Let me explain, when you click on your username, and log into Windows, before any startup programs begin to load, the services are invoked. And if a service fails to start, it brings the entire startup process to a grinding halt for a couple of minutes, till a timer causes the startup to skip the process.
Quite annoying.
Now, if you’re lucky enough not to have services acting up, but still want to poke and prod, right-click on My Computer and select Manage. On the tree on the left, expand Services and Applications and select Services. Now, you’ll see a list of services, which may be running or stopped. Be adviced, change the settings at your own risk. There are certain services, which are application specific, which may cause only minor inconveniences if tampered with, but certain Windows-specific ones can cause a system meltdown.
A painful end.
Now, if you are suffering from MBSHGC (My-Bloody-Services-Have-Gone-Crazy), then you first need to pinpoint which service is causing this problem. For this, you need to download an application called Process Explorer. Once done, run this app, and go to Options > Replace Task Manager. Now, say hello to your new Ctrl+Alt+Del companion. In the list, you’ll find a list of services and processes which are running.
To find the problematic service, restart your PC. After logging in, wait for the desktop wallpaper to appear. If your services are indeed showing an attitude problem, your icons and taskbar won’t appear. In this case, give the three-finger salute (Ctrl+Alt+Del), and look at the list of services. Now, wait. Wait till you see activity again. This means that service would’ve started up and again shut down in the spanse of a second or something. Nevertheless, it would show up in Process Explorer. Just remember the name of the application/service which showed up in green and then in red the next second. Then, Google the name of the thing, and if it isn’t a system specific service, open the list of services from My Computer > Manage and then disable it. That should solve your problem.
Also, you can find a list of services that can be disabled at TechTree.com. Be advised that changing the settings may yield different results for people with different configurations.