IPSEC
Services. Manages
IP security policy & starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) & the IP security
driver. If you are connected to an IPSec enabled Internet/Network
connection set this to Automatic, otherwise you may set this to Manual
instead. Most ISPs don’t support this & shouldn’t be of too much concern
to most of you.
Logical
Disk Manager. Detects
& monitors new hard disk drives & sends disk volume information to
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service for configuration. Leave this
set to Automatic, certainly do not set it to Disabled if you have
a Dynamic disk installed.
Logical
Disk Manager Administrative Service.
Configures hard disk drives & volumes. You can set this Service to Manual
without issue, it will only be run when required by disk management requests.
MS
Software Shadow Copy Provider.
Manages software-based volume shadow copies taken by the Volume Shadow Copy
service. Should you intend to use the Windows XP Backup utility set
this to Manual to enable software shadow copy backups to be
created. Similarly however if you don’t require this you can also leave it set
to Manual.
NetMeeting
Remote Desktop Sharing.
Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using
NetMeeting over a corporate intranet. For security reasons it would be best
to set this to Disabled, particularly if other less wary Users will have
access to the PC & are likely to use NetMeeting. If setting this to Manual
you should be careful with whom you allow remotely access your Desktop during
NetMeeting sessions.
Network
Connections. Manages
objects in the Network & Dial-Up Connections folder, in which you can view
both local area network & remote connections. Should the PC have any
Internet or Network connection setup set this to Automatic. Those on
truly stand-alone systems (Not even Internet connectable)
may be able to set this to Manual as it shouldn’t be required,
or automatically startup.
Network
DDE. Provides
network transport & security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs
running on the same computer or on different computers. Set this to Automatic
if you require the use of DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)
network connections (More than likely you won't need this unless using
certain legacy applications). DDE is a type of IPC (InterProcess
Communication). If you need this you generally should know it (One
such thing which does is the Clipbook). Otherwise, set this to Manual.
Network
DDE DSDM. Manages
Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) network shares. If this service is stopped, DDE
network shares will be unavailable. Set this to Automatic if you have
previously set the Network DDE Service to Automatic. Otherwise you
may set this to Manual instead.
Network
Location Awareness (NLA).
Collects & stores network configuration & location information, &
notifies applications when this information changes. On systems connected to
a Network, or if you have previously set to Automatic the Internet
Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Service then
also set this to Automatic. Stand-alone systems may set this to Manual
without issue.
NVIDIA
Driver Helper Service.
This service is added during installation of NVIDIA
Detonator Drivers, although can be set to Manual without issue.
Performance
Logs and Alerts.
Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on
preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an
alert. Should you have configured XP to monitor & record certain
activities on your PC via the Performance utility in Administrative
Tools, e.g. Page file usage as described here in our Windows
XP Memory Tweak guide, then set this to Automatic. If set to Manual
no Performance logs/alerts will be recorded, which is the ideal setting should
you not have configured any to be recorded.
Plug
and Play. Enables
a computer to recognize & adapt to hardware changes with little or no user
input. Leave this set to Automatic.
Portable
Media Serial Number.
Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your
computer. This Service should be set to Manual on most systems
without issue, even if you do connected external Media players to the system to
transfer song to/from it. Although should your device not function correctly
with this set to Manual try setting this to Automatic instead.
Print
Spooler. Loads
files to memory for later printing. If you don't have a Printer
installed (Network, or local) you can set this to Manual. If you do
however have a Printer installed, or intend to install a printer then set
this to Automatic.
Protected
Storage. Provides
protected storage for sensitive data, such as private keys, to prevent access by
unauthorized services, processes, or users. This should be set to Automatic
on all systems. Not only is the Crypto subsystem a good thing to have enabled
but it also avoids some problems that can be caused by having the Protected
Storage set to Manual or Disabled, e.g. Internet Explorer &
possibly Task Manager may have reduced functionality as a result, such as
Auto-Complete not working normally or inability to add Scheduled tasks.
QoS
RSVP. Provides
network signalling & local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware
programs & control applets. QoS RSVP (Quality of Service
Resource ReServation Protocol) is used to reserve
network/internet connection bandwidth when QoS aware processes are active,
providing them with more bandwidth as necessary. Should you use such
applications then leave this set to Automatic, otherwise set this to Disabled.
The amount of bandwidth reserved defaults to 20%, although this can
easily be modified (High recommended). Thanks for the reminder Vincent
Poy.
Click
on Start, Run,
type in gpedit.msc & hit Enter. Expand Computer
Configuration, Administrative
Templates, Network
then select QoS Packet Scheduler. In the
right
hand pane Double click on the Limit
reservable bandwidth setting.
Select
the Enabled option (Do not select Disabled or Not configured)
& adjust the Bandwidth limit value as you see fit, giving increased
bandwidth if the QoS aware applications would benefit from it or vice versa. If
you are unsure about whether or not you have QoS aware Applications, or merely
want to ensure maximum connection bandwidth available at all time set
this to 0 & select the Ok button.
Remote
Access Auto Connection Manager.
Creates a connection to a remote network whenever a program references a
remote DNS or NetBIOS name or address. If your system has Dial-up Internet
access set this to Automatic, on those with a Network connection (With or
without Internet connectivity) you may set this to Manual.
Remote
Access Connection Manager.
Creates a network connection. Should you have setup any Internet
or Network connection set this Service to Automatic (It will be run
anyway, even if set to Manual). Those with stand-alone systems with no
Internet or Network connections installed can set this to Manual.
