# Services required for Network



## mewgirl (Apr 16, 2008)

Can someone please tell me what MINIMUM services ABSOLUTELY MUST be required for an home network with both computers hooked to the router by ethernet cable (wired/hub).

The second computer, which does not get internet currently, has default Services configuration (I therefore assume I do not need to enable anything). The first, connected, computer, may need to have some services enabled... assuming the two computers still need to talk to each other at all with this type of connection. ?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Check that all your network services are Started: 

COM+ Event System (for WZC issues)
Computer Browser
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Server
TCP/IP Netbios helper
Wireless Zero Configuration _(XP wireless configurations only_)
WLAN AutoConfig (_Vista wireless configurations only_)
Workstation

_*Note:* You can check the services in Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services._

*All of these services should be started, and their startup type should be automatic (or perhaps manual).*

If a service is not running, open it's properties and check the dependencies. Check each of the dependencies and see which one is preventing the service from running. Checking the event log is also a good idea here, there may be clues to what is failing.


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## mewgirl (Apr 16, 2008)

...Computer Browser? Isn't that for file sharing?

Network Location Awareness, I believe is for "maintaining links across a network"...

DHCP Client/DNS Client are supposed to refer to the internet itself, not hooking up the internet to a second computer; i.e. if you don't need it on one computer you should also not need it on the other...

Your computer won't work without RPC...

TCP/IP Helper is listed as "Not necessary for home networks; you will know if you need this."


This was my understanding of these services; please tell if I am wrong or if you just listed extra services...


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

What is the purpose of trying to find the absolute minimum set of services? The memory or processor consumed by the networking services is negligible, and trying to create a _crazy-quilt_ of services is just asking for trouble. 

My list is the standard list of network services, and yes they support file/print sharing. I've never seen any utility in trying to remove one or two services for some imagined gain in speed or memory usage.


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## mewgirl (Apr 16, 2008)

Well uh gee when they task manager shows that a service is using around 1,00 KB of memory, and then the service is ended, then you clearly have gained 1,000 KB of memory. However, I did not ask about what the purpose is, I simply asked what the minimum services are. Since several of the services you listed are actually NOT required for networking, you clearly were unable to answer my question. I specified "MST" because, for some reason, most people who make lists of services do include several things that are not needed. I have even seen, for example, people list that Themes should be left on. Even a complete novice who does not know what a URL is would be capable of determining whether they wish to leave the Themes service running, were it given proper notation, albeit they may underestimate the speed gain that comes with disabling it. You are right in that I should not have to say anything other then "What services are required for networking?," but even when I specified that I am not interested in any services that are NOT required for networking (and, at this point, I am not even interested in the services that are "almost never, but in some cases may be," required, since I have not tried it with all of the others enabled yet), but I do need to specify; even when I listed them extra services were still given!

I thank you for your reply however; for some reason there seems to be nothing listed on the internet (at least not in the first four pages of my Google results) that lists specifically what is required for networking. It is just lucky that I recognize some of these services otherwise my computer would have perhaps 6 extra services running (if all of them are around the median, that's 9 MB!).

I am still not sure if you are saying DNS Client and DHCP server, and especially "TCP/IP NetBIOS helper" which most places list as not really ever being necessary, could be required on one computer even if they are not required on the other. DNS Client is not required for this computer (#1) to connect to the internet.

Also is Server required when the connection is using the router as hub rather then connecting to another computer?

It is important for me to know exactly what services won't or will be needed because I am not entirely sure if Services is the only problem. I believe it is but if it continues to not work then I will have to be able to return everything to the most likely required configuration.

I realize that if I get a response to these questions it may be by a different member. Hopefully this board is normal in that any member might reply to any thread, rather then only having one member replying to each thread and making that a kind of unspoken rule, thereby possibly preventing some users from getting the best help. Yes a lot of boards do that I don't know if this one does. But listing extra services just because "you personally prefer them" or "there is a .01% chance that they MIGHT be required but we are not going to tell you that" really annoys me, because when people first hear about the idea of changing services, some of them are practically computer-illiterate (as in I have seen guides that actually show screen shots even though there is nothing complicated enough to require screenshots, for a computer-literate human being), so they may really have NO idea what most of the services do even the ones that describe themselves such as "Task Scheduler" and "Event Log". So they will just blindly follow without questioning and then they will not have had any use in disabling things in the first place, if they do that (except Themes and POSSIBLY Indexing, though the latter doesn't run very often if Manual).

Well at least I know the Peer* services are not required, or so I assume since this poster's was extended but still didn't mention those.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

You are kidding yourself when you see the memory usage, you have to look closer. Much of that memory "usage" is reserved and can be used by other processes if required.

I'm not sure what you're chasing, but I don't think I'll try to catch it. :smile:


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## mewgirl (Apr 16, 2008)

LOL You have 4 GB of memory on your computer and you are complaining about how non-millionaires try to save it?


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