Services that are turned off by default in Windows Server 2003

When you install Microsoft Windows Server 2003, some services may not start automatically. You may expect these services to start automatically because they start automatically in other versions of Windows.

This problem occurs because in Windows Server 2003, less-often used services are turned off by default. By default, these same services may be turned on in Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP Professional.

To resolve this problem, manually start the services that you want, or configure the way that a service starts.

To start, stop, pause, resume, or restart a service, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Services.
2. In the Details pane, do one of the following:
   • Click the service that you want to start, stop, pause, resume, or restart. On the Action menu, click Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, or Restart.
   • Right-click the service that you want to start, stop, pause, resume, or restart. Click Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, or Restart.

To configure the way that a service starts, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Services.
2. In the Details pane, right-click the service that you want to configure, and then click Properties.
3. On the General tab, click Automatic, Manual, or Disabled in the Startup type list.
4. To specify the user account that the service can use to log on, click the Log On tab, and then do one of the following:
   • To specify that the service uses the Local System account, click Local System account.
   • To specify that the service uses the Local Service account, click This account, and then type NT AUTHORITY\LocalService.
   • To specify that the service uses the Network Service account, click This account, and then type NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService.
   • To specify another account, click This account, click Browse, and then specify a user account in the Select User dialog box. When you are finished, click OK.
5. Type the password for the user account in the Password and Confirm password boxes, and then click OK. If you select the Local Service account or Network Service account, the password must be blank.

Note

• Most services are not designed to have the default account changed. When you change the default account of a service, the service may not start.
• When you change the default service settings, you may prevent key services from running correctly.
  
  IMPORTANT Use caution when you change the Startup type and Log on as settings of services that are configured to start automatically.
• In most cases, Microsoft recommends that you do not change the Allow service to interact with desktop setting. If you permit the service to interact with the desktop, any information that the service displays on the desktop also appears on an interactive user's desktop. A malicious user may be able to then take control of the service or attack the service from the interactive desktop.

When you run services that are not required, there is at least a small security risk. As a result, these services are turned off in Windows Server 2003 until they are required. The following table shows the services that are turned off by default on a Windows Server 2003 installation as compared to Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional installations.
The following table shows the services that no longer use the Local System account in Windows Server 2003: Note In Windows 2000, the Local System account was the only "Log On As" account used for all services. The Local Service account and the "Network Service Log On As" system account are new to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

For more information about service accounts, visit the following Microsoft Web site: