Enable services through the Windows 2000 Professional registry

by Jim Boyce | Jul 24, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Jim Boyce, Microsoft Windows 2000, registry, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Microsoft Windows, console, Windows 2000 Professional Tips Newsletter

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Takeaway: Did you know that you can use the registry on your Windows 2000 Pro machine to enable and disable services? Learn how to use the Registry Editor to create your own defaults.

Most of the time, you'll use the Services console in the Administrative Tools folder to enable and disable services in Windows 2000 Pro. The Services console also lets you configure service startup and recovery options, view dependencies, set service logon, and configure other service properties.

In some cases, however, you might need to enable or disable services manually. This could be the case if you've modified the system's configuration and services to the point that the Services console no longer lets you enable services. Or you might need to enable a service remotely. You can accomplish both tasks by editing the target system's registry.

To enable services on the local computer through the registry, open the Registry Editor and open the \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services key. Locate the service you want to enable and set the Start value to one of the following values:

0-boot

1-system

2-automatic

3-manual

Note: Editing the registry can be risky, so be sure to have a verified backup before making any changes.