SAFE SERVICES

There’s a laundry list of services that can safely be switched from automatic to manual for a boost at boot time; disabling them altogether is a question of your preferences, or Windows’ ability to hold up. Cut Connected User Services and Telemetry, dmwappushsvc, and Diagnostic Tracking Service to remove Windows’ spying—er, telemetry— tendencies, then Diagnostic Policy Service, Windows Error Reporting Service, and Program Compatibility Assistance Service to do away with a few services that you won’t want bothering you once you’ve started tearing Windows to shreds. Disable Remote Registry just to be a little secure, and Windows Defender Service (and possibly Security Center) if you’re confident in your own malwarefighting methods.

A lot of the other possibilities will depend on the specific makeup of your machine. Shut down IP Helper if you’re not using IPv6, TCP/ IP NetBIOS Helper if you’re not part of a workgroup, or Distributed Link Tracking Client if your PC is not on a network at all. Kill Print Spooler if you don’t have a printer, Windows Image Acquisition ( WIA) if you’re scannerless, Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service if you don’t have a touchscreen, Bluetooth Support if you haven’t already got the idea here, and Downloaded Maps Manager if you never use Windows’ built-in maps app.

You may also wish to make a few other services manual, without disabling them. The three remote desktop services are optional, and your graphics card (or possibly sound driver) has likely slipped a few in. Dropping these to manual will improve boot time, but probably slow the launch of your graphics-intensive apps. That’s a common theme with services: Unless you completely disable them, you simply delay the, er, delay, and disabling is rarely the best idea. But do experiment, and see what works for you.