I disabled all msconfig services in windows 10, now I can’t log in or do anything.
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It must have been to disable all non Microsoft services, rather than all.
In short, the only way I see is to reset your system or do a system restore, which requires a Recovery drive if you have. If you don’t have, create one on another computer running Windows 10 and boot from it.
After that open system restore to see if there are any restore points.
Sumit
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Long story short, my Spotify wasn’t working and on another forum it was recommended to disable all services in MSConfig which I did. After restarting my computer I had no option to log into my account (no option to select account or enter password). I got into the bias and I already created the media installation but I have no points of recovery or previous builds to go to. My only option is command prompt, so is there something I could write here to fix everything?
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Sumit
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To assist you with your concern on the enabling services using command prompt, you may type the following:
To view the list of services, type: sc query type= service state= all
To view the list of stopped services, run this command:
sc query type= service state= inactive
To start the services, type: sc config servicenamehere start= auto
Let us know how it goes.
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(This is a bit of a ramble, so there’s a TL/DR closer to the bottom)
So, I had a very similar problem that I just resolved. Before I get to how I fixed it, though, let me recount how it happened. Also, before I get going, I should say I’ve been using Windows for over 20 years, I’ve been a professional programmer for over 10, and while I certainly wouldn’t claim to know everything about troubleshooting Windows, let’s just say I can follow a how-to pretty easily.
After installing the latest Windows update, I could no longer access my NAS device over SMB. Since the update was so recent, searching for help on Google showed no good leads. So I figured Microsoft Support might be useful, since they should be dealing with this sort of thing by now directly. Anyway, using my desktop PC, I start chatting with this one agent, he says «let me remote in, I’ll try to fix it». It took him half an hour to do virtually nothing besides what I’d already tried. Remote Assistance is more of a pain in the butt than anything. You’re both sharing the mouse control, you both have to chat via the chat window, which requires focus to actually use. So I just sit back and bite my tongue. Eventually he starts digging into the services, and not just through the standard services.msc window, but also the msconfig window, both open at the same time. While he’s typing stuff in the services window, he accidentally switches to the msconfig window and whatever key he hits selects «disable all». I see it happening and I think «it’s ok, he knows well enough to cancel that.» The cursor wanders a little as he’s clearly trying to figure out what happened and what to do. Then he hits ok, and as I’m reaching for my mouse to stop him he hits «Restart Now» on the new popup window.
Boom, I’m locked out. The login screen is blank, except for the wallpaper, the power icon, and the internet icon with a big red X on it. No name or password box, no matter which keys I press. I try using the power icon to boot into safe mode (hold shift and click restart). Just goes back to login, not safe mode. I Google for some solutions (this thread pops up, but ultimately doesn’t solve my problem). Nothing works. So, since I wanted to scream at someone, I grab my laptop and get back in touch with MS Support and give him hell. Well, not him, since I got on with another agent who wasn’t to blame for my problems, but I did spend a bit of time venting. He says create a recovery disk. Already did, to no avail. Since it’s booting off USB, the local drives don’t get mounted, and the restore points aren’t accessible. Then he says «let me remote in, I’ll try to fix it.» I politely tell him no way, I have no confidence in MS Support at this point, at least regarding total control of any of my computers. So his suggestion was to create a Windows Update boot image and use that to do an in-place upgrade. So I scramble looking for a thumbdrive with at least 8 GB. Nada. I found two — a 16 and a 32 — that are both defective. While I’m searching, my chat session times out, but not before he sends me a rundown of what the in-place upgrade will do, which is basically leave me in a state like when you do a Windows 8 to 10 update, or something along those lines. Most stuff would still be there, just with some settings and such data lost. At least my files would live, as would (apparently) my installed apps, although that may have just been store apps. So I keep digging and finally find a Micro SD card that’s big enough and an adapter, and start creating the update media.
While that’s happening, I go back to my desktop and oddly my name is on the screen. I think «oh thank god, it just needed some of the startups to just time out.» I tap a key and it. almost shows the password box. Things move as though it’s going to be a standard login, but no, not quite. Try rebooting into safe mode again, just in case I just had stupid fingers, but no. Swearing louder now, I go back and check on the Media Creation status. Around 25%. I still had some questions about the upgrade process, mostly about the fact that my laptop was running Win10 Home, and my desktop is Win10 Pro (and I really want to keep the Pro). So, thinking I was ready for the next step soon, I get back into chat. Takes me about 10 minutes to get the new agent to completely understand my issue. She also wants to remote into my laptop for some reason (had already told her I couldn’t access my desktop via RDP). Again, I say no. She accepts it and waits with me, while I just ask some questions to build up my confidence that I wasn’t gonna end up resetting my whole PC, end up downgrading to Home, or lose my registration key. She reassures me that it will all be fine. Then the media creation hits 50% and craps out.
Sanity hanging by a thin thread, I start thrashing my apartment again, but I know I don’t have more USB drives. What I do find are SD cards that can store enough. Problem is, I can only find a Micro SD adapter, not regular SD. The whole time I’m searching, I keep coming back to the chat to make sure it doesn’t time out. I also re-format the Micro SD I’d tried earlier and give it another shot. Half an hour later, it stalls at 50%. 15 minutes later, still at 50%. Once again, thrash my apartment (don’t worry, I’ll clean it up tomorrow). This time, though, it dawns on me — my camera takes SD cards. So I check my camera bag and there it is — a standard SD USB adapter. So I grab one of my 16 GB cards and start pumping that up with Media. By now this third chat has gone on for over an hour, and I’m feeling bad about it, mostly because I’m keeping her from helping other people. So I asked her to file my original NAS problem with the higher-ups and let her go. She recommends that I contact help when the media creation is complete so someone can help me through the in-place upgrade. I say ok, although I wasn’t actually sure that I was going to.
It’s around 3 am at this point, but it’s Friday and I’m a night guy anyway, so I stick it out. While the media creation is ticking along, I toss on some TV and play some Switch to calm down, which I do. Finally the Media Creation Tool finishes and I now have a Windows 10 upgrade stick. I grab it, pause Dirk Gently, review the steps to to the in-place upgrade, and go into my computer room.
I had left my computer on purposefully, given that earlier it made it a bit further along. And, as I walked into the room, a similar scene greeted me — my name in the centre of the screen, taunting me. I figure «give it one more go and then dig into the upgrade.» As it happens, one more go was all it needed. This time, inexplicably, after tapping the Ctrl key, the password box shows up. I type my password while trying not to get too hopeful, but it actually logs me in! As Windows starts, I’m greeted by dozens of «this thing ain’t working» popups, which isn’t surprising since there’s virtually no services running. I pop into msconfig, enable all, and hit ok. This had actually worried me for a bit, because I didn’t want to go and set everything to auto-start, and I didn’t know which specific ones should be set to that and which to manual. But since he’d disabled the services via msconfig, re-enabling them through that brought them back to their own previous states (some were auto, some were manual). When the popup appears, I do a quick mental check to make sure I’m not being a total idiot before clicking reboot. The only concern were services that had been disabled before — they’d be back now. But I figure I’ll deal with that when everything else is working as expected. I click «Reboot Now.»
Bingpot! Login screen pops up a few seconds later, I type my password, and things work as usual. And I’m relieved at last. I’d let out a victory roar if it wasn’t 3:30 in the morning.
TL/DR: So, what worked for me in the end was to just let everything fail and time out on the login screen. It must have been at least a half an hour that first time when just my name showed up but no password box would. I’d say my computer had to be on for about an hour or more for everything to settle down into a bit pot of fail, at which point it let me log in. One thing to note is that I don’t use my online credentials to log in to my computers at home. Since all of the services had been disabled, shutting down my internet connection, I’m thinking that my one saving grace was that the computer didn’t have to connect to the internet to confirm my credentials.
If just letting the machine sit hadn’t worked for me, I feel pretty confident that the in-place upgrade would have worked instead. Maybe I would have had to re-install some apps, but I have a feeling that, like updating from Windows 8 to 10 (which I did three times on separate machines), most of them would have stuck around.
The actual moral of this story, though, is to never take your hand off the mouse when you’re getting Remote Assistance.
Which Windows 10 Services can you safely disable?
Windows 10 has many Services to make sure that the operating system functions smoothly. While it is best to leave the Service configuration at their default values, there are some performance & tweak enthusiasts who want to make their Windows run even smoother. If you are wondering w hich Windows 10 Services are safe to disable, then this guide will help you. We strongly recommend that you create a System Restore Point first and also make notes of the changes you make to your Services configuration.
Before we go ahead, it’s a good idea to understand the Windows Services section. Type services.msc in the search box and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager. Once the Services window opens, you can see the complete list of services, both from Windows OS, and the installed applications which are running on your system.
Every service has Name, Description, Status, Startup Type, and Log On As. Double click on any Service to look at its Properties.
- Startup Type: Some services are set to Automatic or Automatic (Delayed), while others are Manual and Disabled.
- Service Status: It is the current status of the service. Action buttons are available for you to change it.
- Dependencies: Many services depend on other small and big services. Some other functions can also rely on it. If that’s the case, you will be warned if you choose to disable it.
You will notice that many services which set to Manual. These services are started only when they are needed. They might be kept running or set to stop mode when not needed anymore. Services with Startup Type as Automatic start with Windows. Applications like the AntiVirus program need to be available as soon as Windows 10 starts.
The best strategy to disable Windows 10 Services
Many want to disable services because they might help to speed up their computer. It is best to look at services that are in Automatic mode. They are the only ones which increase computer boot time. In the services list, click on the Startup Type header to list all automatic services.
Now click on the Service, and check if you can change status. Sometimes none of the buttons are enabled including Stop. If that’s the case, skip this service and move to the next one.
When you find a service that can be stopped or set to manual, make sure to read about the service and check on dependencies. If you see any service is depending on this one, do not disable it. If it’s a stand-alone service, check to what the service is related to.
For example, the Bonjour Service is needed by applications from Apple like iTunes. You can choose to disable it or choose Automatic (Delayed). On the contrary, services like IP Helper should not be disabled if you use IPv6. It is essential for 6to4, ISATAP, Port Proxy, and Teredo, and IP-HTTPS.
It’s best to leave Windows 10 Services as is
Any service which is from Microsoft, i.e., Windows 10 “ONLY” Services, should be kept as is. It’s not easy to understand for a general consumer to understand the impact it will make when you disable a service. While many websites and blogs would suggest services that you can disable, we don’t support that logic.
If there is a service that belongs to a third-party application, you can choose to set to Manual or Automatic (Delayed). That will help to boot your computer fast. Even better, make sure to remove the application from the Startup List.
Which Windows 10 services are safe to disable
Nevertheless, if you still want to see what you can disable, then it all depends on your system:
- Are you a single PC home user?
- Do you use the Internet?
- Are you connected to a network or domain?
- Are you using a desktop or a laptop?
- And so on.
The following Windows Services can be safely disabled. Instead of setting the Startup type to Disabled, you may set it to Manual, to be on the safe side.
- AVCTP service – Disable it if you do not use Bluetooth Audio Device or Wireless Headphones.
- BitLocker Drive Encryption Service – disable it if you do not use BitLocker storage encryption.
- Bluetooth Support Service – Disable it if you do not use any Bluetooth device
- Computer Browser – This will then disable Network discovery of systems on the local network
- Connected User Experiences and Telemetry – Disables Feedback, Telemetry and Data Collection
- Diagnostic Policy Service
- Diagnostic Tracking Service – Turns off Telemetry and Data Collection
- Distributed Link Tracking Client – If your PC is not connected to a network
- Downloaded Maps Manager – If you don’t use the Bing Maps app
- File History Service – If you never use Windows Backup or System Restore
- IP Helper – (If you don’t use IPv6 connection)
- Infrared monitor service – If you never use File transfer via infrared devices.
- Internet Connection Sharing – An old service that can be disabled
- Netlogon – Disable it if you are not on a domain controller environment.
- Program Compatibility Assistant Service – This will hinder your running in the Compatibility Mode though
- Print Spooler – If you don’t use a Printer
- Parental Control – If you do not use the Parental Control feature.
- Remote Registry – Best to disable it. No one will be able to access your Registry remotely.
- Secondary Logon
- TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper – If you are not a part of a Workgroup network
- Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service – If you do not have a touch device
- Windows Error Reporting Service – If you don’t want to save or send error reports
- Windows Image Acquisition – If you don’t use a Scanner
- Windows Camera Frame Server – If you never use a webcam or an integrated camera
- Windows Insider Service – Disable it if you are not a part of the Windows Insider Program.
- Windows Search – Do it only if you never use Windows Search but instead use a 3rd-party search software.
So you see there is no one-shoe-fits-all scenario, and so it becomes imperative that you know your system and what you want.
If you need good advice, then the Black Viper’s Windows 10 Service Configurations is one resource advanced users may want to look at.
