Windows 8 : Working with the Automated Help and Support System (part 3) - Working with Support Services, Managing Services Using Preferences

10/12/2013 9:10:07 PM

Working with Support Services

To support automated diagnostics and problem resolution, Windows 8 provides separate components and tools for working with and managing diagnostics, problem reporting, and user assistance. These components all rely on the availability of the support services installed with the operating system. If you access the Services node under Services And Applications in the Computer Management administrative tool, you’ll find a bundle of services dedicated to system support.

Table 2 provides an overview of key support services in Windows 8. Problem detection, troubleshooting, and resolution features are largely supported by the Diagnostic Policy Service and the Diagnostic System Host service. A third, related service, the Diagnostic Service Host service, starts only as needed.

Table 2. Support Services in Windows 8

NAME	DESCRIPTION
Application Experience	Processes application compatibility cache requests for applications
Application Information	Allows users to run applications with additional administrative privileges
Application Management	Processes installation, removal, and enumeration requests for software deployed through Group Policy
Background Intelligent Transfer Service	Transfers files in the background using idle network bandwidth
Diagnostic Policy Service	Enables problem detection, troubleshooting, and resolution for Windows components
Diagnostic Service Host	Enables diagnostics that need to run in a LocalService context
Diagnostic System Host	Enables diagnostics that need to run in a LocalSystem context
Problem Reports and Solutions Control Panel Support	Provides support for system-level problem reports
Program Compatibility Assistant Service	Provides support for the Program Compatibility Assistant
Secondary Logon	Enables starting processes under alternate credentials
Superfetch	Helps maintain and improve performance by pre-fetching component and application data based on usage patterns
System Event Notification Service	Monitors system events and provides notification services
Task Scheduler	Enables a user to configure and schedule automated tasks
Themes	Enables the computer to use themes and provides the user experience for themes management
User Profile Service	Responsible for loading and unloading user profiles during logon and logoff
Windows Error Reporting Service	Allows errors to be reported when programs stop responding and allows solutions to be retrieved
Windows Event Log	Responsible for logging events
Windows Management Instrumentation	Provides system management information
Windows Modules Installer	Supports Windows updates of recommended and optional components
Windows Remote Management	Enables Windows PowerShell remoting and the WS-Management protocol for remote management
Windows Time	Used to synchronize system time with Greenwich Mean Time
Windows Update	Enables updating of Windows components and other programs

As you can see from the number of support services, the automated Help system built into Windows 8 is fairly complex. The system is designed to automatically monitor system health, perform preventative maintenance, and report problems so that they can be resolved. Related performance and reliability data can be tracked in Performance Monitor and in Reliability Monitor.

Support services provide the foundation for the enhanced support features in Windows 8. If critical services are not running or not configured properly, you might have problems using certain support features. You can view these and other services in Computer Management by completing the following steps:

In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, tap or click Administrative Tools, and then double-tap or double-click Computer Management.
Press and hold or right-click the Computer Management entry in the console tree, and then tap or click Connect To Another Computer. You can now select the system whose services you want to view.
Expand the Services And Applications node by tapping or clicking on it. Select Services, as shown in Figure 9. You should now see a complete list of services installed on the system. By default, this list is organized by service name. The key columns in this dialog box are used as follows:
- Name The name of the service. Only services installed on the system are listed here. Double-tap or double-click an entry to configure its startup options.
- Description A short description of the service and its purpose.
- Status An indication of whether the status of the service is running, paused, or stopped. (Stopped is indicated by a blank entry.)
- Startup Type The startup setting for the service. Automatic services are started at bootup. Users or other services start manual services. Disabled services are turned off and can’t be started while they remain disabled.
- Log On As The account the service logs on as. The default in most cases is the LocalSystem account.
Figure 9. Use the Services view to manage services on Windows 8.
The Services pane has two views: Extended and Standard. To change the view, use the tabs at the bottom of the Services pane. In Extended view, quick links are provided for managing services. Tap or click Start to start a stopped service. Tap or click Restart to stop and then start a service. If you select a service in Extended view, you’ll see a service description that details the service’s purpose.

Starting, Stopping, and Pausing Services

As an administrator, you’ll often have to start, stop, or pause Windows 8 services. To start, stop, or pause a service, follow these steps:

In Computer Management, expand the Services And Applications node by tapping or clicking on it, and then select the Services node.
Press and hold or right-click the service you want to manipulate, and then select Start, Stop, or Pause.

Note

You can also choose Restart to have Windows stop and then start the service after a brief pause. Additionally, if you pause a service, you can use the Resume option to resume normal operation. When services that are set to start automatically fail, the status is blank, and you’ll usually receive notification about this. Service failures can also be logged to the system’s event logs. In Windows 8, you can configure actions to handle service failure automatically. For example, you can have Windows 8 attempt to restart the service for you.

Configuring Service Startup

You can set Windows 8 services to start manually or automatically. You can also turn them off permanently by disabling them. You configure service startup by following these steps:

In Computer Management, expand the Services And Applications node, and then select the Services node.
Press and hold or right-click the service you want to configure, and then tap or click Properties.
On the General tab, use the Startup Type drop-down list to choose a startup option from the following choices, and then tap or click OK:
- Automatic Starts services at bootup
- Automatic (Delayed Start) Delays the start of the service until all nondelayed automatic services have started
- Manual Allows the services to be started manually
- Disabled Turns off the service

Configuring Service Logon

You can configure Windows 8 services to log on as a system account or as a specific user. To do either of these, follow these steps:

In Computer Management, expand the Services And Applications node, and then select the Services node.
Press and hold or right-click the service you want to configure, and then tap or click Properties.
Select the Log On tab. Do one of the following, and then tap or click OK.
- Select Local System Account if you want the service to log on using the system account (the default for most services). If the service provides a user interface that can be manipulated, select Allow Service To Interact With Desktop to allow users to control the service’s interface.
- Select This Account if you want the service to log on using a specific user account. Be sure to type an account name and password in the text boxes provided. Use the Browse button to search for a user account.

Configuring Service Recovery

Windows 8 automatically configures recovery for critical system services during installation. In most cases, you’ll find that critical services are configured to restart automatically if the service fails. You cannot change these settings because they are not available.

To configure recovery options for any other service, follow these steps:

In Computer Management, expand the Services And Applications node, and then select the Services node.
Press and hold or right-click the service you want to configure, and then tap or click Properties.
Tap or click the Recovery tab.
You can now configure recovery options for the first, second, and subsequent recovery attempts. The following options are available:
- Take No Action The operating system won’t attempt recovery for this failure but might still attempt recovery of previous or subsequent failures.
- Restart The Service Stops and then starts the service after a brief pause.
- Run A Program Allows you to run a program or a script in case of failure. The script can be a batch program or a Windows script. If you select this option, set the full file path to the program you want to run, and then set any necessary command-line parameters to pass in to the program when it starts.
- Restart The Computer Shuts down and then restarts the computer. Before you choose this option, double-check the computer’s Startup and Recovery options. You want the system to select defaults quickly and automatically.
Tip

When you configure recovery options for critical services, you can try to restart the service on the first and second attempts and then reboot the computer on the third attempt.
Configure other options based on your previously selected recovery options, and then tap or click OK. If you elected to run a program as a recovery option, you need to set options in the Run Program panel. If you elected to restart the service, you need to specify the restart delay. After stopping the service, Windows 8 waits for the specified delay period before trying to start the service. In most cases, a delay of 1 to 2 minutes is sufficient.

Disabling Unnecessary Services

As an administrator, your job is to ensure computer and network security, and unnecessary services are a potential source of security problems. For example, in many of the organizations that I’ve reviewed for security problems, I’ve found users’ computers running Worldwide Web Publishing Service, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Publishing Service when these services weren’t needed. Unfortunately, these services can allow anonymous users to access computers and can also open the computers to attack if not properly configured.

If you find unnecessary services, you have a couple of options. For services installed through features, you can remove the related feature to remove the unnecessary component and its related services. You can also simply disable the services that aren’t being used.

To disable a service, follow these steps:

In Computer Management, expand the Services And Applications node, and then select the Services node.
Press and hold or right-click the service you want to configure, and then tap or click Properties.
On the General tab, select Disabled from the Startup Type drop-down list.

Disabling a service doesn’t stop a running service; it prevents it from being started the next time the computer is booted, which means that the security risk still exists. To address this, tap or click Stop on the General tab in the Properties dialog box, and then tap or click OK.

Managing Services Using Preferences

Rather than managing services on individual computers, you can use Group Policy preference items to configure services on any computer that processes a particular Group Policy Object (GPO). When you configure a service through preferences, the default value in most instances is No Change, meaning the setting is changed only if you specify a different value. As you can when you are configuring services manually, you can use Group Policy preferences to do the following:

Start, stop, and restart services.
Set startup to manual, automatic, automatic (delayed start), or disabled.
Specify the logon account to use.
Set recovery options to handle service failure.

To create a preference item to control a service, follow these steps:

Open a GPO for editing in the Group Policy Management Editor. Expand Computer Configuration\Preferences\Control Panel Settings.
Press and hold or right-click the Services node, point to New, and then tap or click Service. This opens the New Service Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 10.
In the Service Name box, type the name of the service you want to configure. The service name is not the same as the display name. If you are unsure of the service name, tap or click the options button to the right of the text box, and then select the service from the list of available services on your management computer. Keep in mind that some services running on your management computer might not be available on users’ computers, and vice versa.
Use the options provided to configure the service as you want it to be configured on users’ computers. Settings are processed only if you select a value other than No Change.
Use the options on the Common tab to control how the preference is applied. Often, you’ll want to apply the service configuration only once. If so, select Apply Once And Do Not Reapply.
Tap or click OK. The next time policy is refreshed, the preference item will be applied as appropriate for the GPO in which you defined the preference item.