How to start, stop, disable services on Windows 11

On Windows 11, services are small programs that run in the background to allow the system and apps to operate as intended. They are responsible for a wide range of tasks, such as file sharing, printing, network connectivity, and user authentication.

You can manage Windows 11 services using the Services snap-in, which is a graphical user interface that allows you to view, start, stop, pause, resume, and configure services. You can also manage services using Task Manager and commands using PowerShell and Command Prompt.

This guide will teach you the steps to control services on Windows 11.

Control services from Task Manager

To start, stop, or restart services from the Task Manager, use these steps:

1. Open Start on Windows 11.
2. Search for Task Manager and click the top result to open the app.
   Quick note: You can also use the “Task Manager” option from the Taskbar and Start button context menus, or you can also use the “Ctrl + Alt + Esc” keyboard shortcut.
3. Click on Services.
4. Select the service.
5. Click the Start, Stop, or Restart button to perform an action from the command bar.

   

Once you complete the steps, the service will start, stop, or restart on Windows 11.

You can also use the search box to filter and find the services you need to manage them faster.

Using the Task Manager, it’s not possible to access the properties to turn off a service.

Control services from Services app

To manage services on Windows 11, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Services and click the top result to open the app.
3. Select the service.
4. Click the Start, Stop, or Restart button to perform an action from the command bar.

   

5. (Optional) Right-click the service and select the Properties option.

   

6. Choose the startup type or the Disabled option to turn off the service from the “Startup type” setting.

   

7. Click the Apply button.
8. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the app or system service will apply the action.

Control services from Command Prompt

To start, stop, or turn off services through Command Prompt, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
3. Type the following Command Prompt command to stop a service on Windows 11 and press Enter:

   net stop "NAME-SERVICE"

   In the command, change “NAME-SERVICE” to the actual name of the service. For instance, to stop the Disk Defragmenter service, you can use the net stop "defragsvc" command.

   

4. Type the following command to start a service and press Enter:

   net start "NAME-SERVICE"

5. Type the following command to turn off a specific service and press Enter:

   sc config "NAME-SERVICE" start=disabled

6. Type the following command to enable a specific service and press Enter:

   sc config "NAME-SERVICE" start=auto

7. Type the following command to set the service to start on demand and press Enter:

   sc config "NAME-SERVICE" start=demand

8. Type the following command to start a service automatically but with delay and press Enter:

   sc config "NAME-SERVICE" start=delayed-auto

9. (Optional) Type the following command to view a list of all the services and press Enter:

   sc queryex state=all type=service

Once you complete the steps, the command will run to apply the action to the service.

Control services from PowerShell

To control Windows 11 and application services through PowerShell, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
3. Type the following PowerShell command to stop a service on Windows 11 and press Enter:

   Stop-Service -Name "NAME-SERVICE"

   In the command, change “NAME-SERVICE” to the actual name of the service. For instance, to stop the Print Spooler service, you can use the Stop-Service -Name "spooler" command.

   

4. Type the following command to start a service and press Enter:

   Start-Service -Name "NAME-SERVICE"

5. Type the following command to disable a service and press Enter:

   Set-Service -Name "NAME-SERVICE" -Status stopped -StartupType disabled

6. Type the following command to enable a service using the automatic startup option and press Enter:

   Set-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME" -Status running -StartupType automatic

7. Type the following command to enable a service using the automatic delayed startup option and press Enter:

   Set-Service -Name "SERVICE-NAME" -StartupType AutomaticDelayed

8. (Optional) Type the following command to view all the services on Windows 11 and press Enter:

   Get-Service

After you complete the steps, the PowerShell command will apply the action to the service on Windows 11.