General Information
Computer Browser service maintains a listing of computers and resources located on the network. This service is not required on a standalone system. In fact, even if you want to browse the network (work-group or domain) or have mapped network shares as local hard drives, you can still do so. On a large network, one computer is designated the “master” browser and another one is the “backup” browser. All others just announce they are available every 12 minutes to “take over” duties if one of the other computers fail. No lag time is discernible if this service remains disabled on all but one computer. Honestly, I do not even believe one needs to be running. You could, “just in case,” but it sure does not need to be running on all computers, all of the time.
[tab name=’Windows 8′]
Windows 8
Default Description
Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. If this service is stopped, this list will not be updated or maintained. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Additional Information
None at this time.
Default Startup Type
| OS | SP0 |
|---|---|
| Windows 8 x86 | Manual (Trigger Start) |
| Windows 8 x64 | Manual (Trigger Start) |
| Windows 8 Pro x86 | Manual (Trigger Start) |
| Windows 8 Pro x64 | Manual (Trigger Start) |
| Windows 8 Enterprise x86 | Manual (Trigger Start) |
| Windows 8 Enterprise x64 | Manual (Trigger Start) |
Service Names
Service Name (registry): Browser
Display Name: Computer Browser
Default Path and Command Line Options
C:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
Log On As
Account: Local System account
Dependencies
Note: No dependencies are listed for any service in the WDP build I used to draft this information.
[/tab]
[tab name=’Windows 7′]
Windows 7
Default Description
Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. If this service is stopped, this list will not be updated or maintained. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Additional Information
None at this time.
Default Startup Type
| OS | SP0 | SP1 |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 7 Starter | Manual (Started) | Manual |
| Windows 7 Home Basic | Manual (Started) | Manual |
| Windows 7 Home Premium | Manual (Started) | Manual |
| Windows 7 Professional | Manual (Started) | Manual |
| Windows 7 Ultimate | Manual (Started) | Manual |
| Windows 7 Enterprise | Manual (Started) | Manual |
Service Names
Service Name (registry): Browser
Display Name: Computer Browser
Default Path and Command Line Options
C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
Log On As
Account: Local System account
Dependencies
What service Computer Browser needs to function properly:
-
Server(S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
-
Security Accounts Manager(S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
-
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)(S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- DCOM Server Process Launcher (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- RPC Endpoint Mapper (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
-
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)(S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Server SMB 1.xxx Driver (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Server SMB 2.xxx Driver (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- srvnet (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Server SMB 2.xxx Driver (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
-
Security Accounts Manager(S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
-
Workstation(S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Browser Support Driver (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
-
Network Store Interface Service(S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- NSI proxy service driver (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- SMB 1.x MiniRedirector (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Redirected Buffering Sub Sysytem [Possible Typo in Windows 7] (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Mup (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Redirected Buffering Sub Sysytem [Possible Typo in Windows 7] (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- SMB 2.0 MiniRedirector (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Redirected Buffering Sub Sysytem [Possible Typo in Windows 7] (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Mup (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- Redirected Buffering Sub Sysytem [Possible Typo in Windows 7] (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
What other service require Computer Browser to function properly:
- None (S, HB, HP, P, U, E)
[/tab]
[tab name=’Windows Vista’]
Windows Vista
Default Description
Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. If this service is stopped, this list will not be updated or maintained. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Additional Information
None at this time.
Default Startup Type
| OS | SP0 | SP1 | SP2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vista Home Basic | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Started) | Automatic ** |
| Vista Home Premium | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Started) | Automatic ** |
| Vista Business | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Started) | Automatic ** |
| Vista Ultimate | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Started) | Automatic ** |
| Vista Enterprise | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Started) | Automatic ** |
Service Names
Service Name (registry): Browser
Display Name: Computer Browser
Default Path and Command Line Options
C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
Log On As
Account: Local System Account
Dependencies
What service Computer Browser needs to function properly:
-
Server(HB, HP, B, U)
-
Security Accounts Manager(HB, HP, B, U)
-
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)(HB, HP, B, U)
- DCOM Server Process Launcher (HB, HP, B, U)
-
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)(HB, HP, B, U)
- srv (HB, HP, B, U)
- srv2 (HB, HP, B, U)
- srvnet (HB, HP, B, U)
- srv2 (HB, HP, B, U)
-
Security Accounts Manager(HB, HP, B, U)
-
Workstation(HB, HP, B, U)
- Bowser (sic) ~ could be a misspelled service name (HB, HP, B, U)
-
Network Store Interface Service(HB, HP, B, U)
- NSI proxy service (HB, HP, B, U)
- SMB 1.x MiniRedirector (HB, HP, B, U)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (HB, HP, B, U)
- Redirected Buffering Sub System (HB, HP, B, U)
- Mup (HB, HP, B, U)
- Redirected Buffering Sub System (HB, HP, B, U)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (HB, HP, B, U)
- SMB 2.0 MiniRedirector (HB, HP, B, U)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (HB, HP, B, U)
- Redirected Buffering Sub System (HB, HP, B, U)
- Mup (HB, HP, B, U)
- Redirected Buffering Sub System (HB, HP, B, U)
- SMB MiniRedirector Wrapper and Engine (HB, HP, B, U)
What other service require Computer Browser to function properly:
- None (HB, HP, B, U)
[/tab]
[tab name=’Windows XP Pro x64′]
Windows XP Pro x64
Default Description
Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. If this service is stopped, this list will not be updated or maintained. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Additional Information
Computer Browser service maintains a listing of computers and resources located on the network. This service is not required on a standalone system. In fact, even if you want to browse the network (workgroup or domain) or have mapped network shares as local hard drives, you can still do so. On a large network, one computer is designated the “master” browser and another one is the “backup” browser. All others just announce they are available every 12 minutes to “take over” duties if one of the other computers fail. No lag time is discernable if this service remains disabled on all but one computer. Honestly, I do not even believe one needs to be running. You could, “just in case,” but it sure does not need to be running on all computers, all of the time.
Default Startup Type
| OS | SP0 | SP1 | SP2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| XP Pro x64 | ? | ? | Automatic |
Service Names
Service Name (registry): Browser
Display Name: Computer Browser
Default Path and Command Line Options
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
Log On As
Account: Local System Account
Dependencies
What service Computer Browser needs to function properly:
What other service require Computer Browser to function properly:
- None
[/tab]
[tab name=’Windows XP’]
Windows XP
Default Description
Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. If this service is stopped, this list will not be updated or maintained. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Additional Information
Computer Browser service maintains a listing of computers and resources located on the network. This service is not required on a standalone system. In fact, even if you want to browse the network (workgroup or domain) or have mapped network shares as local hard drives, you can still do so. On a large network, one computer is designated the “master” browser and another one is the “backup” browser. All others just announce they are available every 12 minutes to “take over” duties if one of the other computers fail. No lag time is discernable if this service remains disabled on all but one computer. Honestly, I do not even believe one needs to be running. You could, “just in case,” but it sure does not need to be running on all computers, all of the time.
Default Startup Type
| OS | SP0 | SP1 | SP2 | SP3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XP Home | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) |
| XP MCE 2005 | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) |
| XP Pro | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) |
| XP Tablet PC 2005 | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) | Automatic (Not Started) |
Service Names
Service Name (registry): Browser
Display Name: Computer Browser
Default Path and Command Line Options
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
Log On As
Account: Local System Account
Dependencies
What service Computer Browser needs to function properly:
- Server (H, M. P, T)
- Workstation (H, M, P, T)
What other service require Computer Browser to function properly:
- None (H, M, P, T)
[/tab]
[end_tabset]
Additional Reading
None at this time.