Deleting an unnecessary service in Windows can free up system resources and speed up your PC’s performance. For instance, I recently uninstalled EA from my desktop. However, the uninstallation was not clean and a leftover service of EA was running in the background and consuming a significant amount of resources (>10%). So, I manually deleted the service to fix the problem and restore my system’s performance.
In this tutorial, we’ll discuss whether and when to delete a service, how to differentiate between system and application-installed services, and the steps to safely in Windows 10 & 11. Let’s get started.
Why Delete a Service?
Services often run in the background and consume system resources such as CPU and memory. By deleting unnecessary services, such as those left behind by uninstalled applications, you can free up system resources, improve your system’s performance, and even reduce potential security threats depending on the service type.
Is It Safe To Delete a Service?
The answer depends on whether it is a system service or a service added by an installed application.
System Services:
It is not safe and is never recommended to delete a system service, i.e., a service belonging to the operating system itself. If you delete a system service, it may cause stability issues and in the worst-case scenario irreparable damage to the OS and make it unbootable.
Application-installed Services:
If it’s a service added by an application you installed, you should delete the service after uninstalling the application. Only then it is safe. Otherwise, it can cause issues with the application and might stop it from working.
To put it simply, it’s not safe to delete a system service and you should be cautious when deleting an application-installed service.
Identifying System Services vs. Application-Installed Services
When you decide to delete a service from Windows, it is important to identify whether the service belongs to the system or an installed application. Here’s how to do it.
1. First, press the Start button, search for Services, and click Open.
2. In the Services window, find the service you want to delete, right-click on it, and select Properties.
3. Under the General tab, check the Path to Executable section. System services typically reside in C:\Windows\System32.
4. Services installed by applications may be located in the application’s install directory such as C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86).
5. Next, go to the Log On tab and look at with which user account the service is logging in as.
6. For example, system services often log on with Local System, Network Service, or Local Service.
7. Whereas application-installed services generally use the Local System account or a specific user account depending on their configuration.
These clues should give you ample information to identify whether a service belongs to the system or an application. If you are still unsure, you can search for its name online to find more information about the service.
When To Delete a Service?
There are only a few scenarios when you should delete a service. They are as follows:
- It is not a system service.
- When a service is no longer needed. For example, a leftover service by an uninstalled application.
- A service is consuming a lot of system resources and you determine it’s not a system service or a service used by an installed application.
- A service related to a malware or virus.
If your situation doesn’t fall into the above scenarios, you should rather disable the service instead of deleting it. It’s a much safer option. For example, system administrators across the world actively disabled the Print Spooler service, instead of deleting it, after the discovery of the PrintNightmare vulnerability.
Steps To Delete a Service in Windows 10 & 11
Before You Begin
- You require administrative rights to delete a service in Windows.
- Create a full backup of your PC before proceeding with the below steps. The backup helps you restore the system if you made a mistake by deleting an important service.
Steps:
We’ll use the sc delete command with the name of the service to delete it. Follow the below steps.
1. First, press the Start button, search for Services, and click Open.
2. In the Services window, find the service you want to delete, right-click on it, and select Properties.
3. Note down its name next to “Service Name.” For example, the name of the service I want to delete is “VMTools.”
4. Next, press the Start button, search for Command Prompt, and click on Run as Administrator.
5. In the cmd window, run the below command. Replace “ServiceName” with the actual name of the service you want to delete.
sc delete ServiceName
6. For example, since I want to delete the “VMTools” service, I run the following command.
sc delete OptionsPlusUpdaterService
That’s it. As soon as you run the command, Windows will delete the service. You will see the “[SC] DeleteService SUCCESS” message. Restart your system to force the changes to take effect.
After restarting, open the Services window and verify that the service you want to delete is gone.
Note: If you don’t restart, you might see the service as disabled. You have to restart your computer to complete the procedure.
FAQ
Ensure you are opening the Command Prompt as an administrator. Otherwise, you will not be able to remove a service.
If the service still appears after you’ve executed the “sc delete” command, restart your PC to remove it completely. This step is necessary because if the service is actively running or a process still holds an open handle, the service is only marked for deletion and will be fully deleted on the next restart.
Once you delete a service, you cannot restore it directly. If it’s a service added by an application, reinstalling the application might restore the service. If it’s a system service, you must restore the system backup or use the built-in system restore functionality to get the deleted service back. That’s why it’s important to fully back up your PC before deleting any service.
If you want to use PowerShell, open it as administrator and run this command: Remove-Service -Name ServiceName. Replace “ServiceName” with the actual name of the service you want to delete.
Note: Remove-Service requires PowerShell v7.0 or higher.
Wrapping Up – Cleaning Up Unnecessary Services in Windows
As I’ve shown, deleting a service is a simple task. The main advantages are that you clean up the system of unnecessary services and free up system resources. However, you should never delete a system service. Even in the case of application-installed services, you should only delete them when it is absolutely necessary and you have no other way. Otherwise, it is recommended that you just disable the service instead of going to the extreme and deleting it.
If you have any questions, comment below and I will answer.
