subject: Fix Svchost error - What is SVCHOST process? [print this page] What is a Windows Service? What is a Windows Service?
Services are Windows programs that start when Windows loads and that continue to run in the background without interaction from the user. For the most part Windows services are executable (.EXE) files, but some services are DLL files as well. As Windows has no direct way of executing a DLL file it needs a program that can act as a host or a launcher for these types of programs. Basically DLL files are library files with a large list of what developers call routines or functions. Routines are step-by-step algorithms of what that routine or function should do (like a recepie). In this situation, the launcher for DLL services is svchost.exe. Each time you see a SVCHOST process, it is actually a process that is managing one or more distinct Win32 DLL services.
What is SVCHOST process?
Svchost.exe stands for Generic Host Process for Win32 Services is an integral part of Windows OS. It cannot be stopped or restarted manually. At startup, svchost.exe checks the services portion of the registry to construct a list of services that it needs to load. In normal conditions multiple instances of svchost.exe run at the same time. Each svchost.exe session can contain a grouping of services, so that separate services can be run depending on how and where svchost.exe is started. This allows for better control and debugging. This group of services is usually defined in the Windows Registry to be more exact under this particular registry key:
It is not uncommon to see numerous SVCHOST entries, sometimes upwards to 6 or 7 entries, running on your computer. If you are concerned with what is running under these processes, simply use the steps described below to examine their services.
Click on the Start button and then click on the Run menu command.
Type in cmd and press the Enter button.
You will now be presented with a console window with a prompt (most commonly something like C:>). At the command prompt type tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe" and press the Enter key. You will see a list of the processes on your computer as well as the services that a svchost.exe process is managing.
When you are done examining the output, you can type exit at the (C:>) prompt and press the Enter key to close the console window.
Note that the SVCHOST.EXE file is located in the folder C:WindowsSystem32. In other subfolders like Startup, the svchost.exe process spells out malware so be careful and always verify your processes and their locations, their origin, their date creation, modification and other meta-data attributes. Always make an informed decision before attempting to delete something from your system. Also do not always blindly quarantine every file that the antivirus flags as possible threat. Possible Threat can mean many things. It can be that the antivirus app flagged the file because it connects to the Internet and attempts to download updates without asking the user, however it could be a legitimate file that you installed weeks ago and forgot about it, so do your homework beforehand. That's all for today folks! Next issue will be on smss.exe process.Click Here to Fix Svchost Error.
