You might sometimes encounter grayed-out services, particularly in scenarios like antivirus programs where certain services are intentionally safeguarded against tampering for security purposes, can pose challenges in managing your system effectively. However, there are strategies you can employ to navigate this hurdle and regain control over these services.
Option 1 – Startup Config
1) type “msconfig” in Run box
2) in the service tab, uncheck the service
3) reboot the computer
Option 2 – Registry Modification
The second method involves accessing the Windows Registry, the central repository of system settings, and making targeted modifications to alter the startup type of the grayed-out services.
1) Go to HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServices
2) Double-Click the Start SubKey
3) Change the DWORD value to 0 to 4 according to your startup option. 2 for Automatic & 4 for Disabled.
Below are Start values and description according to the technet article.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Boot (loaded by kernel loader). Components of the driver stack for the boot (startup) volume must be loaded by the kernel loader. |
| 1 | System (loaded by I/O subsystem). Specifies that the driver is loaded at kernel initialization. |
| 2 | Automatic (loaded by Service Control Manager). Specifies that the service is loaded or started automatically. |
| 3 | Manual. Specifies that the service does not start until the user starts it manually, such as by using Device Manager. |
| 4 | Disabled. Specifies that the service should not be started. |