Hi Guys! I've been around here for a while helping others with their 'puter woes from time to time, but now it's my turn for some help! :) I'll try to be as short, but descriptive as possible about my little problem. Earlier this morning I disabled a bunch of my Windows Services to help tighten up my system's security, as well as loosen up some available resources. Most of the services I've disabled were mostly non-essential anyway (as typically recommended by many sites offering tips on enabling / disabling various Windows XP services). A few mintues after doing so, I went to download some mp3 clips from a local radio station's website that I frequent each day. After selecting the mp3 file to download (right click, save target as...), I noticed that the green progress bar that usually showed up on the download window was missing during the download, as well as the info on "Estimated time left" for the download? I can see the transfer rate KB/sec info... but just not the green progress bar and "Estimated time left" that I'd always seen before. At first I thought it was just the site's server having some issues, so I went to three other sites that I frequently download mp3 and assorted files from, and all of them did the same... no green progress bar in the download window? This all happened soon after I disabled a few of my Windows Services, so I'm pretty sure that's the culprit. So, my question is... which, if any, Windows Services would / could have that affect on download transfer info being displayed in the download window (I'm using Internet Explorer)? I suppose I could go and click the "default" button to re-set all the services to original XP settings, then re-do all the automatic/manual/disable options again... but that's a real pain in the butt. I figured I'd first try the easy way out for now by asking my fellow computing.net experts for their opinions on which service(s) may be the culprit? I'm guessing it has something to do with direct server communications? Thanks in advance for any and all help, guys! :) ~ Sarah C. ~~~~~~~ eMachines H2602 1.9ghz Athlon XP 2600+ 80gb HDD Primary 40gb HDD Secondary Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 512mb DDR PC2700

I disabled a bunch of my Windows Services to help tighten up my system's security Hi Sarah - I remember you :-) Please list for us the services you disabled. i_XpUser

Howdy doo XPUser! It's quite a list, but here's the services that I had disabled. I had some of these already disabled for many months with no problems whatsoever with that download status/progress bar thingy; while a few I disabled just this morning... so, it was kinda hard for me to remember *exactly* which one(s) I disabled, which then led to my current problem... Alerter Application Layer Gateway Automatic Updates Clipbook Computer Browser Cryptographic Services DNS Client Error Reporting Service Help and Support Indexing Service Logical Disk Manager Admin. Serivce Machine Debug Manager Messenger NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Network DDE Network DDE DSDM Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Routing and Remote Access Secondary Logon Security Center Server SSDP Discovery Service System Event Notification Telnet Terminal Services WebClient A majority of those were disabled after I had read through a list of recommendations at this site... www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm I think I may have a general idea of which ones it might be causing the problem, but I'll wait around to get some input from you and others before I mess around with the settings again! PS - I *knew* you wouldn't leave Computing.net... this place is too wonderfully addicting! Great to see you still doing what you do best around here. Your help has always been a value to both fellow forum members and newbies alike! :) ~ Sarah C. ~~~~~~~ eMachines H2602 1.9ghz Athlon XP 2600+ 80gb HDD Primary 40gb HDD Secondary Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 512mb DDR PC2700

Thanks - IMHO you have disabled too many of the must-not disable services. I have the following services set to automatic & let the machine use it as they see fits: Application Layer Gateway Computer Browser Cryptographic Services DNS Client Help and Support Logical Disk Manager Admin. Serivce Machine Debug Manager - not on mine Secondary Logon Security Center Server SSDP Discovery Service System Event Notification Telnet Terminal Services WebClient Try set them to automatic then reboot the PC. You may also wish to navigate to Blackviper for more configuration info regarding these services. i_XpUser

I set those to automatic, but the problem of the missing green progress bar still persists. :( The reason why I had those on the list disabled is because this is just a single home computer (not connected to a home / work / multi-user network). I think I should go through my list again one-by-one to see if I can narrow down the problem any further. Many thanks for your input! :) ~ Sarah C. ~~~~~~~ eMachines H2602 1.9ghz Athlon XP 2600+ 80gb HDD Primary 40gb HDD Secondary Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 512mb DDR PC2700

Just to end this thread... for the life of me, I couldn't figure out *exactly* which service I had inadvertently disabled which caused this dilemma. So, I went into my Windows Services and re-set all services back to XP default settings, then disabled the ones that are obvious security risks, and ones that do not apply to my system (single user / non-networked). Doing that fixed the problem... I can now see that green progress bar thingy and "Estimated time left..." in the download window again. I still have no idea which *exact* service(s) did this, but I'll probably go back and disable a few more non-essential services one-by-one, as opposed to disabling a bunch of them without testing each one's effect first. :) ~ Sarah C. ~~~~~~~ eMachines H2602 1.9ghz Athlon XP 2600+ 80gb HDD Primary 40gb HDD Secondary Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 512mb DDR PC2700

Thanks for posting back, Sarah. As an FYI I want you to know that this issue intrigues me because I have been searching M$ technet & MSDN sites for clues to no avail. I hope you will update us via a new thread with info regarding which services it is that caused the progress bar to disappear. Thanks :-) i_XpUser