{"id":8200,"date":"2019-10-16T07:49:56","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T14:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/?p=8200"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:17:15","slug":"trigger-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/trigger-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: What do “Automatic (Trigger Start)” and “Manual (Trigger Start)” mean for Windows Services?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Trigger<\/div>\n
\n\"\"  When I look in Services.msc<\/a>, some of the Windows Services have a startup type of “Automatic (Trigger Start)” and “Manual (Trigger Start)”. What do those mean?<\/p>\n

— Liam<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hi Liam. Those trigger start types are indeed mysterious. And the Services application makes no attempt to explain what they are.<\/p>\n

For example, even though the phrase “Trigger Start” appears in the “Startup type” column in the list of services, that designation is absent when you dig into an individual service.<\/p>\n

Here we see the User Manager service showing a startup type of “Automatic (Trigger Start)” in the list but simply “Automatic” in the same field in the service’s properties window:<\/p>\n

\"User<\/a><\/div>\n

Baffling, to say the least.<\/p>\n

Let’s break down each of the start type names into their two components, to understand what the Services application is trying to communicate.<\/p>\n

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What do “Automatic” and “Manual” mean?<\/h2>\n

The first component tells Windows what to do with the service when the computer boots.<\/p>\n

Automatic<\/b> says “start this service when the computer boots”.<\/p>\n

Manual<\/b> means “don’t start the service at boot; it may be started at some other time”.<\/p>\n

There are other startup types too but those will be explained in a future article.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What does the “Trigger Start” part mean?<\/h2>\n

While the first component focuses on what happens at boot, the “Trigger Start” wording indicates if the service can be started or stopped by various operating system events. <\/p>\n

For example, some services are configured to start when you insert a USB drive. Other services may stop when your computer signs out of a domain or leaves the network.<\/p>\n

Services that respond to these events are using windows service triggers<\/a> — a powerful feature designed to conserve your computer’s precious resources. Service triggers were introduced in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 back in 2009.<\/p>\n

And here is the point of this journey into triggers: A service that has at least one trigger will show up with the “Trigger Start” designation in the Services application<\/b>.<\/p>\n

(Note that the treatment of triggers in the Services application stops there. Despite indicating when a service contains a trigger, triggers cannot be changed in the Services application. You must use the SC command line utility<\/a> or our free Service Trigger Editor GUI<\/a> to add or remove triggers from a service.)<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Putting it all together…<\/h2>\n

In summary:<\/p>\n

Automatic (Trigger Start)<\/b> means:<\/p>\n

Windows will start this service automatically at boot. The service may also start or stop in response to specific operating system events.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Manual (Trigger Start)<\/b> means:<\/p>\n

Windows will NOT start this service automatically at boot. The service may start or stop in response to specific operating system events.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\nHope this makes sense! Please be sure to get in touch<\/a> if you have any other questions about the wonderful world of Windows Services.\n<\/p>\n

\nUPDATE<\/b>: If you’re curious about the other Windows Service startup types, be sure to check out Windows Services Startup Types Explained<\/a>.\n<\/div>\n
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Read more about Windows Services\u2026<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n