{"id":9458,"date":"2020-09-12T05:34:39","date_gmt":"2020-09-12T12:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/?p=9458"},"modified":"2025-12-27T00:24:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T08:24:33","slug":"lanmanserver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/lanmanserver\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Windows Services: LanmanServer \/ Server"},"content":{"rendered":"<div align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"no-lazy-load\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/server-service-150x150.webp\" title=\"Server Service\" alt=\"Server Service\" border=\"0\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"blog-toc-container\" style=\"margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:40px;\">\n<p id=\"blog-toc-title\">In this article&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#what-is-lanmanserver-service\">What is the LanmanServer (Server) service?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#stop-lanmanserver\">What happens if I stop the LanmanServer service?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ok-to-disable-lanmanserver\">Is it safe to disable LanmanServer?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#lanmanserver-questions\">Questions? Problems?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><a name=\"what-is-lanmanserver-service\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">What is the LanmanServer (Server) service?<\/h2>\n<p>The LanmanServer service allows your computer to share files and printers with other devices on your network.<\/p>\n<p>The service&#8217;s display name is <b>Server<\/b> and it runs inside the service host process, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Svchost.exe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">svchost.exe<\/a>. By default, the service is set to start automatically when your computer boots:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/lanmanserver-windows-service.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"LanmanServer Windows Service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/lanmanserver-windows-service.png\" title=\"LanmanServer Windows Service (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"LanmanServer Windows Service\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a name=\"stop-lanmanserver\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">What happens if I stop the LanmanServer service?<\/h2>\n<p>There will be a couple of potentially significant consequences if you stop the Server service.<\/p>\n<h3>1. File sharing will not work<\/h3>\n<p>Is your computer hosting a shared folder? If so, that folder will no longer be available to network computers once you stop LanmanServer.<\/p>\n<p>Mapped drives pointing to your computer&#8217;s shared folders will be inaccessible and remote users will experience abrupt errors like this:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/mapped-drive-non-accessible.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"Mapped drive not accessible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/mapped-drive-non-accessible.png\" title=\"Mapped drive not accessible (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"Mapped drive not accessible\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>In addition, all sharing controls will disappear from your computer&#8217;s File Explorer windows. <\/p>\n<p>For example, the drive properties window has a <b>Sharing<\/b> tab while LanmanServer is running:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/drive-properties-sharing-tab.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"The Sharing tab is accessible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/drive-properties-sharing-tab.png\" title=\"The Sharing tab is accessible (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"The Sharing tab is accessible\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>But once the service stops, the Sharing tab vanishes:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/drive-properties-no-sharing-tab.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"The Sharing tab has vanished\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/drive-properties-no-sharing-tab.png\" title=\"The Sharing tab has vanished (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"The Sharing tab has vanished\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Of course, only remote users will be impacted. The underlying files and folders will still be available on the computer hosting the drive.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Remote printing will not work<\/h3>\n<p>Is your computer sharing its printer with other computers? If so, the service being down will affect folks printing from those other computers.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, Windows will tell them that the remote printer is &#8220;Offline&#8221;. All their print requests will enter the print queue, patiently waiting for the printer to come back online:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/printer-offline-jobs-queued.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"The printer is offline and jobs are queued\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/printer-offline-jobs-queued.png\" title=\"The printer is offline and jobs are queued (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"The printer is offline and jobs are queued\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Note that local printing (from the computer with the printer attached) will still work. Only remote users\/computers will be affected.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ok-to-disable-lanmanserver\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">Is it safe to disable LanmanServer?<\/h2>\n<p>Yes, it should be safe to disable the service &mdash; provided that your computer is not sharing files or printers. As mentioned above, those services won&#8217;t operate without the Server service. <\/p>\n<p>Note that Internet-based networking features (for example, accessing web sites from your browser) will still be available when the service is disabled. In theory, many non-networked or home computers will do just fine without LanmanServer always running.<\/p>\n<p>And because LanmanServer doesn&#8217;t have any dependencies, disabling it shouldn&#8217;t prevent any other services from starting up:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/lanmanserver-no-dependencies.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"LanmanServer has no dependencies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/lanmanserver-no-dependencies.png\" title=\"LanmanServer has no dependencies (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"LanmanServer has no dependencies\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>However, despite the above evidence to the contrary, Microsoft <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows-server\/security\/windows-services\/security-guidelines-for-disabling-system-services-in-windows-server#server\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recommends keeping the Server service enabled<\/a>. Unfortunately they don&#8217;t provide a reason or explanation!<\/p>\n<p><b>Please proceed with caution if you decide to disable the LanmanServer service.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"lanmanserver-questions\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">Questions? Problems?<\/h2>\n<p>If you would like to know more about the Server service, or you have a specific problem, please feel free to <a href=\"\/support\/\">get in touch<\/a>. We&#8217;ll do our best to help you!<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top:30px\" align=\"center\">\n<div class=\"cta-button-1\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/tag\/essential-windows-services\/\" title=\"Find more important Windows Services\"><span><nobr>More Essential Windows Services&#8230;<\/nobr><\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- relpost-thumb-wrapper --><div class=\"relpost-thumb-wrapper\"><!-- filter-class --><div class=\"relpost-thumb-container\"><style>.relpost-block-single-image, .relpost-post-image { margin-bottom: 10px; }<\/style><h3>You may also like...<\/h3><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><!-- relpost-block-container --><div class=\"relpost-block-container relpost-block-column-layout\" style=\"--relposth-columns: 3;--relposth-columns_t: 2; --relposth-columns_m: 2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/w32time\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Essential Windows Services: Windows Time \/ W32Time\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/windows-time-service-150x150-1.webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Essential Windows Services: Windows Time \/ W32Time<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/restart-remote-service\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Q&amp;A: How do I Restart a Windows Service on a Remote Computer?\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/restart-remote-service-150x150-1.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Q&amp;A: How do I Restart a Windows Service on a Remote Computer?<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/what-services-changed\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Q&amp;A: What changed with my Windows Services?\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/windows-service-changes-150x150-1.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Q&amp;A: What changed with my Windows Services?<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><!-- close relpost-block-container --><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><\/div><!-- close filter class --><\/div><!-- close relpost-thumb-wrapper -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article&#8230; What is the LanmanServer (Server) service? What happens if I stop the LanmanServer service? Is it safe to disable LanmanServer? Questions? Problems? What is the LanmanServer (Server) service? The LanmanServer service allows your computer to share files &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/lanmanserver\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[78,218,217,196],"class_list":["post-9458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-windows-services","tag-essential-windows-services","tag-lanmanserver","tag-server-service","tag-windows-services-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9458"}],"version-history":[{"count":54,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13290,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9458\/revisions\/13290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}