Plug and Play (PlugPlay) Service Defaults in Windows 8
Enables a computer to recognize and adapt to hardware changes with little or no user input. Stopping or disabling this service will result in system instability.
Default Settings
| Startup type: | Manual |
| Display name: | Plug and Play |
| Service name: | PlugPlay |
| Service type: | share |
| Error control: | normal |
| Group: | PlugPlay |
| Object: | LocalSystem |
| Path: | %SystemRoot%\system32\svchost.exe -k DcomLaunch |
| File: | %SystemRoot%\system32\umpnpmgr.dll |
| Registry key: | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PlugPlay |
Default Behavior
Plug and Play is a Win32 service. In Windows 8 it will not be started until the user starts it. When the Plug and Play service is started, it runs as LocalSystem in a process of svchost.exe, sharing it with other services. If Plug and Play fails to start, the error details are added to Windows 8 error log. When the operating system startup is complete, the user is being notified that the PlugPlay service hasn't been started.
Restore Default Startup Configuration of Plug and Play
1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Copy the command below, paste it into the command window and press ENTER:
sc config PlugPlay start= demand
3. Close the command window and restart the computer.
The PlugPlay service is using the umpnpmgr.dll file that is located in the C:\Windows\system32 directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows 8 installation media.