Alerter Service Defaults in Windows XP

Notifies selected users and computers of administrative alerts. If the service is stopped, programs that use administrative alerts will not receive them. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Default Settings

Startup type:

Windows XP Home	Manual
Windows XP Professional	Manual
Windows XP Home SP1	Manual
Windows XP Professional SP1	Manual
Windows XP Home SP2	Disabled
Windows XP Professional SP2	Disabled
Windows XP Home SP3	Disabled
Windows XP Professional SP3	Disabled

Display name:

Alerter

Service name:

Alerter

Service type:

Error control:

normal

Object:

NT AUTHORITY\LocalService

Path:

%SystemRoot%\system32\svchost.exe -k LocalService

File:

%SystemRoot%\system32\alrsvc.dll

Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Alerter

Default Behavior

Alerter is a Win32 service. It won't start until the current user starts it in all editions of Windows XP SP0, Windows XP SP1. This service is disabled and isn't loading or starting in all editions of Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3.

When the Alerter service is started, it is running as NT AUTHORITY\LocalService in a shared process of svchost.exe. Other services and drivers are allowed to run in the same process. If the Alerter fails to start, the technical information about the error is added to the Event Log. Windows XP startup should proceed, but a message box should be displayed informing the user that the Alerter service has failed to start.

Dependencies

Alerter depends on the Workstation service.

Restore Default Startup Configuration of Alerter

Before you begin doing this, make sure that all the services on which Alerter depends are configured by default and function properly. See the list of dependencies above.

1. Run the Command Prompt.

2. Depending on the version of your operating system, copy the commands below, paste them into the command window and press ENTER.

For Windows XP SP0 Home, Windows XP SP0 Professional, Windows XP SP1 Home, Windows XP SP1 Professional:
sc config Alerter start= demand

For Windows XP SP2 Home, Windows XP SP2 Professional, Windows XP SP3 Home, Windows XP SP3 Professional:
sc stop Alerter
sc config Alerter start= disabled

3. Close the command window and restart the computer.

The Alerter service is using the alrsvc.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 XP installation media.