Help and Support (helpsvc) Service Defaults in Windows XP
Enables Help and Support Center to run on your computer. If this service is stopped, Help and Support Center will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Default Settings
| Startup type: | Automatic |
| Display name: | Help and Support |
| Service name: | helpsvc |
| Service type: | share |
| Error control: | normal |
| Object: | LocalSystem |
| Path: | %SystemRoot%\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs |
| File: | %SystemRoot%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\pchsvc.dll |
| Registry key: | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\helpsvc |
Default Behavior
Help and Support is a Win32 service. In Windows XP it is starting automatically along with the operating system. Then the Help and Support service is running as LocalSystem in a shared process of svchost.exe. Other services and drivers are allowed to run in the same process. If the Help and Support 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 helpsvc service has failed to start.
Dependencies
Help and Support depends on the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service.
Restore Default Startup Configuration of Help and Support
Before you begin doing this, make sure that all the services on which Help and Support depends are configured by default and function properly. See the list of dependencies above.1. Run the Command Prompt.
2. Copy the commands below, paste them into the command window and press ENTER:
sc config helpsvc start= auto
sc start helpsvc
3. Close the command window and restart the computer.
The helpsvc service is using the pchsvc.dll file that is located in the C:\Windows\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows XP installation media.