Network Location Awareness (NLA) Service Defaults in Windows XP

Collects and stores network configuration and location information, and notifies applications when this information changes.

Default Settings

Startup type:	Manual
Display name:	Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Service name:	Nla
Service type:	share
Error control:	normal
Object:	LocalSystem
Path:	%SystemRoot%\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
File:	%SystemRoot%\System32\mswsock.dll
Registry key:	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Nla

Default Behavior

Network Location Awareness (NLA) is a Win32 service. In Windows XP it won't start until the current user starts it. When the Network Location Awareness (NLA) service is started, it 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 Network Location Awareness (NLA) 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 Nla service has failed to start.

Dependencies

Network Location Awareness (NLA) depends on the following system components:

The Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) depends on the Network Location Awareness (NLA) service.

Restore Default Startup Configuration of Network Location Awareness (NLA)

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

1. Run the Command Prompt.

2. Copy the command below, paste it into the command window and press ENTER:

sc config Nla start= demand

3. Close the command window and restart the computer.

The Nla service is using the mswsock.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.