What are wmpnscfg.exe and wmpnetwk.exe and Why Are They Running

[dock98]

So you've been going through Task Manager trying to figure out why so many services are running when you notice there's two items for Windows Media Player in the list… but you don't even use Media Player. What's up with that?

It's not like the processes take a lot of memory… I just get irritated when there's a process that restarts for no good reason. You disable it, and then somehow it's back. Annoying!

What Is This Service Anyway?

Windows Media Player 11 can share media between different computers on the same network, and can even share media with the XBox 360 as well. For this to work, there's a network sharing service that shares the library even if Media Player isn't open. It's really a great system if you use it.

Both of these processes are part of the Windows Media Player Sharing system, so if you use those features you should not disable it.

Disabling Media Sharing in Media Player

The best way to remove these services is to just use the configuration panel… that way they don't come back the next time Media Player gets opened, accidentally or otherwise.

Heres How: