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JSI Tip 8208. When you first log on to Window XP, your pointer changes to an hourglass when it hovers over the taskbar?


When you first log on after starting Windows XP, you experience any of the following:

  • Your pointer changes to an hourglass when it hovers over the taskbar.
  • When you press the Start button, nothing happens. A few minutes later, it starts working.
  • Some notification area icons are missing. If you log off and log on, they appear.
  • When you press an icon on the Quick Launch bar, the pointer changes to an hourglass.

This behavior is symptomatic of the SSDP (Simple Service Discovery Protocol) Discovery Service searching for Universal Plug and Play devices on your network. The SSDP Discovery Service listens on port 1900 for NOTIFY directives that advertise the availability of UPnP devices. These IGD (Internet Gateway Devices), such as routers, and computers running ICS (Internet Connection Sharing), use SSDP to broadcast their availability.

If you don't need the SSDP Discovery Service, you can disable it, but doing so will prevent your computer from discovering new IGD devices on your network:

1. Start / Run / Services.msc / OK.

2. Scroll to the SSDP Discovery Service, right-click it, and press Properties.

3. On the General tab, change theStartup type drop-down from the default Manual setting to Disabled.

4. Press OK.

5. Press the Stop button.

If you wanted to script this procedure:

1. Copy / Paste the following into NotePad.exe:

@echo off
setlocal
(
 @echo REGEDIT4
 @echo/
 @echo \[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SSDPSRV\]
 @echo "Start"=dword:00000004
 @echo/
) >"%TEMP%\SSDP.reg"
net stop SSDPSRV
run /s "%TEMP%\SSDP.reg"
del /q "%TEMP%\SSDP.reg"
endlocal
2. Save the file as SSDP.txt.

3. Rename the file to SSDP.bat.

4. Run the SSDP.bat file.

NOTE: The Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client is installed on Windows XP by default. It starts the SSDP Discovery Service. Starting with SP1, the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client is an optional component, which can be uninstalled:

1. Open Add or Remove Program in Control Panel.

2. Press Add/Remove Windows Components.

3. Press Networking Services, press Details, and clear the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client box.

4. Press OK.

5. Press Next.

6. Press Finish.

7. Shutdown and restart Windows XP.

NOTE: If you continue to allow the SSDP Discovery Service to run, prudence dictates that you block port 1900 on your firewall.

NOTE: See Capabilities of the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client and of Universal Plug and Play.

NOTE: See Unchecked Buffer in Universal Plug and Play Can Lead to System Compromise for Windows XP.



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