How to disable the wmpnetwk.exe process

The operating system often runs processes that the user simply does not need, and if you close them, no major changes will occur, but the computer's performance will increase. One of these is wmpnetwk.exe. The article will explain not only what kind of process it is, but also how to disable it. There will be three ways.

Wmpnetwk.exe - what is it

Initially, let's figure out what the process in the system is responsible for. And its purpose is quite useful, although not in demand by most users. wmpnetwk.exe is a process that allows data sharing with other computers that are on the same network. It works adjacent to wmplayer.exe (Windows Media). That is, this service allows you to play music or movies from another computer connected over a local network.

The file cannot be a virus, it is activated when the player starts and works in the background until the user starts listening to music or watching videos from another computer.

How to disable wmpnetwk.exe

Despite the fact that the process is quite useful, few people use it, because not everyone at home has several computers that can be connected via a local network. In this case, the wmpnetwk.exe process loads the processor just like that, and you can safely turn it off, because it will not entail any serious consequences.

Three methods will now be considered how to shut down a process.

Method 1: through Windows Media

This method involves changing the settings directly in the Windows player.

1. Open Window Media Player.
2. Enter its settings on the "Library" tab.
3. Click on the "Share Settings" button.
4. In the window that appears, two checkmarks will be set. You need to remove them, and then click "Apply."
5. Click OK.
6. In the window that appears, confirm your actions by clicking the appropriate button.

After that, the service will be disabled, and after restarting the computer will not start automatically.

Method 2: through Services

If you are confused about the intricacies of the player settings, then it will be much easier to complete the process by stopping the corresponding service.

1. Launch the Run window.
2. Enter "services.msc" into it and click "OK."
3. In the list of all Windows services that appears, look for the one called Windows Media Player Network ...
4. Open its properties.
5. Switch the Startup Type parameter to Disabled.
6. Apply the changes by clicking on the appropriate button and click "OK."

After that, it remains only to restart the computer - the process will be turned off.

Method 3: through the registry

If the previous methods did not help you, then you can definitely complete the unwanted process by changing its settings in the system registry.

1. Open the run window by pressing Win + R.
2. Run "regedit".
3. In the opened registry window, press Ctrl + F.
4. Type "DisableDiscovery" in the search box and search.
5. Double-click on the found file.
6. In the window, in the "Value" field, enter the number 1 or 2.
7. Save the changes.

After that, restart the computer to permanently save the settings.

Conclusion

So we figured out how to reduce the load on the central processor of the computer by disabling the wmpnetwk.exe process. We hope that one of the above methods is suitable for you, and you were able to complete the task.