The Plug and Play (PlugPlay) service enables a computer to recognize and adapt to hardware changes with little or no user input. This service enables you to add or remove devices without any detailed knowledge of the computer hardware, and you do not need to manually configure the hardware or the operating system. For example, you can plug in a USB keyboard, and the Plug and Play service detects the new device, finds a driver for it, and installs it. Or if you dock a portable computer and use the docking station's Ethernet card to connect to the network, you do not need to change any configuration settings. Later, you can undock the same computer and use a modem to connect to the network-again, without any manual configuration changes.

You cannot stop or disable the service through the Services snap-in console because of the impact on operating system stability. If this service stops, the Device Manager interface appears blank and no hardware devices are displayed.

This service is installed by default and its startup type is Automatic.

The Plug and Play service is not dependent upon any other system components.

The following system components are dependent upon the Plug and Play service:

• Fax
• Smart Card
• Tablet PC Input Service
• Telephony
• Remote Access Auto Connection Manager
• Remote Access Connection Manager
• Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
• Routing and Remote Access
• Virtual Disk
• Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
• Windows Audio
• Windows Driver Foundation–User-Mode Driver Framework
• Windows Biometric Service
• WWAN Autoconfig