HowTo: Disable HP Health Check Service

HP Health Check Service

HP Health Check is a utility that comes with every Compaq or HP branded computer which actively scans the computer and alerts the user of important updates from HP, it can also suggest fixes, performance enhancements, updates and other hardware/software issues that may affect the computer’s performance. One of the first things I did when I bought my Compaq Presario C714NR was to get rid of bloatware (unnecessary preinstalled programs/softwares) and start up services that load up when you start Windows. One of those services is the HP Health Check Service.

I disabled the HP Health Check utility because I consider it useless, its also annoying (set to start automatically), it always runs in the background (checking for updates) and uses up valuable system resources. Another thing I don’t like about it is that when it finds new updates or issues with the computer, it just pops out of nowhere and when it loads, it slows down the computer and eats up a lot of the memory. This can be a pain if you’re in a hurry or in the middle of doing something very important or using a video editing or graphics editing program like Adobe Photoshop that also uses a large amount of system resources. If your computer can’t handle the load, the programs could crash and you could lose your work.

This short and simple tutorial will show you how to disable the HP Health Check utility service and also how to start it manually.

NOTE: This tutorial was done with a computer running Windows Vista.

1. Click on the START/Windows logo then type in “Services.msc” and hit ENTER.
HP Health Check Service

2. Look for HP Health Check Service.
HP Health Check Service

3. Right-click on HP Health Check Service and select Properties.
HP Health Check Service

4. Click on the Stop button and on Startup Type, select Disabled.
HP Health Check Service

5. Click on Apply, then click OK.

That’s it. The HP Health Check Service should now be disabled. In case you don’t want to disable it and prefer to start it manually, in Step 4, instead of selecting Disabled on the Startup Type, select Manual.

How to start the HP Health Check Service manually

1. Click Start, then click on Help and Support.
2. Click Troubleshooting Tools
3. Under Health Check, click on Use this tool to scan your system for security, performance, and maintenance issues.

HP Health Check should be up and running and you can proceed with scanning your computer for updates, issues, and recommended fixes.

Hope this short simple tutorial helped you manage the HP Health Check Service. If you know of another way of disabling or managing the HP Health Check Service or if you have any questions about it, feel free to leave a comment below. You might also want to check out my other Tips & Tricks posts for other useful and related tutorials.

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21 Comments

  1. Note: Even after doing all this, you should also check Scheduled Tasks in windows XP and Task Scheduler under administrative tools in Vista, and delete any entry there corresponding to HP Health Check.

  2. Hi JP,

    I found a quick solution to my own problem which you may like to add to your blog. For whatever reason, there is no simple way of uninstalling HPHC from your laptop. Which means that HPHC and its shortcut will stay on your Start > All Programs > HP folder.

    The simplest way to stop it from popping on clicking ctrl+shft+C is to go to Start > All Programs > HP, locate HP Health Check, right click on it, select Properties and on Shortcut tab delete the contents of Shortcut key textbox! Voila! That got rid of the annoying pop-up.
    As for stopping the service COMPLETELY, there is another set of steps that needs to be completed:

    Type msconfig in your Run command window.
    Check Selective Startup.
    Then on the start tab scroll down to find HP Health Check and uncheck the box.

    You will have to reboot your system for the changes to take effect.

    Hope it works for all!

    BABS

  3. Hi JP,
    A lot of users here have been claiming that the solution you have given them has helped them in disabling HP Health Check. However, it doesn’t seem to work for me. I have an HP6830 and Windows Vista Home-32 Pro.
    Although, I can see “HP Health Check Service” disabled in services, on pressing ctrl+shft+C (which is copy formatting shortcut in MS Word) HP Health Check still pops up like an adamant jack-in-the-box. Its really getting on my nerves! And its surprising that HP is not replying to my queries and has no options to disable HPHC or change the shortcut!
    Any other tips?
    Thanks,
    BABS

  4. Thanks a lot! Sometimes my Vista just slows down from out of the blue. I knew it had to be something automatic, but since I am just a plain user, all I could do was checking what was running on my laptop: when I found HP Health Check, whose schedule I certainly have never set, I began to wonder. When I googled “hp health check”, yours was the 7th in the list, but the first one to be of help! You may add the expression “get rid of” to your post, so that others may find you even more easily.
    Anna (57) from Hungary

  5. @ron – Just follow the same steps and instead of disabling it, you enable the HP Health Check Service. Then restart your computer. That should fix it. If not, then maybe you have done something that messed up your computer’s configuration or have a third party program that disabled it. Btw, what version of Windows are you running on?

  6. I FIND HEALTH CHECK A USEFUL APPLICATION,RECENTLY I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO LAUNCH HEALTH CHECK,IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS THEY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU SO MUCH

  7. JenniferLynnsays:

    Oh my God. I’m so glad I found this. I was getting really concerned because my Health Check kept crashing my laptop. I didn’t know why it was crashing before, actually, until today. I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t know if it was important and if I needed it.

    I suppose not and I think I’ll breathe easier now. I’m so relieved!

    ~ Jennifer

  8. YOU ARE a GOD!

    Thank you! I’ve known something’s been running on and off in the background, screwing up my typing.

    I hope this will stop the ridiculous load time for my Photoshop (CS3) as well pray, hope, knock on wood

    Anywoo,
    Thank you for the info. . . back to work!

  9. I had a Compaq Presario desktop PC before, but it didn’t have the HP Health Check. Is it only in newer versions. Granted, it was bought in 1999.

  10. @jhay – Really? That’s weird. Anyways, I was thinking maybe they only have it installed on computers sold here in the US or North America? Or maybe, they just forgot to install it on your unit. Hehe

  11. @jhay – What model is your Compaq Presario laptop? I’m not really sure but I think all computers manufactured by HP/Compaq have this preinstalled. Just to be sure you can open Services.msc and check.

    Well that’s business and it’s one of the ways these computer manufacturer’s make money.

  12. Strange, I don’t think my Compaq laptop has this program installed because ’tis the 1st time I’ve heard about it.

    I’ll poke around and see it my laptop has it. Nice tutorial, manufacturers should just stop bloating up their products with useless apps.

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