Some Subsystems Persevere Through Logons

Last reviewed: December 17, 1996
Article ID: Q94995

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Win32 Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows NT versions 3.1, 3.5, 3.51 and 4.0

Subsystems such as the Local Security Authority (LSA), the spooler, the Win32 server, and the OS/2 subsystem do not terminate when the user logs off.

Windows on Win32 (WOW) is not a true subsystem; rather, it is a user-mode program. When you run an MS-DOS program, the console you run it from has a virtual DOS machine (VDM) attached to it until the console exits (which it is forced to do at logoff). When you run the first Win16 program, the WOW VDM is started and continues to run until the user logs off.

KBCategory: kbprg
KBSubcategory: Subsys
Additional reference words: 3.10 3.503.51 4.00

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Last reviewed: December 17, 1996
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