SQL Management Studio external database only

Question

I'm trying to speed up my PC, and I figured out that a full version of SQL Management Studio 2012 is installed including localhost server.

I only need to connect to remote hosts, so running a local server by default should be disabled. Is there an easy way to disable certain parts so I can speed up my PC and booting time?

Thanks in advance. I really have no clue what processes I can disable without ruining everything.

Answer 1

If 2012 is the same as 2010 you can also load the "SQL Server Configuration Manager" then go into "SQL Server Services" and disable the "SQL Server (name)", "SQL Server Browser" and "SQL Server Agent (name)".

As Alan Third says you can just remove the local database if you are never going to need it.

Answer 2

You should be able to disable any services where the name starts "SQL", although on my PC with just the 2012 management studio I have the "SQL Server VSS Writer" service running, so that may be worth leaving on (I'm not sure what it does).

You can also use the SQL Server Installation Centre to uninstall any components you don't need. You only need the management tools and probably the client connectivity stuff. You can definitely uninstall the database engine if you have that installed.

If you have localDB installed you can remove it if you want but it's not a service that starts on boot, you have to explicitly make use of it.