How to enable the Windows Script Host service

Updated: 01/24/2018 by Computer Hope
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The Windows Script Host service was introduced in Windows 98, and is included with every version of Windows since then. It provides scripting abilities to users, similar to that of batch files, but with more options and features. Having the Windows Script Host enabled in Windows allows users to execute VBScript and JScript files. If you need to enable Windows Script Host, following the steps below.

Warning

Due to exploitation by some malware programs, Windows Script Host service is often disabled in Windows to prevent security issues.

Enabling Windows Script Host

  1. Click Start or press the Windows key.
  2. Type regedit.exe and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  3. Navigate to the following registry key by clicking through the menus on the left side: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows Script Host\Settings
  4. On the right side of the Registry Editor window, double-click the Enabled registry value.
  5. If disabled, the Enabled value will be set to 0. Change it to a 1 to enable Windows Script Host.
  6. Close the Registry Editor window.
Tip

To disable Windows Script Host, change the Enabled value to a 0.