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NT Service Toolkit Support

Frequently Asked Questions - Installing, Starting and Stopping Services

1. I am getting an "in use" error registering the Service. Or the IdwEasyServConfig_GetDescription property does not seem to set the Service Description but the Service Name instead .
2. AutoStarting a Service generates an error on some systems.

This is related to the "service description" rather than the Visual Basic Project Name. First off, the IdwEasyServConfig_GetDescription function is misleading, it actually sets the Service "Display Name" rather than the Service Description. This error message indicates that the "service description" you are setting using the IdwEasyServConfig_GetDescription property already exists. Change the IdwEasyServConfig_GetDescription property and then recompile the DLL to fix the problem. You can use the Service Control Panel Applet to see if that "service description" already exists. If so, it may mean that you have compiled and registered a Service with the same string earlier, or that the Service DLL Project does not have compatibility turned on.

This is most likely a Service Dependency problem. Our Service is dependent on the RPCSS service, and will not start until it is started. If your Service requires any additional services, you can return the service string name in the IdwEasyServConfig_ServiceDependencies function.

We have also verified this problem on NT 4, SP 5 and later on our generic Beeper sample. The order of when services start seemed to have changed starting with SP 5, and may continue to change in future service packs. If you have set your Service to AutoStart and get an error on boot-up, try setting the IdwEasyServConfig_ServiceDependencies function to return ONE of the following:

IdwEasyServConfig_ServiceDependencies = "Browser"
IdwEasyServConfig_ServiceDependencies = "ProtectedStorage" 
IdwEasyServConfig_ServiceDependencies = "Replicator"
IdwEasyServConfig_ServiceDependencies = "RasMan" 

or

IdwEasyServConfig_ServiceDependencies = "RasAuto" 

After making the change, uninstall your Service EXE, then recompile the DLL, and install your Service EXE again.

The Service string names are found in the subkeys of the \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services key.