[c#] Automatically start a Windows Service on install

Programmatic options for controlling services:

  • Native code can used, "Starting a Service". Maximum control with minimum dependencies but the most work.
  • WMI: Win32_Service has a StartService method. This is good for cases where you need to be able to perform other processing (e.g. to select which service).
  • PowerShell: execute Start-Service via RunspaceInvoke or by creating your own Runspace and using its CreatePipeline method to execute. This is good for cases where you need to be able to perform other processing (e.g. to select which service) with a much easier coding model than WMI, but depends on PSH being installed.
  • A .NET application can use ServiceController