Automatically start a Windows Service on install

Question

I have a Windows Service which I install using the InstallUtil exe  Even though I have set the Startup Method to Automatic  the service does not start when installed  I have to manually open the services and click start  Is there a way to start it either via the command line  or through the code of the Service

User · Answer

Here is a procedure and code using generated ProjectInstaller in Visual Studio:

Create Windows Service project in Visual Studio
Generate installers to the service
Open ProjectInstaller in design editor (it should open automatically when installer is created) and set properties of generated serviceProcessInstaller1 (e.g. Account: LocalSystem) and serviceInstaller1 (e.g. StartType: Automatic)
Open ProjectInstaller in code editor (press F7 in design editor) and add event handler to ServiceInstaller.AfterInstall - see the following code. It will start the service after its installation.

ProjectInstaller class:

using System.ServiceProcess;


[RunInstaller(true)]
public partial class ProjectInstaller : System.Configuration.Install.Installer
{
    public ProjectInstaller()
    {
        InitializeComponent(); //generated code including property settings from previous steps
        this.serviceInstaller1.AfterInstall += Autorun_AfterServiceInstall; //use your ServiceInstaller name if changed from serviceInstaller1
    }

    void Autorun_AfterServiceInstall(object sender, InstallEventArgs e)
    {
        ServiceInstaller serviceInstaller = (ServiceInstaller)sender;
        using (ServiceController sc = new ServiceController(serviceInstaller.ServiceName))
        {
            sc.Start();
        }
    }
}

User · Answer

You can use the following command line to start the service    net start  servicename

User · Answer

Automatic startup means that the service is automatically started when Windows starts  As others have mentioned  to start it from the console you should use the ServiceController

User · Answer

You corrupted your designer  ReAdd your Installer Component  It should have a serviceInstaller and a serviceProcessInstaller  The serviceInstaller with property Startup Method set to Automatic will startup when installed and after each reboot

User · Answer

Use ServiceController to start your service from code   Update  And more correct way to start service from the command line is to use  sc   Service Controller  command instead of  net

User · Answer

How about following commands   net start   lt service name gt   net stop   lt service name gt

User · Answer

Despite following the accepted answer exactly  I was still unable to get the service to start-- I was instead given a failure message during installation stating that the service that was just installed could not be started  as it did not exist  despite using this serviceInstaller ServiceName rather than a literal     I eventually found an alternative solution that makes use of the command line   private void serviceInstaller AfterInstall object sender  InstallEventArgs e            ProcessStartInfo startInfo   new ProcessStartInfo            startInfo WindowStyle   ProcessWindowStyle Hidden          startInfo FileName    cmd exe           startInfo Arguments     C sc start     this serviceInstaller ServiceName           Process process   new Process            process StartInfo   startInfo          process Start

User · Answer

This is OK for me  In Service project add to Installer cs  RunInstaller true   public partial class ProjectInstaller   System Configuration Install Installer       public ProjectInstaller                 InitializeComponent                protected override void OnAfterInstall IDictionary savedState                base OnAfterInstall savedState               The following code starts the services after it is installed          using  System ServiceProcess ServiceController serviceController   new System ServiceProcess ServiceController serviceInstaller1 ServiceName                         serviceController Start

User · Answer

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

User · Answer

In your Installer class  add a handler for the AfterInstall event  You can then call the ServiceController in the event handler to start the service   using System ServiceProcess  public ServiceInstaller               Installer code here     this AfterInstall    new InstallEventHandler ServiceInstaller AfterInstall      void ServiceInstaller AfterInstall object sender  InstallEventArgs e        ServiceInstaller serviceInstaller    ServiceInstaller sender       using  ServiceController sc   new ServiceController serviceInstaller ServiceName                      sc Start              Now when you run InstallUtil on your installer  it will install and then start up the service automatically

User · Answer

After refactoring a little bit  this is an example of a complete windows service installer with automatic start  using System ComponentModel  using System Configuration Install  using System ServiceProcess   namespace Example of name space    RunInstaller true   public partial class ServiceInstaller   Installer       private readonly ServiceProcessInstaller processInstaller      private readonly System ServiceProcess ServiceInstaller serviceInstaller       public ServiceInstaller                 InitializeComponent            processInstaller   new ServiceProcessInstaller            serviceInstaller   new System ServiceProcess ServiceInstaller                Service will run under system account         processInstaller Account   ServiceAccount LocalSystem              Service will have Automatic Start Type         serviceInstaller StartType   ServiceStartMode Automatic           serviceInstaller ServiceName    quot Windows Automatic Start Service quot            Installers Add serviceInstaller           Installers Add processInstaller           serviceInstaller AfterInstall    ServiceInstaller AfterInstall                        private void ServiceInstaller AfterInstall object sender  InstallEventArgs e                ServiceController sc   new ServiceController  quot Windows Automatic Start Service quot            sc Start

User · Answer

You can use the GetServices method of ServiceController class to get an array of all the services  Then  find your service by checking the ServiceName property of each service  When you ve found your service  call the Start method to start it   You should also check the Status property to see what state it is already in before calling start  it may be running  paused  stopped  etc

User · Answer

Just a note  You might have set up your service differently using the forms interface to add a service installer and project installer  In that case replace where it says serviceInstaller ServiceName with  name from designer  ServiceName   You also don t need the private members in this case   Thanks for the help

[c#] Automatically start a Windows Service on install

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