How do I uninstall a .NET Windows Service, if the service files does not exists anymore?
I installed a .NET Windows Service using InstallUtil. I have since deleted the files but forgot to run
InstallUtil /u
first. So the service is still listed in the Services MMC.
Do I have to go into the registry? Or is there a better way?
This question is related to
windows
windows-services
installation
The answer is
You have at least three options. I have presented them in order of usage preference.
Method 1 - You can use the SC tool (Sc.exe) included in the Resource Kit. (included with Windows 7/8)
Open a Command Prompt and enter
sc delete <service-name>
Tool help snippet follows:
DESCRIPTION:
SC is a command line program used for communicating with the
NT Service Controller and services.
delete----------Deletes a service (from the registry).
Method 2 - use delserv
Download and use delserv command line utility. This is a legacy tool developed for Windows 2000. In current Window XP boxes this was superseded by sc described in method 1.
Method 3 - manually delete registry entries (Note that this backfires in Windows 7/8)
Windows services are registered under the following registry key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
Search for the sub-key with the service name under referred key and delete it. (and you might need to restart to remove completely the service from the Services list)
Notes on using "sc delete" in Windows 8:
1) Open a CMD window with elevated privileges. [Windows Key-X to bring up a menu with the option; select "Command Prompt (Admin)".]
2) Use the parenthetical name from the list in Services [for example, I used "sc delete gupdate" when, in Services, it read "Google Update (gupdate)"]
The easiest way is to use Sys Internals Autoruns
Start it in admin mode and then you can remove obsolete services by delete key
If the original Service .InstallLog and .InstallState files are still in the folder, you can try reinstalling the executable to replace the files, then use InstallUtil /u, then uninstall the program. It's a bit convoluted, but worked in a particular instance for me.
-Windows+r open cmd.
-sc YourSeviceName this code remove your service.
-Uninstal "YourService Path" this code uninstall your service.
Some people mentioning sc delete as an answer. This is how I did it, but it took me a while to find the <service-name> parameter.
The command sc query type= service (note, it's very particular with formatting, the space before "service" is necessary) will output a list of Windows services installed, complete with their qualified name to be used with sc delete <service-name> command.
The list is quite long so you may consider piping the output to a text file (i.e. >> C:\test.txt) and then searching through that.
The SERVICE_NAME is the one to use with sc delete <service-name> command.
From the command prompt, use the Windows "sc.exe" utility. You will run something like this:
sc delete <service-name>
-Windows+r open cmd.
-sc YourSeviceName this code remove your service.
-Uninstal "YourService Path" this code uninstall your service.
If the original Service .InstallLog and .InstallState files are still in the folder, you can try reinstalling the executable to replace the files, then use InstallUtil /u, then uninstall the program. It's a bit convoluted, but worked in a particular instance for me.
You can try running Autoruns, which would save you from having to edit the registry by hand. This is especially useful when you don't have the needed permissions.
From the command prompt, use the Windows "sc.exe" utility. You will run something like this:
sc delete <service-name>
Remove Windows Service via Registry
Its very easy to remove a service from registry if you know the right path. Here is how I did that:
Run Regedit or Regedt32
Go to the registry entry "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services"
Look for the service that you want delete and delete it. You can look at the keys to know what files the service was using and delete them as well (if necessary).
Delete Windows Service via Command Window
Alternatively, you can also use command prompt and delete a service using following command:
sc delete
You can also create service by using following command
sc create "MorganTechService" binpath= "C:\Program Files\MorganTechSPace\myservice.exe"
Note: You may have to reboot the system to get the list updated in service manager.
If you wish to use a tool for it you could use Process Hacker
Form to create the service:
Context menu on a service to delete it:
I find Process Hacker a more convient tool to manage Windows processes and services than Windows's own Taskmgr.exe. Especially on Windows XP, where you can't access services at all from task manager.
We discovered that even if you run sc_delete, there can be an entry remaining in the registry for your service, so that reinstalling the service results in a corrupted set of registry entries (they don't match). What we did was to regedit and remove this leftover entry by hand.
Note: ShipmunkService is still showing up after sc_delete!
Then you can reinstall, and your service will run correctly. Best of luck to you all, and may the force be with you.
Remove Windows Service via Registry
Its very easy to remove a service from registry if you know the right path. Here is how I did that:
Run Regedit or Regedt32
Go to the registry entry "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services"
Look for the service that you want delete and delete it. You can look at the keys to know what files the service was using and delete them as well (if necessary).
Delete Windows Service via Command Window
Alternatively, you can also use command prompt and delete a service using following command:
sc delete
You can also create service by using following command
sc create "MorganTechService" binpath= "C:\Program Files\MorganTechSPace\myservice.exe"
Note: You may have to reboot the system to get the list updated in service manager.
You can uninstall your windows service by command prompt also just write this piece of command
cd\
cd C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319(or version in which you developed your service)
installutil c:\\xxx.exe(physical path of your service) -d
Some people mentioning sc delete as an answer. This is how I did it, but it took me a while to find the <service-name> parameter.
The command sc query type= service (note, it's very particular with formatting, the space before "service" is necessary) will output a list of Windows services installed, complete with their qualified name to be used with sc delete <service-name> command.
The list is quite long so you may consider piping the output to a text file (i.e. >> C:\test.txt) and then searching through that.
The SERVICE_NAME is the one to use with sc delete <service-name> command.
I needed to reinstall my tomcat service, which meant first removing it. This worked for me:
Start a command prompt window using run as administrator
sc query type= service >t.txt
(edit the file t.txt, search through the list and find the tomcat service. It's called Tomcat7)
sc delete Tomcat7
HOWEVER, the query command did not work the first time, because the tomcat service was not running. It seems to only list services that are running. I had to start the service and run the query command again.
From the command prompt, use the Windows "sc.exe" utility. You will run something like this:
sc delete <service-name>
You can try running Autoruns, which would save you from having to edit the registry by hand. This is especially useful when you don't have the needed permissions.
Notes on using "sc delete" in Windows 8:
1) Open a CMD window with elevated privileges. [Windows Key-X to bring up a menu with the option; select "Command Prompt (Admin)".]
2) Use the parenthetical name from the list in Services [for example, I used "sc delete gupdate" when, in Services, it read "Google Update (gupdate)"]
1st Step : Move to the Directory where your service is present
Command : cd c:\xxx\yyy\service
2nd Step : Enter the below command
Command : C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\InstallUtil.exe service.exe \u
Here service.exe is your service exe and \u will uninstall the service. you'll see "The uninstall has completed" message.
If you wanna install a service, Remove \u in the above command which will install your service
I needed to reinstall my tomcat service, which meant first removing it. This worked for me:
Start a command prompt window using run as administrator
sc query type= service >t.txt
(edit the file t.txt, search through the list and find the tomcat service. It's called Tomcat7)
sc delete Tomcat7
HOWEVER, the query command did not work the first time, because the tomcat service was not running. It seems to only list services that are running. I had to start the service and run the query command again.
1st Step : Move to the Directory where your service is present
Command : cd c:\xxx\yyy\service
2nd Step : Enter the below command
Command : C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\InstallUtil.exe service.exe \u
Here service.exe is your service exe and \u will uninstall the service. you'll see "The uninstall has completed" message.
If you wanna install a service, Remove \u in the above command which will install your service
You can uninstall your windows service by command prompt also just write this piece of command
cd\
cd C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319(or version in which you developed your service)
installutil c:\\xxx.exe(physical path of your service) -d
If you wish to use a tool for it you could use Process Hacker
Form to create the service:
Context menu on a service to delete it:
I find Process Hacker a more convient tool to manage Windows processes and services than Windows's own Taskmgr.exe. Especially on Windows XP, where you can't access services at all from task manager.
Source: Stackoverflow.com