C# Windows Service problem on Windows 7 64 Bit?

[Lothar Behrens]

Hi,

I have written a Windows Service (for the test - a dummy to divide and
conquer) and the service cannot be intalled on the Windows 7
Enterprise (64Bit version) box.

On that box there was installed the .NET 4.0 Client profile and as I
have seen, all earlier versions are installed in the C:\Windows
\Microsoft.Net directory. For a try I have removed that version but no
success.

The service is a .NET 3.5 version service and I have tried building
Any CPU, x86 and x64. All has failed with the following error, that
the application is not a valid Win32 Application.

As other sources state that Windows 7 installs .Net, I did not see any
reason why such a simple test service fails to load whereas a GUI
application will run (compiled in 64Bit).

I am using Visual Studio 2008 9.0.21022.8 RTM with .NET 3.5 SP1.

The installer does start the service after it has installed it and
then it fails. If I do not have any custom installer
steps, the service will fail to start from services.msc either.

Any help please !!!!

Thanks,

Lothar

 

[r norman]

Hi,

I have written a Windows Service (for the test - a dummy to divide and
conquer) and the service cannot be intalled on the Windows 7
Enterprise (64Bit version) box.

On that box there was installed the .NET 4.0 Client profile and as I
have seen, all earlier versions are installed in the C:\Windows
\Microsoft.Net directory. For a try I have removed that version but no
success.

The service is a .NET 3.5 version service and I have tried building
Any CPU, x86 and x64. All has failed with the following error, that
the application is not a valid Win32 Application.

As other sources state that Windows 7 installs .Net, I did not see any
reason why such a simple test service fails to load whereas a GUI
application will run (compiled in 64Bit).

I am using Visual Studio 2008 9.0.21022.8 RTM with .NET 3.5 SP1.

The installer does start the service after it has installed it and
then it fails. If I do not have any custom installer
steps, the service will fail to start from services.msc either.

Any help please !!!!

Service startup problems can be a real headache.

I have a "debug log" system that writes all sorts of information
relating to startup including passing through key steps and catching
and logging all exceptions. It is invaluable.

More invaluable is writing the service to be dual startup: if you
have a command line saying "-debug" (or something similar) it will run
as a console based application program and write all debug log
information to the screen.

 

[Lothar Behrens]

Service startup problems can be a real headache.  

I have a "debug log" system that writes all sorts of information
relating to startup including passing through key steps and catching
and logging all exceptions.  It is invaluable.

More invaluable is writing the service to be dual startup:  if you
have a command line saying "-debug" (or something similar) it will run
as a console based application program and write all debug log
information to the screen.

I have a debug GUI application, as I have abstracted the internal
functionality off of the service. The GUI has not been tested on
64Bit. But it is crazy that a simple dummy service can't get started
on 64Bit. The service is simply that what visual studio template
generates.

So this in my view - simply - should work.

 

[r norman]

I have a debug GUI application, as I have abstracted the internal
functionality off of the service. The GUI has not been tested on
64Bit. But it is crazy that a simple dummy service can't get started
on 64Bit. The service is simply that what visual studio template
generates.

So this in my view - simply - should work.

Should does not mean does. Welcome to services programming. That is
why I suggested the debug log. My console app isn't the innards of
the services but the identical code that runs as a service (if started
by the service controller) or as a console app (if started with a
specific command line). Another enormous advantage of this is that
you can then run it from the debugger as an application program and
see exactly what is happening in the first steps of startup.

An alternative is to make the service sleep for, say, ten seconds
before doing anything at all giving you time to connect a debugger to
it.

One thing you must realize is that the service runs, depending on how
you set it up, under different credentials than an application program
and, if it tries to access any system resources, you have to make sure
it has rights to do so.

 

[Lothar Behrens]

Should does not mean does.  Welcome to services programming.  That is
why I suggested the debug log.  My console app isn't the innards of
the services but the identical code that runs as a service (if started
by the service controller) or as a console app (if started with a
specific command line).  Another enormous advantage of this is that
you can then run it from the debugger as an application program and
see exactly what is happening in the first steps of startup.

An alternative is to make the service sleep for, say, ten seconds
before doing anything at all giving you time to connect a debugger to
it.

One thing you must realize is that the service runs, depending on how
you set it up, under different credentials than an application program
and, if it tries to access any system resources, you have to make sure
it has rights to do so.

I have identified the problem. The installation class was located in a
DLL and the service in an executable. Thus the Service installer
routine has used the DLL as the service. That will fail.

But when I use the installer class in an executble I get an error
while the commit phase.

Does any one have advice on 64Bit Windows 7 with the class as shown
here to enable on demant service registration (to mate the installer
updateable)?

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Configuration.Install;
using System.ServiceProcess;

namespace ServiceSetupDll
{
[RunInstaller(true)]
public partial class ServiceInstaller : Installer
{
public ServiceInstaller()
{
bool isInstalled = false;
ServiceController[] controllers =
ServiceController.GetServices();

foreach (ServiceController ctrl in controllers)
{
if (ctrl.DisplayName == "Service")
{
isInstalled = true;
}
}

if (!isInstalled)
{
InitializeComponent();
}
else
{
this.serviceController1 = new
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController();
this.serviceController1.ServiceName = "Service";
this.BeforeUninstall += new
System.Configuration.Install.InstallEventHandler(this.ServiceInstaller_BeforeUninstall);
this.BeforeInstall += new
System.Configuration.Install.InstallEventHandler(this.ServiceInstaller_BeforeInstall);
this.AfterInstall += new
System.Configuration.Install.InstallEventHandler(this.ServiceInstaller_AfterInstall);
}
}

private void ServiceInstaller_AfterInstall(object sender,
InstallEventArgs e)
{
serviceController1.Start();
}

private void ServiceInstaller_BeforeUninstall(object sender,
InstallEventArgs e)
{
try
{
serviceController1.Stop();

int repeat = 10;

while ((repeat-- > 0) && serviceController1.Status ==
ServiceControllerStatus.Running)
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
}
catch
{

}
}

private void ServiceInstaller_BeforeInstall(object sender,
InstallEventArgs e)
{
try
{
serviceController1.Stop();

int repeat = 10;

while ((repeat-- > 0) && serviceController1.Status ==
ServiceControllerStatus.Running)
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
}
catch
{

}
}

private void ServiceInstaller_AfterUninstall(object sender,
InstallEventArgs e)
{
// Does not really work.

//ServiceProcessInstaller = new
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceProcessInstaller();
//ServiceInstaller = new
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceInstaller();
//ServiceProcessInstaller.Account =
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceAccount.LocalSystem;
//ServiceProcessInstaller.Password = null;
//ServiceProcessInstaller.Username = null;
//ServiceInstaller.ServiceName = "Service";
//ServiceInstaller.StartType =
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceStartMode.Automatic;

//ServiceProcessInstaller.Uninstall(e.SavedState);
//ServiceInstaller.Uninstall(e.SavedState);

}
}
}