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Troubleshooting Services Snap-in

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Troubleshooting

What problem are you having?

  • The service will not start.

  • The computer will not start.

  • When managing services on a remote computer, I receive a Connection Manager error message when I try to access the properties dialog box for a service.

The service will not start.

Cause:  The account under which the service runs (as indicated on the Log On tab of the properties dialog box for the service) has changed.

Solution:  Examine the System, Application, and Security logs in Event Viewer for "Service failed to start" error messages to identify which account the service uses. For more information about how to use Event Viewer to do this, see Search for specific events. Then, restore the default settings. For a table that lists the default settings, see Default settings for services. If you cannot access the Services snap-in to restore the settings, you can also use the sc command. For more information, see SC.

Cause:  The system configuration has changed.

Solution:  Use the System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) to restart the computer using a diagnostic startup method. With the System Configuration Utility, you can select which devices and services are loaded at startup, which can help identify problem devices. For more information, see Windows interface administrative tool reference A-Z: System Configuration Utility.

Cause:  Account lockout policy is enabled, or the password is expired.

Solution:  If the service account is locked out or the service account password is expired, the service will not start. For more information about how to configure account lockout policy settings, see Apply or modify account lockout policy. For more information about how to apply password policy, see Apply or modify password policy.

See also:  Account Lockout Policy.

The computer will not start.

Cause:  The account under which the service runs (as indicated on the Log On tab of the properties dialog box for the service) has changed.

Solution:  Start the computer in Safe Mode. In Safe Mode, you can change the service configuration or restore the default configuration. In Safe Mode, core services that are required to start the operating system are started in a default scheme, regardless of any changes that are made to the service settings. For more information, see Startup options.

When managing services on a remote computer, I receive a Connection Manager error message when I try to access the properties dialog box for a service.

Cause:  The Remote Registry service is not running on the remote computer.

Solution:  Ensure that the Remote Registry service is running on the remote computer. This is necessary only if you want to configure hardware profile settings for the service. For more information, see Start, stop, pause, resume, or restart a service. To start the service, you need the appropriate permissions on the remote computer.

See also:  Troubleshooting Performance monitoring for System Monitor and Performance Logs and Alerts.

Note

  • You may also receive this error message if the remote computer is running Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0.

For information on enabling the services required by audio, imaging, and CD-burning peripheral devices, see Troubleshooting audio, imaging, and CD-burning peripheral devices.