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| Delay service startup by adding dependencies |
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Sooner or later you will run across a server that routinely fails to start a particular service automatically at startup, but you have no problem starting the service yourself after the server is up. A potential cause of this problem is that the service is dependent on another, but there is no explicit dependency configured for the other service.
Delaying the start of the service would often cure the problem, because the service on which it depends would then be started. Windows services provide an option to control their startup type (automatic, manual, or disabled), but Windows services in general do not offer an option to delay service startup by a specific time.
If you need to delay a service's startup, you can manually add a dependency to the service. The service need not actually be dependent on the specified second service—the dependency simply causes the service to wait until the other has started, effectively delaying startup.
To configure service dependency, open the Registry Editor and open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ (Service name), where (Service name) is the service you want to delay. Add a REG_MULTI_SZ value named DependOnService to the key, then edit the value of DependOnService to add the service name of the service you want started before the selected service. If you're not sure what service to specify, specify the Spooler or Messenger services, which generally start late.
Take care when setting a service dependency that you don't create a circular dependency--two services waiting on each other—which can prevent the server from starting. |
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