Summary

Symptoms

For a Basic MSI project, Using the Component Wizard to control an NT Service that already exists on a target machine does not work. The NT Service does not start or stop nor is it deleted regardless of the method used to control these NT Services.

Cause

Controlling existing NT Services can be tricky due to all NT Services having two names. The first name is the description, which is what is displayed in the Windows Control Panel. This is used when referencing the NT Service in the Component Wizard, but this is not the case. The name to reference in the Component Wizard is the actual NT Service Name. If these two names differ and the description is referenced in the Component Wizard, it is not possible to interact with the NT Service.

Resolution

It is critical to reference the NT Service Name, rather than the NT Service Description, in the Component Wizard when attempting to control an NT Service. As an example, we will use the ClipBook Service NT Service that is normally installed an a Windows NT or Windows 2000 machine. In the Services applet of the Windows NT Control Panel, this NT Service is listed as ClipBook Service. The NT Service Name is different, however, and can be found in the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_CLIPSRV\0000

This key lists the DeviceDesc as ClipBook Server, which is what is displayed in the Services applet of the Windows NT Control Panel. However, this key also lists the Service as ClipSrv. This is the name that must be referenced in the Component Wizard when attempting to control an NT Service.

Additional Information

For more information, see Windows Installer Help Library topics StopServices, StartServices, and DeleteServices.

For more information on the Windows NT service, see the Help Library topic Installing and Configuring Windows NT Services.