Having trouble getting startup scripts to work in Server 2003

scriptingstartupwindows-server-2003

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

I am having trouble getting my startup scripts to run correctly on the domain I am administering. Before anyone gets upset and says "go read xxx article from microsoft",… I have. I am simply missing something or not understanding it properly. I understand how to assign the script, what I am curious about is where exactly it should be placed in the Windows folder structure. I have been able to get them to work by creating a share folder called "scripts" and pointing to that exact unc pathname IE \servername\scripts\xxx.bat. However, I would like to do it properly, would someone please tell me where they should be placed in Win2003 server, and what the path name should be when assigning a group policy to do something that applies to computer specific properties? Your assistance is very much appreciated by a junior admin trying to learn some new tricks!

Best Answer

The script gets placed in "domain\sysvol\domain\policies\policy guid\machine\scripts\startup" folder. The easiest and recommended way to add a script is to edit the GPO that applies to the computer(s) in question using GPMC, expand Computer Configuration, Expand Windows Settings, select the Scripts item in the left pane, double-click the Startup item in the right pane, click the Show Files button, and paste your script into the windows explorer window that opens, close the explorer window, click the Add button, type the name of the script in the "Script Name" field, click OK, click OK again, and close the GPMC.

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First off, the script should start with the hashbang line:

#!/bin/bash
# All other lines should follow this one.

The LSB error relates to this block that's on all the system init scripts

### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          defaultdaemon
# Required-Start:    $remote_fs $syslog
# Required-Stop:     $remote_fs $syslog
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: Start daemon at boot time
# Description:       Enable service provided by daemon.
### END INIT INF

I haven't used update-rc.d before, but a quick look at the man page indicates that the default is S20 - this is the sequence in the boot that the script will run (where 1 earliest, and 99 is highest). As a general rule of thumb, this should be 99 unless you know otherwise, since what you're starting may depend on other services - mail, networking, syslog etc.

When you say the script doesn't work, what behaviour did you expect? This script is trying to start firefox while the machine is booting, it won't start it when users login.

You can set applications like firefox to run on login from the startup applications in the menu.

Server 2003: login delay while service starting

What you're seeing is likely a peculiarity of your particular service. If the service only acts that way during boot it's going to be a little tough to troubleshoot, but you can use Process Monitor and its boot-time logging capabilities to figure out what's happening with the service.

Any chance you can share what the service is?

Edit:

My apologies for not following your question initially.

AFAIK, the behaviour you're seeing is normal for the Windows 2003 and earlier Serivce Control Manager. In Windows Vista and up, a "delayed auto-start" service type (SERVICE_CONFIG_DELAYED_AUTO_START_INFO) was added to allow services to start automatically, but delayed. I believe that the behaviour you are seeing is behind the rationale for the new feature in Windows Vista.

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