Windows – How to kill the Apache service on a Windows server

apache-2.2windows

I'm working on an apache module and at some point Apache refuses to start | restart | stop. All I can see in "services.msc" is:

Apache2.2 | Apache/2.2.21 (Win32) | Starting | Automatic | Local System

This is a fresh install and I can't figure out how to force termination. I've rebooted the Windows machine many times (it is a virtual instance), however no luck in figuring out how to stop rebooting.

I've tried:

httpd -k stop|shutdown, but I get:

The Apache2.2 service is stopping.

Failed to stop the Apache2.2 service.

I also have IIS turned off.

Best Answer

I'd be suspicious about a service that doesn't properly respond to shutdown/restart requests - you may want to look at re-installing Apache. That said, I'm not an Apache guy, so i'm not sure how common this under Windows7.

All that aside, you should be able to manually kill the httpd.exe process either via Task Manager, or via a command line as such:

TASKKILL /F /IM httpd.exe /T

The command switches specify that you want to kill any process with the image name 'httpd.exe' (/IM httpd.exe), you want to force the kill (/F) and you want to kill any child processes that it spawned (/T).

After doing this, you should be able to manually start the process again via the Services console, or via the 'net start' command.

Related Solutions

Windows – How to find what process is holding a file open in Windows

I've had success with Sysinternals Process Explorer. With this, you can search to find what process(es) have a file open, and you can use it to close the handle(s) if you want. Of course, it is safer to close the whole process. Exercise caution and judgement.

To find a specific file, use the menu option Find->Find Handle or DLL... Type in part of the path to the file. The list of processes will appear below.

If you prefer command line, Sysinternals suite includes command line tool Handle, that lists open handles.

Examples

c:\Program Files\SysinternalsSuite>handle.exe |findstr /i "e:\" (finds all files opened from drive e:\"
c:\Program Files\SysinternalsSuite>handle.exe |findstr /i "file-or-path-in-question"

Windows – Adding Dependency to a Service After Installation

This can also be done via an elevated command prompt using the sc command. The syntax is:

sc config [service name] depend= <Dependencies(separated by / (forward slash))>

Note: There is a space after the equals sign, and there is not one before it.

Warning: depend= parameter will overwrite existing dependencies list, not append. So for example, if ServiceA already depends on ServiceB and ServiceC, if you run depend= ServiceD, ServiceA will now depend only on ServiceD. (Thanks Matt!)

Examples

Dependency on one other service:

sc config ServiceA depend= ServiceB

Above means that ServiceA will not start until ServiceB has started. If you stop ServiceB, ServiceA will stop automatically.

Dependency on multiple other services:

sc config ServiceA depend= ServiceB/ServiceC/ServiceD/"Service Name With Spaces"

Above means that ServiceA will not start until ServiceB, ServiceC, and ServiceD have all started. If you stop any of ServiceB, ServiceC, or ServiceD, ServiceA will stop automatically.

To remove all dependencies:

sc config ServiceA depend= /

To list current dependencies:

sc qc ServiceA