Windows Service with dependency cannot start automatically

startupwindows-server-2012windows-service

I have Service B that is dependent on Service A. Both services are set for automatic(delayed) start upon boot and both services have set Recovery Action of restart in case of first, second and subsequent failures.

The scenario is:

Windows is booting.
It tries to start Service A.
Service A crashes upon start because it cannot initialize (e.g. connect to remote database).
Recovery Action kicks in and windows keep starting Service A at some intervals.
Service A finally starts fine (e.g. remote db is now accessible).

And that's it, Windows doesn't bother to start Service B despite it having Automatic (delayed) startup type.
I'm confused a bit with this behavior. Is there anything I can do to make windows start Service B ?

Best Answer

Service A would not attempt to start if there was a dependency set among the two services. You need to add dependency if it is not there.

sc config ServiceB depend= ServiceA

*How to add dependency on a Windows Service AFTER the service is installed

Related Solutions

Windows – How to add dependency on a Windows Service AFTER the service is installed

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

Print spooler service does not restart

You could schedule a task to run at regular intervals

net stop spooler
net start spooler

However the root of the problem coud be a corrupt print driver. Try clearing out all of the print drivers after deleting the printers. Download updated drivers and add the printers again.