C# – Cannot install windows service

.net-4.0cinstallutilwindows-services

I have created a very simple window service using visual studio 2010 and .NُET 4.0.

This service has no functionality added from the default windows service project, other than an installer has been added.

If I run "installutil.exe appName.exe" on my dev box or other windows 2008 R2 machines in our domain the windows service installs without issue.

When I try to do this same thing on our customer site, it fails to install with the following error.

Microsoft (R) .NET Framework Installation utility Version 4.0.30319.1
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

Exception occurred while initializing the installation:
System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'file:///C:\TestService\WindowsService1.exe' or one of its dependencies. Operation is not supported. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131515).

This solution has only 1 project and no dependencies added.

I have tried it on multiple machines in our environment and two in our customers. The machines are all windows 2008 R2, both fresh installs. One machine has just .net 2.0 and .net 4.0. The other .net 2, 3, 3.5 and 4.

I am a local admin on each of the machines.

I have also tried the 64bit installer but get the following error, so I think the 32 bit one is the one to use.
System.BadImageFormatException

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks.

Best Answer

Another reason for this error might be that you copied your program from a source which windows considers untrusted. You can unblock the assembly by clicking "unblock" after you right-click and select properties on the file.

Related Solutions

.net – System.BadImageFormatException: Could not load file or assembly (from installutil.exe)

Some more detail for completeness in case it helps someone...

Note that the most common reason for this exception these days is attempting to load a 32 bit-specific (/platform:x86) DLL into a process that is 64 bit or vice versa (viz. load a 64 bit-specific (/platform:x64) DLL into a process that is 32 bit). If your platform is non-specific (/platform:AnyCpu), this won't arise (assuming no referenced dependencies are of the wrong bitness).

In other words, running:

%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\installutil.exe

or:

%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\installutil.exe

will not work (substitute in other framework versions: v1.1.4322 (32-bit only, so this issue doesn't arise) and v4.0.30319 as desired in the above).

Obviously, as covered in the other answer, one will also need the .NET version number of the installutil you are running to be >= (preferably =) that of the EXE/DLL file you are running the installer of.

Finally, note that in Visual Studio 2010, the tooling will default to generating x86 binaries (rather than Any CPU as previously).

Complete details of System.BadImageFormatException (saying the only cause is mismatched bittedness is really a gross oversimplification!).

Another reason for a BadImageFormatException under an x64 installer is that in Visual Studio 2010, the default .vdproj Install Project type generates a 32-bit InstallUtilLib shim, even on an x64 system (Search for "64-bit managed custom actions throw a System.BadImageFormatException exception" on the page).

Windows – Installing multiple instances of the same windows service on a server

Have you tried the sc / service controller util? Type

sc create

at a command line, and it will give you the help entry. I think I've done this in the past for Subversion and used this article as a reference:

http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/subversion/trunk/notes/windows-service.txt

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