Trying to get a Windows Service to run an executable on a shared drive

Question

I have c# that will run in a windows service. I'm trying to use the Process and ProcessStartInfo classes to run an executable. If the executable is on the local drive, no problem. However, I need to run an executable on a shared drive. I've tried using the UNC notation (//machine_name/share_name/directory/runme.exe), but the process seems to hang. The service and shared drive are on Windows XP. Has anyone tackled this issue before?

Answer 1

The account your service is running as likely does not have permission to access the shared drive. Try configuring it to run as a user with permission to the network via the services applet. Right click on the service, choose properties and set the account in the login tab.

Answer 2

What account is the service running as?

LocalSystem will only allow access to the local file system. If you want to access a network resource, you will have to run the service as a domain or network user.

Answer 3

Have a look at this: http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=471168&SiteID=1

This should help.

Answer 4

If the app on the shared drive is a .Net app, make sure it has sufficient trust.