Stop/Start service in code in Windows 7

Question

I am trying to write a app and service which monitor a given set of services and a) makes sure they are running and b) based on certain criteria, restart them as needed.

I keep running into an access denied error.

If I simply iterate through the processes on the system, find the one I want like so:

foreach (ServiceController sc in ServiceController.GetServices())
   {                
       if(sc.ServiceName == "MyServiceName")
       {
            sc.Stop();
            sc.WaitForStatus(ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped, new TimeSpan(0, 0, 60));
            sc.Start(); 
       }            
   }

I get:

InnerException: System.InvalidOperationException
        Message="Cannot open My Service service on computer '.'."
        Source="System.ServiceProcess"
        StackTrace:
             at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.GetServiceHandle(Int32 desiredAccess)
             at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.Stop()
             at lib.ListServices() in D:\lib.cs:line 552
             at lib.Init() in D:\lib.cs:line 56
   InnerException: System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception
             Message="Access is denied"
             ErrorCode=-2147467259
             NativeErrorCode=5
             InnerException:

I have tried to impersonate a user, I have tried to do the same code from another service which is running as a system service. Neither of which have actually been able to affect the service. If its started, I cannot stop it. If its stopped, I cannot start it. I know this is all related to permissions I'm just not finding a mechanism that actually lets me control the service.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Could it be the .net security policy that is preventing your app from controlling the service?

According to MSDN, your assembly needs full trust for this to work.

Answer 2

I think this is UAC fault... Try to run the exe with right click and "Run as Administrator". If that helps, you might want to add a Manifest file to your executable project with level="requireAdministrator".

Answer 3

You have to set the application to run as administrator. If you look under the files properties menu. On the compatibility tab, there is a Privilige Level option, to let the program run as administrator. It worked with my own system trays in windows 7.