C# Windows Service - error 1053 the service did not respond to the start or control request

Question

I've written a Windows Service in C# that basically checks my db every minute for orders, generates a PDF from these orders, and emails it.

The logic works perfectly in my tests etc..

When i create the service, and install it using the setup project, when I go to start the service in the services mmc, I get:

error 1053 the service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion

My OnStart method looks like this:

        protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
    {
        //writeToWindowsEventLog("Service started", EventLogEntryType.Information);
        timer.Enabled = true;
    }

Basically, just enables the timer... so theres no process intensive call there.

Where am I going wrong?

I've tried setting the startup account to local system, network service etc... nothing works!

Edit:

Here is my code: (processPurchaseOrders is the method where the db is queried and pdf's are generated etc...)

    public partial class PurchaseOrderDispatcher : ServiceBase
{
    //this is the main timer of the service
    private System.Timers.Timer timer;

    public PurchaseOrderDispatcher()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }

    // The main entry point for the process
    static void Main()
    {
      #if (!DEBUG)
        ServiceBase[] ServicesToRun;
        ServicesToRun = new ServiceBase[] { new PurchaseOrderDispatcher() };
        ServiceBase.Run(ServicesToRun);
      #else //debug code
        PurchaseOrderDispatcher service = new PurchaseOrderDispatcher();
        service.processPurchaseOrders();
      #endif
    }

    private void InitializeComponent()
    {
        this.CanPauseAndContinue = true;
        this.ServiceName = "Crocus_PurchaseOrderGenerator";
    }

    private void InitTimer()
    {
        timer = new System.Timers.Timer();

        //wire up the timer event
        timer.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(timer_Elapsed);

        //set timer interval
        var timeInSeconds = Convert.ToInt32(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["TimerIntervalInSeconds"]);
        timer.Interval = (timeInSeconds * 1000); // timer.Interval is in milliseconds, so times above by 1000

        timer.Enabled = true;
    }

    protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
    {
        if (disposing && (components != null))
            components.Dispose();

        base.Dispose(disposing);
    }

    protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
    {
        //instantiate timer
        Thread t = new Thread(new ThreadStart(this.InitTimer));
        t.Start();
    }

    protected override void OnStop()
    {
        //turn off the timer.
        timer.Enabled = false;
    }

    protected override void OnPause()
    {
        timer.Enabled = false;

        base.OnPause();
    }

    protected override void OnContinue()
    {
        timer.Enabled = true;

        base.OnContinue();
    }

    protected void timer_Elapsed(object sender, ElapsedEventArgs e)
    {
        processPurchaseOrders();
    }
}

}

Answer 1

From MSDN:
"Do not use the constructor to perform processing that should be in OnStart. Use OnStart to handle all initialization of your service. The constructor is called when the application's executable runs, not when the service runs. The executable runs before OnStart. When you continue, for example, the constructor is not called again because the SCM already holds the object in memory. If OnStop releases resources allocated in the constructor rather than in OnStart, the needed resources would not be created again the second time the service is called."

If your timer is not initialized in the OnStart call, this could be a problem. I would also check the type of timer, make sure its a System.Timers.Timer for Services. Here is an example of how to setup the timer in a windows service.

//TODONT: Use a Windows Service just to run a scheduled process

I tried your code, and it seems ok. The only difference I had was to hard code the timer value (Service1.cs). Let me know if the below doesnt work.

Service1.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Text;
using System.Timers;
using System.Threading;

namespace WindowsServiceTest
{
    public partial class Service1 : ServiceBase
    {
        private System.Timers.Timer timer;

        public Service1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
        {
            //instantiate timer
            Thread t = new Thread(new ThreadStart(this.InitTimer)); 
            t.Start();
        }

        protected override void OnStop()
        {
            timer.Enabled = false;
        }

         private void InitTimer()  
         {     
             timer = new System.Timers.Timer();  
             //wire up the timer event 
             timer.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(timer_Elapsed); 
             //set timer interval   
             //var timeInSeconds = Convert.ToInt32(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["TimerIntervalInSeconds"]); 
             double timeInSeconds = 3.0;
             timer.Interval = (timeInSeconds * 1000); 
             // timer.Interval is in milliseconds, so times above by 1000 
             timer.Enabled = true;  
         }

        protected void timer_Elapsed(object sender, ElapsedEventArgs e) 
        {
            int timer_fired = 0;
        }
    }
}

Service1.Designer.cs

namespace WindowsServiceTest
{
    partial class Service1
    {
        /// <summary> 
        /// Required designer variable.
        /// </summary>
        private System.ComponentModel.IContainer components = null;

        /// <summary>
        /// Clean up any resources being used.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="disposing">true if managed resources should be disposed; otherwise, false.</param>
        protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
        {
            if (disposing && (components != null))
            {
                components.Dispose();
            }
            base.Dispose(disposing);
        }

        #region Component Designer generated code

        /// <summary> 
        /// Required method for Designer support - do not modify 
        /// the contents of this method with the code editor.
        /// </summary>
        private void InitializeComponent()
        {
            components = new System.ComponentModel.Container();
            this.ServiceName = "Service1";
            this.CanPauseAndContinue = true;
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

I just created a blank Windows Service project and add the below so I could run installutil.exe and attach to the above to see if the event was firing (and it did).

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ServiceProcess;

namespace WindowsServiceTest
{
    [RunInstaller(true)]
    public class MyServiceInstaller : System.Configuration.Install.Installer
    {
        public MyServiceInstaller()
        {
            ServiceProcessInstaller process = new ServiceProcessInstaller();

            process.Account = ServiceAccount.LocalSystem;

            ServiceInstaller serviceAdmin = new ServiceInstaller();

            serviceAdmin.StartType = ServiceStartMode.Manual;
            serviceAdmin.ServiceName = "Service1";
            serviceAdmin.DisplayName = "Service1 Display Name";
            Installers.Add(process);
            Installers.Add(serviceAdmin);
        }
    }
}