developing a windows service in C++ without Visual Studio template?

Question

I have a version of Visual Studio 2005 that doesn't include a Windows Service project template. Can I just build a (C++) console application and install it as a service without doing anything special within the application code itself.

Answer 1

All the service project template does is supply you with some source code to get started. Although you can't take an ordinary console application and make it a service app, you can implement the ServiceMain function following the instructions on that reference page.