Windows Service error: "Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt."

Question

I have a simple windows service application I am trying to debug in VS 2008 IDE but each time I run the code, I get the error "Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt." . This error occurs at the service.Stop() line below:

static class Program
{
    /// <summary>
    /// The main entry point for the application.
    /// </summary>
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        ServiceBase[] servicesToRun;
        servicesToRun = new ServiceBase[] 
  { 
   new Service1() 
  };

        if (Environment.UserInteractive)
        {
            Type type = typeof(ServiceBase);
            BindingFlags flags = BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic;
            MethodInfo method = type.GetMethod("OnStart", flags);

            foreach (ServiceBase service in servicesToRun)
            {
                method.Invoke(service, new object[] { args });
            }

            Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit");
            Console.Read();

            foreach (ServiceBase service in servicesToRun)
            {
                service.Stop();//ERROR OCCURS HERE!
            }

        }
        else
        {
            ServiceBase.Run(servicesToRun);
        }            
    }
}

Below is the simple windows service class

public partial class Service1 : ServiceBase
{
    public Service1()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }

    protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
    {
    }

    protected override void OnStop()
    {
    }
}

Answer 1

Have you tried remove the

Console.WriteLine("...");
Console.ReadLine();

I've no idea what impact this would have on a windows service but try replacing them with a

System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(5000);

To simulate a 5 second pause between the services starting & stopping.

Answer 2

Does this happen when you're not debugging?

Also, is this an exception? If so, then you should post the complete exception, including Inner exceptions and stack traces.

Answer 3

Have you tried to add the following code line to your overridden OnStop() method?

this.RequestAdditionalTime(4000);

According to the Microsoft API documentation it is intended to be called by the overridden OnContinue, OnPause, OnStart, or OnStop methods to request additional time for a pending operation.

Answer 4

If you want to take full management of starting the ServiceBase outside ServiceBase.Run(), then you should also do the same trick with stopping it:

MethodInfo stopMethod = type.GetMethod("OnStop", flags); 

foreach (ServiceBase service in servicesToRun) 
{
    stopMethod.Invoke(service, new object[] { args }); 
}