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My installer creates services with the following command in Inno Setup: 

Filename: {sys}\sc.exe; Check: IsAdminLoggedOn; Parameters: "create Example start= delayed-auto binPath= ""{app}\Example.exe"""; Flags: runhidden

This line works in all Windows besides Windows XP because the delayed-auto startup type is not supported in Windows XP.
I need to use the delayed-auto startup type for two reasons.

  1. My service needs to always run on the background without user intervention, which means that the service must automatically start on boot.
  2. My service depends on other basic windows services and cannot run without them, therefor I use the delayed-auto to start only after all the basic services are up.

So can I create a service on Windows XP that has a startup type similar to that of delayed-auto and if not then what are the alternatives?

Martin Prikryl
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yuval
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2 Answers2

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The delayed-auto startup type is not intended to resolve dependency between services. What if the services you depend on also had delayed-auto startup type? The delayed-auto startup type is intended to speed up the computer start by delaying the non-essential services.

See What does “delayed start” do in startup type for a Windows service?

To set dependencies between services, use depend= option.

sc.exe create Example start= delayed-auto binPath= "..." depend= service1/service2/service3

If you still want to use delayed-auto on Windows Vista and newer (what is recommended), just create two [Run] entries, one for Windows XP and one for Windows Vista (Windows version 6.0) and newer.

; Delayed automatic start on Vista and newer
Filename: {sys}\sc.exe; Check: IsAdminLoggedOn; \
    Parameters: "create Example start= delayed-auto binPath= ""{app}\Example.exe"" depend= service1/service2/service3"; \
    Flags: runhidden; MinVersion: 6.0

; Automatic start on XP
Filename: {sys}\sc.exe; Check: IsAdminLoggedOn; \
    Parameters: "create Example start= auto binPath= ""{app}\Example.exe"" depend= service1/service2/service3"; \
    Flags: runhidden; OnlyBelowVersion: 6.0

See also Execute different command in Inno Setup Run section based on Windows version.

A better, though a little more complicated solution, is using a scripted constant. It reduces code duplication.

Martin Prikryl
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  • But what if I don't know what are my dependencies. Can dependencies be different on different Operating Systems? Are there any basic dependencies that I should include for a regular web service. – yuval Mar 06 '16 at 15:37
  • My executable scans network devices using SNMP and sends them to a server using HTTP/HTTPS. You can download it here http://maprinter.com/downloads/Maprinter.exe – yuval Mar 06 '16 at 15:47
  • So why do you need to wait for dependencies? If the program fails to scan the device list few times, because there's no network connectivity yet (I assume that's the dependency), it will fix itself shortly. – Martin Prikryl Mar 06 '16 at 16:03
  • The service crashes even inside a try and except clause – yuval Mar 06 '16 at 16:04
  • Most "internet/web" services seem to depend on "Remote procedure call (RPC)" service (`depend= RpcSs`). Try that. Name of this service is the same on all versions of Windows. – Martin Prikryl Mar 06 '16 at 16:09
  • The problem with the startup type auto is that sometimes it crashes at startup and sometimes it doesn't, so I can't be sure if that's the only dependency I need. Are there better ways to figure out my dependencies? – yuval Mar 06 '16 at 16:17
  • I do not know. Try asking that (a generic question on Windows services, not on Inno Setup). – Martin Prikryl Mar 06 '16 at 18:02
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Try creating a scheduled task that starts when the system comes up. The scheduled task can depend on a network connection being present. You can also (if that is not available to you) use the command line script to do a ping against a network device and check the response prior to starting the service which you created as a "manual" start. This should avoid the crash due to resources not being available. ]<

Shield Edge Technologies
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