How can I execute a batch script in a windows service in C#?

Question

I'm trying to execute a .bat script in a C# windows service but it doesn't seem to be working.

So the script I am trying to execute, startup.bat, in turn calls another script, call catalina.bat ..., which in turn executes start java ...

I can execute startup.bat manually but I want to run it as a Windows service. When I try to do that in a C# windows service application, nothing seems to happen. My Windows service code looks like this:

public class MyService : ServiceBase
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        ServiceBase.Run(new MyService());
    }

    protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
    {
        base.OnStart(args);
        this.RunScript(@"bin\startup.bat");
        Thread.Sleep(1000);
    }

    protected override void OnStop()
    {
        base.OnStop();
        this.RunScript(@"bin\shutdown.bat");
        Thread.Sleep(1000);
    }

    private void RunScript(string processFileName)
    {
        var startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
        {
            FileName = "cmd.exe",
            Arguments = "/C " + Path.Combine(@"C:\server", processFileName),
            CreateNoWindow = true,
            ErrorDialog = false,
            RedirectStandardError = true,
            RedirectStandardOutput = true,
            UseShellExecute = false,
            WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden
        };

        startInfo.EnvironmentVariables.Add("CATALINA_HOME", @"c:\server");

        var process = new Process();
        process.StartInfo = startInfo;
        process.Start();
    }
}

I don't understand why this doesn't execute. What am I doing wrong?

And yes, you may notice I'm trying to launch Tomcat on Windows as a service with C#. Well I'm doing that because I haven't been able to use tomcat7.exe for various reasons but it's probably better to not ask why I'm doing such things. Whatever the reason is, what I'm doing here should also work, shouldn't it?

Update in response to Gabe's suggestion:

If I set UseShellExecute = true I get an exception:

System.InvalidOperationException: The Process object must have the UseShellExecute property set to false in order to redirect IO streams.
    at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithShellExecuteEx(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)
    at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start()
    at MyService.RunScript(String processFileName)

So I set RedirectStandardError and RedirectStandardOutput to false, which yields this error:

System.InvalidOperationException: The Process object must have the UseShellExecute property set to false in order to use environment variables.
  at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithShellExecuteEx(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)
  at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start()
  at MyService.RunScript(String processFileName)

argh! I feel exasperated!

Actually, I updated startup.bat so it doesn't need the environment variable. Still nothing... :( — Frank Flannigan, May 14 '11 at 02:48
I meant that I set RedirectStandardOutput to false after setting UseShellExecute to true. I also accepted answers to a few older questions... better now? — Frank Flannigan, May 14 '11 at 14:41

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered May 14 '11 at 01:05

3

Run "cmd.exe" and pass "startup.bat" as an argument.

answered May 14 '11 at 01:05

Richard Schneider

34,944
9
57
73

3

That would normally require `/C startup.bat` IIRC – sehe May 14 '11 at 01:17
I updated the code from the sample in my initial post with FileName = "cmd.exe", Arguments = "/C " + command. Still no luck. I should mention that when I run startup.bat from the command line it opens a child command line window. Could that be an issue? – Frank Flannigan May 14 '11 at 02:18

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:30

2

To close the loop on this, the problem was indeed Windows security permission issues.

The suggestion made here seemed to resolve my issue.

edited May 23 '17 at 10:30

Community

1
1

answered May 21 '11 at 00:34

Frank Flannigan

1,339
3
16
25

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

1

Try setting "Allow service to interact with desktop" in your service setting.

Possible duplicate - Run Batch-Files in Windows Service while logged off

edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

Community

1
1

answered May 14 '11 at 01:03

YetAnotherUser

9,156
3
39
53

It still does not work with "Allow service to interact with desktop" enabled. – Frank Flannigan May 14 '11 at 01:29

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered May 14 '11 at 15:23

1

If your script runs fine as an interactive user but not as a service then there are a couple of obvious possible causes:

Your service is running under a user account that is unable to perform the actions in the script.
Your script tries to interact with the desktop but can't because of session 0 isolation.

These suggestions are essentially guesses but with so little information it's hard to do better.

answered May 14 '11 at 15:23

David Heffernan

601,492
42
1,072
1,490

Yeah sorry I don't know what other information I can offer. If it helps, what I'm doing can be duplicated by downloading the [Tomcat 7 zip](http://tomcat.apache.org/download-70.cgi) from their site, then try running the bin\startup.bat file manually to see it works (port 8080 should be open), and then create a windows service with the exact code I posted to launch it as a service... I used `sc.exe create t1 binPath= my.exe DisplayName= myservice` to install the service by the way. – Frank Flannigan May 14 '11 at 16:11
I can't understand why you are trying to install a service from a service? Why? – David Heffernan May 14 '11 at 18:53

score 0 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 21 '11 at 15:42

0

Try:

FileName = "%comspec%",
Arguments = "/C " + Path.Combine(@"C:\server", processFileName),

edited Dec 21 '11 at 15:42

Anthony Pegram

123,721
27
225
246

answered May 14 '11 at 11:29

Tom Pickles

890
10
26

How can I execute a batch script in a windows service in C#?

5 Answers5