Windows Services Can Install Themselves

Introduction

Using the InstallUtil.exe utility that ships with the .NET SDK can be a real pain. It's rarely in the PATH so you probably have to hunt down the utility when you are working on QA and production servers as I do. Installing a Windows Service should be easier. In this short article, I'll show you a way to make your Windows Services install themselves without needing InstallUtil.exe at all.

Assumptions

Let's assume that your service project has a service installer, a service process installer and a class derived from System.Configuration.Install.Installer already. If not, check out Mahmoud Nasr's excellent article on Windows Service development, then come back here.

Key Information

Thanks to Reflector for .NET by Lutz Roeder, it's easy to discover how the InstallUtil.exe utility does its job. After some setup, the InstallUtil.exe tool jumps to a method called InstallHelper in the ManagedInstallerClass in the System.Configuration.Install namespace. And what's really interesting is that the command line arguments passed to InstallUtil.exe as an array of strings are then passed directly to this helper method.

Well, this made me think, "If all InstallUtil.exe does is call the ManagedInstallerClass' InstallHelper method, why can't my service executable do the same thing to install itself on command?" The little class below makes it simple to do just that.

Using the Code

Create a new CS file in your service executable project containing the following code. You may also need to add a reference to the System.Configuration.Install.dll from the Global Assembly Cache if you don't already have one.

using System.Reflection;
using System.Configuration.Install;

namespace gotnet.biz.Utilities.WindowsServices
{
    public static class SelfInstaller
    {
        private static readonly string _exePath =
            Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location;
        public static bool InstallMe()
        {
            try
            {
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(
                    new string[] { _exePath } );
            }
            catch
            {
                return false;
            }
            return true;
        }

        public static bool UninstallMe()
        {
            try
            {
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(
                    new string[] { "/u", _exePath } );
            }
            catch
            {
                return false;
            }
            return true;
        }
    }
}

Now you need to come up with some sort of convention for knowing when to invoke the installer. Below is just an example of how you might handle this in your Main() method, the entry point to your service. I like the convention of using -i or -install parameters to install the service and -u or -uninstall to uninstall it. I also like to use -c or -console to mean starting the application in a console rather than as a service. However, that's a topic for a different article.

using gotnet.biz.Utilities.WindowsServices;

namespace MyService.WinHost
{
    static class Program
    {
        public static void Main( string[] args )
        {
            if (args != null && args.Length == 1 && args[0].Length > 1
                && (args[0][0] == '-' || args[0][0] == '/'))
            {
                switch (args[0].Substring( 1 ).ToLower())
                {
                    default:
                        break;
                    case "install":
                    case "i":
                        SelfInstaller.InstallMe();
                        break;
                    case "uninstall":
                    case "u":
                        SelfInstaller.UninstallMe();
                        break;
                    case "console":
                    case "c":
                        MyConsoleHost.Launch();
                        break;
                }
            }
            else
                MyWinServiceHost.Launch();
        }
    }
}

Now, assuming my executable is named MyWinSvcHost.exe, I can invoke the installer by running:

C:\> MyWinSvcHost.exe -install

Or to uninstall my service, I would use this:

C:\> MyWinSvcHost.exe -uninstall

Other Ideas

This little bit of code called the SelfInstaller is full of possibilities. You could pass parameters to the InstallMe method to pass on to the ServiceProcessInstaller in your program, for example. Perhaps the domain name, user name and password used to start your service could be passed all the way from your Main() method to the ServiceProcessInstaller. Cool, right? I thought you would like that.

History

22 Nov, 2007 - Initial publication

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

About the Author

W. Kevin Hazzard

Web Developer

United States

Member

After 16 years as an ardent C++ aficionado, Kevin switched to C# in 2001. Recently, Kevin's been dabbling in dynamically typed languages. Kevin is the Software Architect for Snagajob.com, the #1 source for hourly and part-time employment on the web.

Kevin loves welding, riding motorcycles and spending time with his family. Kevin has also been an adjunct professor teaching software engineering topics at a college in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia since 2000. Check out Kevin's technical blog at www.gotnet.biz for more goodies.

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Install two services from the same assembly

P. de Jong

4:23 30 Aug '11

Based on this great article, and the very useful added service template I'd like to share what I've experienced while searching for a way to install two services from the same assembly:

This might be a bit tricky, but the way to differentiate which service is actually being started is the Service's status:

if (new ServiceController("Service1").Status == ServiceControllerStatus.StartPending)
    ServiceBase.Run(new Service1());
if (new ServiceController("Service2").Status == ServiceControllerStatus.StartPending)
    ServiceBase.Run(new Service2());

When you decide to launch using the override for ServiceBase.Run, as a matter of fact only the first one is actually started.

StartPending is the state assigned to the service immediately after having selected 'Start' from the Services menu.

Best regards,

Piet

Service Template

Steve Foster (Havok Multimedia)

11:09 26 Sep '10

Based off of this excellent article and the many additions made in the comments, I created a 'template' windows service file, that I thought might be useful for others. The code assumes that you have setup the default assembly attributes, and have some type of 'bootstrap' class that has a default constructor and implements IDisposable. Most of the configuration is contained in the WindowsServiceConfiguration. Thanks again for the great article.

To use it, just create a Console Project, replace the Program.cs file with this code, setup the attributes in the AssemblyInfo.cs file, and point the THREAD field to a class to run.
You will need to add references to System.Configuration, System.Configuration.Install, and System.ServiceProcess.

 
#region Imports
 
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Configuration.Install;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Reflection;
using System.ServiceProcess;
 
#endregion
 
namespace MyNamespace
{
    public static class WindowsServiceConfiguration
    {
        #region Constants
 
        /// <summary>
        /// If SERVICE_USERNAME is left blank then use this account to run the service. 
        /// </summary>
        public static readonly ServiceAccount SERVICE_ACCOUNT = ServiceAccount.LocalSystem;
 
        /// <summary>
        /// The service description, defaulted to the Assembly Description attribute.
        /// </summary>
        public static readonly String SERVICE_DESCRIPTION = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetCustomAttributes(typeof (AssemblyDescriptionAttribute), true).Cast<AssemblyDescriptionAttribute>().First().Description;
 
        /// <summary>
        /// The service name, defaulted to the Assembly Title attribute.
        /// </summary>
        public static readonly String SERVICE_NAME = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetCustomAttributes(typeof (AssemblyTitleAttribute), true).Cast<AssemblyTitleAttribute>().First().Title;
 
        public static readonly ServiceStartMode START_MODE = ServiceStartMode.Automatic;
 
        /// <summary>
        /// The thread to start and stop. Must have a default constructor and implement IDisposable.
        /// Most likely this class will create a System.Thread in it's constructor and launch it.
        /// It could also do something like start an IoC container, Web Server, etc.
        /// </summary>
        public static readonly Type THREAD = typeof (Container);
 
        #endregion
 
        #region User Account Info
 
        // if SERVICE_USERNAME isn't set, default to SERVICE_ACCOUNT as user
        public static readonly String SERVICE_DOMAIN;
        public static readonly String SERVICE_PASSWORD;
        public static readonly String SERVICE_USERNAME;
 
        #endregion
    }
 
    public class Program
    {
        #region Constants
 
        public static readonly Assembly ASM = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
        public static readonly String NL = Environment.NewLine;
        public static readonly String SERVICE_ASSEMBLY_VERSION = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetCustomAttributes(typeof (AssemblyFileVersionAttribute), true).Cast<AssemblyFileVersionAttribute>().First().Version;
        public static readonly String SERVICE_COPYRIGHT = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetCustomAttributes(typeof (AssemblyCopyrightAttribute), true).Cast<AssemblyCopyrightAttribute>().First().Copyright;
        public static readonly String SERVICE_VERSION = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().Version.ToString();
 
        #endregion
 
        public static int Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Started by user
            if (Environment.UserInteractive)
            {
                // Show version information
                Console.Write(
                    NL + WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_NAME + " " +
                    // If the version isn't the same as the file version, display both.
                    (SERVICE_VERSION == SERVICE_ASSEMBLY_VERSION ? SERVICE_VERSION : SERVICE_VERSION + " " + "[" + SERVICE_ASSEMBLY_VERSION + "]") +
                    NL + SERVICE_COPYRIGHT);
 
                // Parsing command line
                if (args != null && args.Length >= 1)
                {
                    if (args[0].ToLower() == "/i") return MainInstaller(true);
                    if (args[0].ToLower() == "/u") return MainInstaller(false);
                    if (args[0].ToLower() == "/c") return LaunchConsole();
                }
 
                // Show usage
                Console.WriteLine(
                    NL + NL + "Usage: " + Path.GetFileName(ASM.Location) + " [/i | /u | /c]" +
                    NL + NL + "Where:" +
                    NL + "\t/i - install service." +
                    NL + "\t/u - uninstall service." +
                    NL + "\t/c - run in console.");
            }
            else
            {
                // Started by SCM
                ServiceBase.Run(new WindowsService());
            }
 
            return 0;
        }
 
        private static int MainInstaller(bool shouldInstall)
        {
            String[] args;
            if (shouldInstall)
            {
                // InstallHelper with /u switch set adds CRLF here, but with /i switch set it does not. So...
                Console.WriteLine();
                args = new[] {"/LogFile=", ASM.Location};
            }
            else
            {
                args = new[] {"/u", "/LogFile=", ASM.Location};
            }
 
            try
            {
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(args);
                return 0;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(" --- ERROR --- " + NL + e);
                return -1;
            }
        }
 
        public static int LaunchConsole()
        {
            //Console.SetBufferSize(1000, 1000);
            Console.WriteLine(NL + NL + "Starting... Press 'Q' or 'Esc' to exit");
 
            try
            {
                using (CreateThread())
                {
                    while (true)
                    {
                        var key = Console.ReadKey(true).Key;
                        if (key == ConsoleKey.Q) break;
                        if (key == ConsoleKey.Escape) break;
                    }
                    Console.WriteLine(NL + "Exiting" + NL);
                }
                return 0;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(" --- ERROR --- " + NL + e);
                return -1;
            }
        }
 
        public static IDisposable CreateThread()
        {
            return (IDisposable) Activator.CreateInstance(WindowsServiceConfiguration.THREAD);
        }
    }
 
    public class WindowsService : ServiceBase
    {
        #region Constructors
 
        public WindowsService()
        {
            ServiceName = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_NAME;
        }
 
        #endregion
 
        #region Fields
 
        private IDisposable thread;
 
        #endregion
 
        #region Service Methods
 
        protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
        {
            if (thread != null) return;
            thread = Program.CreateThread();
        }
 
        protected override void OnStop()
        {
            if (thread != null)
            {
                thread.Dispose();
                thread = null;
            }
        }
 
        #endregion
    }
 
    [RunInstaller(true)]
    public class WindowsServiceInstaller : Installer
    {
        #region Constructors
 
        public WindowsServiceInstaller()
        {
            if (WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_USERNAME == null)
            {
                processInstaller.Account = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_ACCOUNT;
            }
            else
            {
                if (WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_DOMAIN == null)
                {
                    processInstaller.Username = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_USERNAME;
                }
                else
                {
                    processInstaller.Username = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_DOMAIN + "\\" + WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_USERNAME;
                }
 
                processInstaller.Password = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_PASSWORD;
            }
 
            serviceInstaller.ServiceName = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_NAME;
            serviceInstaller.Description = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_DESCRIPTION;
            serviceInstaller.DisplayName = WindowsServiceConfiguration.SERVICE_NAME;
            serviceInstaller.StartType = WindowsServiceConfiguration.START_MODE;
 
            var installer = new Installer[] {processInstaller, serviceInstaller};
 
            Installers.AddRange(installer);
        }
 
        #endregion
 
        #region Fields
 
        private readonly ServiceProcessInstaller processInstaller = new ServiceProcessInstaller();
        private readonly ServiceInstaller serviceInstaller = new ServiceInstaller();
 
        #endregion
    }
}

Re: Service Template

ComplexityChaos

6:26 14 Oct '10

The code as is will do nothing in console mode. Would you provide an example where the OnStart event is triggered (or pseudo triggered) in console mode? Assume, please, no IOC container. Thanks
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Re: Service Template

Steven D. Foster

5:05 15 Oct '10

The OnStart method calls the same CreateThread method as the console mode, so triggering OnStart would do (as intended) the exact same as the Console mode.

Replace the Program.CreateThread() method to return a timer or some other thread instead. If you need information on threads, check out something like System.Timers.Timer

Here is an example (I haven't tested, just going off the top of my head).

public static IDisposable CreateThread()
{
   // return (IDisposable) Activator.CreateInstance(WindowsServiceConfiguration.THREAD);
   var timer = new System.Timers.Timer(5000) {AutoReset = true};
   timer.Elapsed += ((sender, e) => Console.WriteLine("Hello World: " + DateTime.Now));
   timer.Start();
   return timer;
}

Nice but

Giorgi Dalakishvili

10:18 6 Mar '10

When I try to start the service I am getting Error 1053: the service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion. Using an ordinary installer the service works fine. Any ideas? Giorgi Dalakishvili #region signature My Articles Browsing xkcd in a windows 7 way[^] #endregion
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how do i get the service name from another exe

jbencic

15:56 19 Dec '09

I am creating a deployment app to auto deploy many msi's

currently we use WIX msi's and the installutil to install the services

what i was trying to do was use the ManagedInstallerClass to install the services

problem is how can i retrieve the service's names passing the exe path?
i need to store and restore the service state

        public static bool InstallService(string _exePath, string svcName)
        {
            try
            {
                // TODO: get service name from the executable
                if (IsServiceInstalled(svcName)) return false;
 
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(new string[] { _exePath });
            
                // verify results
                if (!IsServiceInstalled(svcName)) return true;
            }
            catch(Exception ex)
            {
                Logger.Log(ex);
            }
            return false;
        }

Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

khayyam22

20:15 1 Sep '09

When i install my service using the installUtil.exe i dont get any error and service runs successfully. but when i implement the above code in my service project i get following error message. Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion. Please help
Sign In·View Thread·Permalink	3.50/5 (2 votes)

Two lines are confusing me please help

khayyam22

20:11 1 Sep '09

case "console": case "c": MyConsoleHost.Launch(); break; } } else MyWinServiceHost.Launch();
Sign In·View Thread·Permalink	3.50/5 (2 votes)

Confused Steps

khayyam22

7:50 1 Sep '09

hi all,

i am reviewing this code for 3 to 4 days continously but didnt get an idea that

1. what do you mean by service executable. Should i put my below code in windows service project

using System.Reflection;
using System.Configuration.Install;
 
namespace gotnet.biz.Utilities.WindowsServices
{
    public static class SelfInstaller
    {
        private static readonly string _exePath =
            Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location;
        public static bool InstallMe()
        {
            try
            {
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(
                    new string[] { _exePath } );
            }
            catch
            {
                return false;
            }
            return true;
        }
 
        public static bool UninstallMe()
        {
            try
            {
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(
                    new string[] { "/u", _exePath } );
            }
            catch
            {
                return false;
            }
            return true;
        }
    }
}

2. The main() code is given later in this article, again should i put this in my windows service project
if i put that in service project then should i delete the prevoius code

ServiceBase[] ServicesToRun;
                ServicesToRun = new ServiceBase[] 
                        { 
                            new WindowsService1.Service1() 
                        };
                ServiceBase.Run(ServicesToRun);

plz help me i very upset

Different Solution

David Hoyt

6:56 13 Aug '09

I had my own solution back in 2005 for this: Self installing .NET service using the Win32 API[^]

It uses the native API and the latest versions (available through CodePlex as part of a greater project: http://www.codeplex.com/aspnetSuite[^]) support UAC and 32/64 bit support on Windows, Vista, and beyond. It will auto-detect if it's not installed and attempt to install it. You can also provide command line options to install, uninstall, etc. It also provides install/uninstall/start/stop/etc. utils for any service on the system (each w/ UAC support, if needed) and will automatically degrade to a typical console-based application if running in user interactive mode. It also provides more control than the .net framework-provided one in terms of what messages you can respond to (e.g. system shutdown, power states, etc.), your error handling capabilities, etc.

You can write an entire service w/ all of that functionality w/ ~2 methods.

no console output

rapid2k2

15:52 11 Aug '09

After trying your suggestions inside a windows service I'm programming, there is no console output. Surely it has something to do with the type of the project (window service instead of console application), but I don't know what to change in the project properties to get something. Of course, if I start with a console appl I get no service Smile | :)

pd.- by console output I mean everything that gets out from system.console.writeline(), for example.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion...

Re: no console output

Erik Burger

1:50 29 Jul '10

Royally late but yes, it does have to do with the project type. If you go to Properties, Application and change the Output type to 'Console Application' you'll get the output you're missing. Reverse Alchemy - http://www.reversealchemy.net
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Awesome! GUI and CLI!

Bit-Smacker

9:39 3 Aug '09

I combined the enhancements by Aleksei Nickolayev and Ashley van Gerven, and now have my services accepting command line switches and offering to install or uninstall if launched interactively. This is the best! No more batch files! Thanks for a great article, and thanks to the other users for the great enhancement ideas! How could anyone not vote 5?
Sign In·View Thread·Permalink	1.00/5 (1 vote)

ManagedInstallerClass doesn't work to me

Bizancio Spirit

4:10 9 Jun '09

I have a problem Frown | :(

I can install a Windows service by InstallUtil but I can't do it when I try to do it with ManagerInstallerClass. It's strange, I reflected the Code (is the same that InstallUtil) and it doesn't work. Context data? This is My Code:

static void Main(string[] args)
{
string path = @"";

MainK(new string[] { path });
}

public static int MainK(string[] args)
{
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture = CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture.GetConsoleFallbackUICulture();
if (((Console.OutputEncoding.CodePage != 0xfde9) && (Console.OutputEncoding.CodePage != Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture.TextInfo.OEMCodePage)) && (Console.OutputEncoding.CodePage != Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture.TextInfo.ANSICodePage))
{
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture = new CultureInfo("en-US");
}
Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().GetCustomAttributes(typeof(AssemblyProductAttribute), true);
try
{
ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(args);
}
catch (Exception exception)
{
Console.WriteLine(exception.Message);
return -1;
}
return 0;
}

Awesome post, thanks. Always wanted to know how that was done.

Buddy Stein

7:11 1 Apr '09

Awesome post, thanks. Always wanted to know how that was done.
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InstallHelper Doesn't release Service1.exe file after uninstall

surf uk

2:55 22 Jan '09

Hi,

Excellent article! I have found non-command ways to do all things service related, apart from uninstalling...

I have created a helper service (Service1Updater) for my main service (Service1). Service1Updater does two things
-Checks a network folder to see if there's any updates for Service1 and installs them
-Checks to see if Service1 is running, if not then it tries to start it

The reason I'm using a service to do the updating:
-I don't want Service1 to fail when updating, I don't want to manually fix things
-I don't want any user interaction during updates
-I have a large cluster of computers to roll out the updates, I can't do it manually would take ages
-I want Service1 to stay alive if something unforeseen happens, so I use a helper process

The problem:
I use Service1Updater to copy new files -> stop Service1 -> uninstall Service1 -> delete old Service1 files -> copy new files -> install Service1 -> set Service1 properties -> start Service1.

Between "uninstall Service1 -> delete old Service1 files" I always get Access denied or UnauthorizedAccessException as the InstallHelper seams to still have a handle open on the old Service1. If I use a Process command then I have no problem deleteing the old files:

Process myProcess = new Process();
string path = @"C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727";
myProcess.StartInfo.FileName = path + "\\InstallUtil.exe";
myProcess.StartInfo.Arguments = @"/u C:\Service1\Service1.exe";
myProcess.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
myProcess.Start();
 
myProcess.WaitForExit(60000);
if (!myProcess.HasExited)
    myProcess.Kill();
myProcess.Close();

Although this works it would be nice to have an InstallHelper solution especially as InstallUtil maybe in a different location. Does anyone have any ideas? Would I have to host the InstallHelper in a different thread/process and wait for it to exit?

Cheers

Ross

not suitable for idiots

Re: InstallHelper Doesn't release Service1.exe file after uninstall

HJG007

1:27 6 Feb '09

Hi Ross, I have the same problem and didn't find any solution for this Regards Jürgen
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Re: InstallHelper Doesn't release Service1.exe file after uninstall

Veener

13:56 29 Apr '09

Hi Guys,

I ran into this problem and found a solution by running the uninstall method in another AppDomain similar to the way it is documented here.
http://www.devnewsgroups.net/group/microsoft.public.dotnet.framework/topic48232.aspx[^]

Not only does it put a lock on the file when you uninstall it, also, if you check to see if it is a installable service (using AssemblyInstaller.CheckIfInstallable) then you cannot delete the file either unless you use this method.

Enjoy...

[Message Removed]

Katekortez

9:30 25 Oct '08

Spam message removed
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Setting ServiceProcessInstaller attributes

Chris Newton

2:45 28 May '08

Hi, would you mind providing an example of how you would use the command line switches to set properties of the underlying ServiceProcessInstaller object. Thanx...
Sign In·View Thread·Permalink	1.60/5 (4 votes)

For the console lovers ;-)

Aleksei Nickolayev

4:06 3 Mar '08

First of all, THANK YOU for your article. It is really useful.

I have one little improvement. In case of your code user must know what switches service executable accepts. I suppose it's a good idea to show all acceptable switches to user when the service was started from console, not from SCM.
The method that I use to determine how service was started is quite simple — checking the value of Environment.UserInteractive.

Code:

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Started by user
            if (Environment.UserInteractive)
            {
                // Show version information
                Console.Write(Environment.NewLine + System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().FullName + ".");
 
                // Parsing command line
                if (args != null && args.Length >= 1)
                {
                    if (args[0].ToLower() == "/i")
                    {
                        // InstallHelper with /u switch set adds CRLF here, but with /i switch set it does not. So...
                        Console.WriteLine();
                        
                        installMyService();
                        return;
                    }
                    if (args[0].ToLower() == "/u")
                    {
                        uninstallMyService();
                        return;
                    }
                }
 
                // Show usage
                Console.WriteLine(Environment.NewLine + Environment.NewLine + "Usage: MyService.exe [/i | /u]" + Environment.NewLine + Environment.NewLine + "Where:");
                Console.WriteLine("       /i - install service;");
                Console.WriteLine("       /u - uninstall service.");
            }
            // Started by SCM
            else
            {
                ServiceBase.Run(new MyService());
            }
        }
 
        static void installMyService()
        {
            try
            {
                // "/LogFile=" - to suppress install log creation
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(new string[] { "/LogFile=", Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location });
            }
            catch
            {
            }
        }
 
        static void uninstallMyService()
        {
            try
            {
                // "/LogFile=" - to suppress uninstall log creation
                ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(new string[] { "/u", "/LogFile=", Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location });
            }
            catch
            {
            }
        }

Re: For the console lovers ;-)

W. Kevin Hazzard

6:51 6 Mar '08

Very nice, Aleksei. Nice addition. Thanks, Kevin Kevin Hazzard's Brain Spigot
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Great article

srinath g nath

18:09 30 Dec '07

Great article
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Install on first run [modified]

Ashley van Gerven

17:55 21 Dec '07

Firstly, very nice simple solution - thanks for sharing that tip. I decided to try it out and came up with the idea of installing the service if it's not already installed (i.e. just double click it in Explorer, and confirm whether or not to install it). Worked well for me, using this code:

if (args.Length == 0)
{
	ServiceController sc = new ServiceController("AshFMS2");
	try
	{
		string s = sc.Status.ToString();  // throws exception if service does not exist
	}
	catch
	{
		if (System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show("Install this service?          ", "Confirm", System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes)
		{
			SelfInstaller(SelfInstallOptions.Install);
			return;
		}
	}
}
else
{
	switch (args[0])
	{
		case "-i" :
		case "/i" :
			SelfInstaller(SelfInstallOptions.Install);
			return;
		case "-u" :
		case "/u" :
			SelfInstaller(SelfInstallOptions.Uninstall);
			return;
	}
}

BTW SelfInstaller is my method containing code based on yours.

------------------------------
My Latest CP article: SmartPager - a Flickr-style pager control with go-to-page popup layer.

modified on Saturday, December 22, 2007 12:01:11 AM

Re: Install on first run

W. Kevin Hazzard

3:54 26 Dec '07

Very good, Ashley. Nice extension of the concept. It would be interesting to make your code detect the version of the installed service and upgrade it on demand. Kevin Kevin Hazzard's Brain Spigot
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