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Installing .NET Windows Services (the easiest way)

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3.17/5 (18 votes)
19 Jun 2008CPOL2 min read 114.5K   5.8K   29   21
Installing .NET Windows services without using InstallUtil.exe

Introduction

I will demonstrate the easiest way of installing a Windows service. Using the InstallUtil.exe had been my primary mechanism of installing a Windows service until I came across Windows Services Can Install Themselves by W. Kevin Hazzard. That article has demonstrated that a service can be installed/uninstalled/launched from the command line alone. I, on the other hand, have come up with a way to install/uninstall the Windows service by double clicking the service executable.

The traditional command line approach is as follows:

C:\> InstallUtil MyWinService.exe

Kevin Hazzard’s command line approach is as follows:

C:\> MyWinSvcHost.exe -install

My approach: Just double click on the Service EXE.

Using the Code

The first double click on the service executable will install the service and the second double click on the service executable will uninstall the service. Whenever we run a Windows service, the main method gets executed as this serves as the entry point for the service. The list of existing Windows services can be fetched using the GetServices method of the ServiceController class. Loop through the array of services to determine if our service is already installed.

Image 1

If the service does not exist on the machine, we will install it by executing the InstallMe method of the SelfInstaller class, followed by a message box notification of the same.

Install.JPG

S-Install.JPG

If the service does not exist on the machine, we will uninstall it by executing the UninstallMe method of the SelfInstaller class, followed by a message box notification of the same.

UnInstall.JPG

S-UnInstall.JPG

As Kevin said in his article, this style of installing the service without using the InstallUtil.exe provides us with many options of installing and invoking the service. Happy coding, my dear fellow s/w brothers. You can also find this and my other posts at Cavemansblog.

Update

Version 2.0: Code can be downloaded from the link at the top of this article (See version 2).

  1. Added SMESSER's code to get rid of the annoying alert box (cannot start service from the command line or a debugger) that appears after the service has been installed/uninstalled.
  2. Added code to make this approach more secure (Thanks to PIEBALDconsult's concern) by prompting the user, is he/she would REALLY like to install/uninstall the service.
  3. Moved the WSInstaller class to WSInstaller.cs for cleaner code.

License

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


Written By
United States United States
Sudheer Reddy Battula - Caveman's Blog

Comments and Discussions

 
Questionhow to start the service Pin
Himanshu_Gautam22-May-17 21:21
Himanshu_Gautam22-May-17 21:21 
GeneralInstallMe() does not work for me Pin
Member 125050605-May-16 6:04
Member 125050605-May-16 6:04 
GeneralRe: InstallMe() does not work for me Pin
Member 141123878-Jan-19 19:54
Member 141123878-Jan-19 19:54 
QuestionThank you!? Pin
omidt2023-Dec-13 20:37
omidt2023-Dec-13 20:37 
QuestionInstalling .NET Windows Services (the easiest way) Pin
radesi22-Aug-13 7:04
radesi22-Aug-13 7:04 
QuestionAwesome Pin
DominionZA17-Jul-13 5:14
DominionZA17-Jul-13 5:14 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
vaerge28-Feb-13 14:05
vaerge28-Feb-13 14:05 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Abkarino27-Apr-11 22:54
Abkarino27-Apr-11 22:54 
GeneralBeware of uninstall issue Pin
Kamran Behzad12-May-10 16:45
Kamran Behzad12-May-10 16:45 
QuestionHow can I define startup parameters for a windows service while installing it? Pin
Member 25855272-Mar-09 7:07
Member 25855272-Mar-09 7:07 
AnswerRe: How can I define startup parameters for a windows service while installing it? Pin
yipmonster23-Apr-10 9:07
yipmonster23-Apr-10 9:07 
I ran into the same issue. If you add a double quote to the this.Context.Parameters["assemblypath"] before you add your parameter, the service will start and pass your parameter into Main().

So the code would be:

this.Context.Parameters["assemblypath"]= Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().Location + "\" -service";

which will give you:
“myPath\MyService.exe" –service”

When running the service, the last quote seems to be ignored. No guarantees that it'll work for all versions of Windows, but XP seems happy enough.
GeneralFigured it out... Pin
Steve Messer21-Jun-08 20:11
Steve Messer21-Jun-08 20:11 
GeneralRe: Figured it out... Pin
Sudheer Reddy Battula21-Jun-08 20:52
Sudheer Reddy Battula21-Jun-08 20:52 
GeneralRe: Figured it out... Pin
Steve Messer22-Jun-08 5:25
Steve Messer22-Jun-08 5:25 
GeneralNot the solution you are looking for but... [modified] Pin
Steve Messer20-Jun-08 11:24
Steve Messer20-Jun-08 11:24 
GeneralPlease include links to referenced articles Pin
Zoltan Balazs19-Jun-08 11:44
Zoltan Balazs19-Jun-08 11:44 
GeneralRe: Please include links to referenced articles Pin
Sudheer Reddy Battula19-Jun-08 12:07
Sudheer Reddy Battula19-Jun-08 12:07 
GeneralSoooo... Pin
PIEBALDconsult19-Jun-08 9:29
mvePIEBALDconsult19-Jun-08 9:29 
GeneralRe: Soooo... Pin
Sudheer Reddy Battula19-Jun-08 11:41
Sudheer Reddy Battula19-Jun-08 11:41 
GeneralRe: Soooo... Pin
PIEBALDconsult19-Jun-08 15:06
mvePIEBALDconsult19-Jun-08 15:06 
GeneralRe: Soooo... Pin
Sudheer Reddy Battula20-Jun-08 7:30
Sudheer Reddy Battula20-Jun-08 7:30 

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