StartService method of the Win32_Service class (CIMWin32 WMI Providers)

Article
11/09/2023

The StartService method attempts to place the referenced service into its startup state.

This topic uses Managed Object Format (MOF) syntax. For more information about using this method, see Calling a Method.

Syntax

uint32 StartService();

Parameters

This method has no parameters.

Return value

Returns one of the values listed in the following list, or any other value to indicate an error. For additional error codes, see WMI Error Constants or WbemErrorEnum. For general HRESULT values, see System Error Codes.

0: The request was accepted.
1: The request is not supported.
2: The user did not have the necessary access.
3: The service cannot be stopped because other services that are running are dependent on it.
4: The requested control code is not valid, or it is unacceptable to the service.
5: The requested control code cannot be sent to the service because the state of the service (Win32_BaseService.State property) is equal to 0, 1, or 2.
6: The service has not been started.
7: The service did not respond to the start request in a timely fashion.
8: Unknown failure when starting the service.
9: The directory path to the service executable file was not found.
10: The service is already running.
11: The database to add a new service is locked.
12: A dependency this service relies on has been removed from the system.
13: The service failed to find the service needed from a dependent service.
14: The service has been disabled from the system.
15: The service does not have the correct authentication to run on the system.
16: This service is being removed from the system.
17: The service has no execution thread.
18: The service has circular dependencies when it starts.
19: A service is running under the same name.
20: The service name has invalid characters.
21: Invalid parameters have been passed to the service.
22: The account under which this service runs is either invalid or lacks the permissions to run the service.
23: The service exists in the database of services available from the system.
24: The service is currently paused in the system.

Remarks

Although there might appear to be no practical difference between a service that is stopped and a service that is paused, the two states appear differently to the SCM. A stopped service is a service that is not running and must go through the entire service start procedure. A paused service, however, is still running but has had its functioning is suspended. Because of this, a paused service does not need to go through the entire service start procedure but needs a different procedure to resume functioning.

You must use the proper method to start a service that has been stopped or to resume a service that has been paused. The Win32_Service methods StartService and ResumeService should be used in the following situations:

If a service is currently stopped, you must use the StartService method to restart it; ResumeService cannot start a service that is currently stopped.
If a service is paused, you must use ResumeService. If you use the StartService method on a paused service, you receive the message, "The service is already running." However, the service remains paused until the resume service control code is sent to it.

If you start a stopped service that depends on another service, then both services are started. When a service is started with this method, any dependent services are not automatically started. You must use the association class Win32_DependentService and the Associators Of query to locate the dependents and start them separately.

Examples

The following VBSScript code sample demonstrates how to start a specific service from instances of Win32_Service.

Set ServiceSet = GetObject("winmgmts:").ExecQuery("select * from Win32_Service where Name='ClipSrv'")

for each Service in ServiceSet
 RetVal = Service.StartService()
 if RetVal = 0 then WScript.Echo "Service started"
 if RetVal = 10 then WScript.Echo "Service already running"
next

The following Perl code sample demonstrates how to start a specific service from instances of Win32_Service.

use strict;
use Win32::OLE;

my $ServiceSet;

eval { $ServiceSet = 
 Win32::OLE->GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\\\.\\root\\cimv2")->
 ExecQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_Service WHERE Name='ClipSrv'"); };

if(!$@ && defined $ServiceSet)
{
 foreach my $service (in $ServiceSet)
 {
  my $Result = $service->StartService();
  if ($Result == 0) 
  {
   print "\nService started\n";
  }
  elsif ($Result == 10)
  {
   print "\nService already running\n";
  }
 }
}
else
{
 print STDERR Win32::OLE->LastError, "\n";
}

The following VBScript code example, NetDDE, is dependent on the NetDDEDSDM service. The script locates the class on which NetDDE depends and starts it, which does not automatically start NetDDE.

strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")

' Stop NetDDE if it is running
Set objNetDDEService = objWMIService.Get("Win32_Service.Name='NetDDE'")
Return = objNetDDEService.StopService()

' NetDDE is in the dependent role to another service
Set colServiceList = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Associators of " _
    & "{Win32_Service.Name='NetDDE'} Where " & "AssocClass=Win32_DependentService " & "Role=Dependent" )

' start the service on which NetDDE is dependent
For Each objService in colServiceList
    WScript.Echo "Starting " & objService.Name
    Return = objService.StartService()
    If Return = 0 Then
        WScript.Echo "Parent service " & objService.Name & " started successfully"
    Else
        WScript.Echo "Parent service " & objService.Name & " did not start. Return = " & Return
    End If
Next

' NetDDE is still stopped
Set objNetDDEService = _
    objWMIService.Get("Win32_Service.Name='NetDDE'")
WScript.Echo "Dependent NetDDE service is " & objNetDDEService.State

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows Vista
Minimum supported server	Windows Server 2008
Namespace	Root\CIMV2
MOF	CIMWin32.mof
DLL	CIMWin32.dll

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