BatchPatch Service stuck "starting" after successful installation

[doug]

We are currently aware of 3 primary reasons that the service can get stuck “starting”:

1. If the account that you are using to install the service has never logged-on to the computer before, that could be the source of the problem. Make sure that you have logged on to the computer at least one time with the user account that will be running the service. If you use right-click run-as to run BatchPatch as a different user account than the account that you are logged-on to the computer with, make sure to log on to the computer separately with the run-as account.

2. Make sure that you are not running the BatchPatch.exe directly from inside the BatchPatch.zip file. Please first extract the batchpatch.exe to a location on disk, and then double-click the batchpatch.exe to launch it. Do not simply “open” the batchpatch.zip file and double-click the batchpatch.exe without first extracting the batchpatch.exe to a new location on disk.

3. One user reported that on his Windows 2008 machine he was able to install the service successfully, but it would get stuck “starting” according to the services.msc console.

While we were not able to reproduce this issue, and it does not occur with a normal/default installation of Windows 2008, it does appear to be somehow related to permissions or UAC.

To solve the issue, he was able to change the installation directory to a location inside the user profile for the user running the service (e.g. if ‘SomeUser’ is the service runner account, then install the service in “C:UsersSomeUserBatchPatchService” or similar location)

It might be that modifying the permissions on the original ‘C:Program FilesBatchPatchService’ directory would also fix the problem, so long as the service runner account has full read/write access to that directory.

[nathan85]

Hi,

I have the same issue on a 2K8R2 server. I have tried both of the suggested fixes above but the problem still remains.

[nathan85]

Here is the install log.

10/9/2015 10:48:07 AM: Checking service status…

10/9/2015 10:48:07 AM: Executing service installation…

10/9/2015 10:48:14 AM: Service installation complete. Please review the .InstallLog for more details.

10/9/2015 10:48:24 AM: Erroring starting service. System.ServiceProcess.TimeoutException: Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.

at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.WaitForStatus(ServiceControllerStatus desiredStatus, TimeSpan timeout)

at (Object , ServiceControllerStatus , TimeSpan )

at A.c04305e946152debd8d3534f6409242b0.c4b7e391394a7ac41baf8b3be31cc7aef(Object c803566b20cccbc73514b9d5051c48ac2, ServiceControllerStatus c803566b20cccbc73514b9d5051c48ac2, TimeSpan c803566b20cccbc73514b9d5051c48ac2)

at A.cae29f4b07a68197daf50c5b2f952cded.ca9cccfde84cbfaa5e4af6599bacedae7_Encrypted$(cae29f4b07a68197daf50c5b2f952cded )

at A.cae29f4b07a68197daf50c5b2f952cded.ca9cccfde84cbfaa5e4af6599bacedae7()

at A.cd03c9ed048768150dc80f437a5c4e7be.c0648729821fc25282ffdcd9f10e27839_Encrypted$(String[] )

[nathan85]

If I try to start the service manually I get the following error after a long delay.

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

[doug]

Nathan – Can you think of anything about your system setup that is not typical, particular with regard to permissions, accounts, UAC etc? It’s very difficult to know what might be the source of your issue, but it’s definitely not normal behavior. I’m surprised that choosing an installation directory that is inside of the user’s profile did not solve the issue. I believe it is most likely still related to permissions in some way. Is the account that you’re using a local administrator on the machine? Is there anything out-of-the-ordinary that you’re doing as far as forest trusts and/or the account being in a separate domain or forest from the machine you’re trying to install the service on?

Do you have a different machine you can test installing on just to see if there is something about that particular computer’s setup? It’s certainly very possible, I understand, that all of your machines are setup the same way and so you might experience the problem on all of them, but I think that’s at least a good first test. I’m sure there is definitely something in your environment that is preventing it from working properly, but I just don’t know what it might be. We don’t have anyone else having any issues with this feature, and I’m not able to reproduce the problem that you’re having.

-Doug

[zzglenn]

Hello,

I am having this same issue as well. I just did a new installation of a WSUS server with 2012R2. Installed batchpatch and tried installing the service. The service creates properly, but is stuck in “starting” in services snapin. Also I can see the batchpatchservice.exe running in task manager, but its not doing anything. I am a domain admin and have turned off UAC. All the way down to the registry level. I have installed the service in multiple places including the USER path described above. I have even turned off A/V which is Vipre.

Is there anything else we can try. I understand it can be hard to hunt down as everyone’s environment is different. Just looking for any other ideas. It looks like its right there. Just something blocking the final sync up.

[doug]

Hi Glenn – I’m sorry to hear that you are encountering the same issue. Coincidentally I happened to build a brand new 2012R2 machine a few days ago with nothing installed except for WSUS. So, I went ahead and installed the BatchPatch service on it a few minutes ago. However, I didn’t encounter any problems with installation or running it. That said, I do think there is something specific to your environment that is causing the problem. But as you pointed out, it’s hard to pin down what it might be. You are only the second person who has ever reported a problem running the service.

You mentioned A/V, which I do think is a possible culprit. Rather than just trying to start the service with A/V disabled, I’d actually like you to uninstall the service altogether, then disable A/V, and then with A/V disabled re-install the service. Then with it still disabled, start the BP service. Does this have any impact?

Additionally, could you please look in the BatchPatch service installation directory. You should find a couple of .log files there. I’d like to know if those .log files contain any additional information that references service startup errors.

Thanks,

Doug

[zzglenn]

Hi Doug,

I will give it a shot and let you know.

Here are the logs, but very little information in them.

2/3/2016 3:10:10 PM: Checking service status…

2/3/2016 3:10:10 PM: Executing service installation…

2/3/2016 3:10:37 PM: Service installation complete. Please review the .InstallLog for more details.

2/3/2016 3:10:47 PM: Erroring starting service. System.ServiceProcess.TimeoutException: Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.

at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.WaitForStatus(ServiceControllerStatus desiredStatus, TimeSpan timeout)

at (Object , ServiceControllerStatus , TimeSpan )

at A.c04305e946152debd8d3534f6409242b0.c4b7e391394a7ac41baf8b3be31cc7aef(Object c803566b20cccbc73514b9d5051c48ac2, ServiceControllerStatus c803566b20cccbc73514b9d5051c48ac2, TimeSpan c803566b20cccbc73514b9d5051c48ac2)

at A.cae29f4b07a68197daf50c5b2f952cded.ca9cccfde84cbfaa5e4af6599bacedae7_Encrypted$(cae29f4b07a68197daf50c5b2f952cded )

at A.cae29f4b07a68197daf50c5b2f952cded.ca9cccfde84cbfaa5e4af6599bacedae7()

at A.cd03c9ed048768150dc80f437a5c4e7be.c0648729821fc25282ffdcd9f10e27839_Encrypted$(String[] )

2/3/2016 3:29:42 PM: Checking service status…

2/3/2016 3:29:42 PM: Executing service uninstallation…

2/3/2016 3:29:48 PM: Service uninstallation complete. Please review the .InstallLog for more details.

Thanks,

Glenn

[doug]

Thanks, Glenn. Unfortunately you’re correct– there isn’t much info to go on in the logs. It’s essentially just pointing to a timeout, which we already knew. The real question, of course, is *why* is it timing out. Let me know what you come up with when you test the other suggestion.

Thanks,

Doug

[itowner]

I have just purchased the software with the intention of running it as a service yet I have got the same issue as detailed here. I have tried on Windows 2008 R2 and 2012R2 and the same issue occurs. This is running as admin with Domain Admin privileges. Can you provide any suggestions for getting this to function.

Thanks

Ian

[doug]

Hi Ian –

We have tested installing/running the BP service on all current Windows operating systems (including 2008R2 and 2012R2) many times without any issues. Additionally, we have many customers successfully using the feature. That said, I believe there is something specific to your environment that is causing the problem since you’re finding that on two different computers with different OSes you are encountering the same problem. There must be something specific to how your computers are currently configured or to the software that is installed on them that would be causing this issue.

My first best suggestion is that the issue is related to software that you have installed on your computers — probably some type of security-related software such as anti-virus or host-intrution-protection or other similar security software. I think the best place to start is to determine what software is installed on your computer that could be a possible culprit. Then remove that software and test again. I would suggest uninstalling the BP service, then uninstalling any possible culprits such anti-virus software, then re-installing the BP service and seeing how that goes. Please keep me posted on your progress.

Thanks

Doug

[itowner]

I Removed AV completely and that didn’t help and there isn’t any additional software installed that I can see would cause any issues. I have installed it on a corporate Windows 10 machine instead and this worked without issue so it seems to be related to the Server OS.

[doug]

Thank you for testing the removal of the AV software. I’m sorry to hear that didn’t work, but it still helps to know that you have at least ruled that out as the culprit. I’m glad you got it working on your Win 10 machine, but what is strange is that I have the service running successfully in my lab right now on 2003, 2008, 2008R2, 2012R2, 7, 8.1, and 10. Additionally, we have many customers successfully running the service on server operating systems. The only reports of any issues have been through this forum thread.

That said, I still believe there is something specific to your environment that is the source of the problem. In your case it sounds like there might be something specific to your server environment (as opposed to your workstation environment) that could be the culprit? Since you have ruled out the possibility of AV being the culprit, could it be a permissions issue of some kind? I know you said that you’re running it as a domain admin. Do you notice any difference if you run it as the built-in local administrator on a server, as opposed to a named domain admin account? While under normal circumstances this should make no difference, at the moment I cannot think of anything else to try. Unfortunately when we are unable to reproduce the issue here it becomes very challenging to determine the source of the problem.

In the service installation directory on one of the problematic servers (the default is “C:Program Files (x86)BatchPatchServiceDomain.Username”) do you see a BatchPatchService.log file? If yes, what does it contain?

Thanks,

Doug

[jtupeck]

I am having this issue as well, but the strange thing is that it works for ONE user, but not any subsequent users. I have my personal Server Admin (SA) account working just fine as a proof of concept. Then, I went to set up a service account and it installs correctly, but the service will not start and just says ‘Starting’ in the services console. I had another of our sysadmins attempt to install and start it under his SA account and he receives the same error:

“cannot start service batchpatchservice (domain.serviceAccount) on computer ‘.’.

Please make sure you have launched BatchPatch with administrator privileges”

The software has launched with admin privs and the UAC test shows all ‘True’. This is SO very odd because it works on my account just fine, but the domain privs on the other two accounts are the same and it won’t work. Ultimately, we would like to run the service with the service account in production, then allow sysamdins to modify the grid files with their own user accounts and simply restart the service when needed to incorporate any changes.

Any thoughts?

[doug]

Jtupeck – I’m not sure that what you are describing is the same issue. In your case the service cannot start. In the case of the other posters in this forum topic I think the issue was that the service would be stuck “starting.” Unclear if this is the same issue or if it has the same root cause.

In any event… what happens if you log on to the computer as the service account? I’m guessing you have not done that and have only tried to use run-as to launch BP as that service account, yes? I think the issue might be due to not having ever logged on to that computer with the service account. I think once you have logged on to the computer with that service account at least one time you won’t have any issues after that. Please report back.

Thanks,

Doug

[jtupeck]

Doug – Actually, in the services screen, it states that the service is ‘starting’ continuously, even though the startup failed.

As to your questions, yes…I have logged onto the server (2012 R2 DataCenter edition) as the service account. Every time we have attempted to install and run the service, it was as the logged on user. All of them have the same base Active Directory permissions that allow administrative access to our servers, as well. (I initially thought it was a permissions issue, too)

I have logged on as myself, the service account AND the other SA user, but only my account allows the service to start up as expected. I believe it might have something to do with the fact that it was the first account that set up the service, but even that seems really odd.

I just now uninstalled the service from all three user profiles and attempted once again to install it under the service account profile and got the same error message. So, unfortunately, its not as simple as logging on as the service account user. 🙁

[jtupeck]

Additional info, unsure if this helps. In my Services windows I see:

BatchPatch Service (domain.serviceaccount)

Status: Starting

Startup Type: Disabled

When I had it installed under my SA account, it alone said:

BatchPatch Service (domain.jtupeck-sa)

Status: Started

Startup Type: Automatic

I am unaware on how to get you some logs. If you can share that with me, it would be great and maybe I can provide more info for you. Thank you for your help!

[doug]

Thanks for the info. I can confirm that the order of which account is setup first does not matter. BP supports having multiple accounts all running their own BP service, simultaneously, on the same computer.

What you are experiencing really does still sound like it’s a permissions issue of some kind. I believe there has to be *something* different about the new service account, as compared to your regular account, though it’s not clear exactly what it is in this case. Have you tried adding the ‘Log on as a service’ right for that service account or for the group that contains the account?

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794944(v=ws.10).aspx

[jtupeck]

Ohhhh. Good point. Let me verify and test. I will report back shortly.

[jtupeck]

Dang…was hoping that was the smoking gun, but no. All three accounts that we have attempted this with are in the log on as a service policy.

[jtupeck]

Trying a few more things now with the service logon account to see what happens. I ran the service installed in my user profile with the service account logon information and it sort of started. On the service window in BatchPatch, it showed that the service was installed and that the instance was running…but not the service itself. Then I looked at the same window in the service account user profile and it showed that the service was running and installed, but the instance would not start. Hahaha…..this is really strange.

[jtupeck]

Also tested with another server and my SA account and the service account. NEITHER one works as expected.

[jtupeck]

Final update for today. Made a new VM. BOTH accounts, my personal admin account and the service account, fail on starting the service.

[doug]

If, after installing the service, you try to modify the runner account, that will cause problems. We need to get it working in the default configuration where you simply install the service and use it as-is without making any modifications after that.

As a test, what happens if you install/run the service under a local administrator account? (not a domain account, but rather a local account on the computer that is a member of the local admins group, or just the built-in administrator account would also work as a test)

[jtupeck]

I will test that shortly. Thank you.

[jtupeck]

Running it under the local administrator account also provides the same issue. Service installed: True, running: false, instance running: false.

System Log says:

The BatchPatch Service (wc-it-patching.administrator) service hung on starting.

For the domain user account(s):

1. The BatchPatch Service (missoula.svc-wc-it-autopatch) service hung on starting.

2. The BatchPatch Service (missoula.svc-wc-it-autopatch) service teminated unexpectedly. It has done this 1 time(s).

3. The BatchPatch Service (missoula.svc-wc-it-autopatch) service failed to start due to the following error: The service did not start due to a logon failure.

4. The BatchPatch Service (missoula.svc-wc-it-autopatch) service was unable to log on as MISSOULAsvc-wc-it-autopatch with the currently configured password due to the following wrror: There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request.

(there are records of all of these for each domain account I have used and the logon servers error makes no sense because the machine is domain joined and I am logged in AS THAT USER in those cases….so if it cannot get a logon server, then how did I log in the first time?)

Again, thank you for your continued thoughts on this matter.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled on the original server with my persona admin account multiple times now and it remains the ONLY place where the service installs and starts up as expected. Other accounts on that server do not work. THAT account on OTHER servers, does not work. There is no commonality here that is helping me to test and troubleshoot this. I would love for it to be a permissions issue, but if that was the case, then why wont it work on the other machine with my same user account? Could it be licensing? I have 5 licenses for my team, but have, during testing of this issue now, installed the license in more than 5 spots, but for the same user base, if that comes into play here at all.

[doug]

It’s not a licensing issue. Very strange though. If it’s not a permissions issue then it would appear to be some other issue with the environment, though at the moment it isn’t clear to me what the exact cause would be. We cannot reproduce it here, and we have *many* other customers using the feature without any issues.

Could it be something with UAC? Would you be able to temporarily disable UAC as a test? Note, we have UAC enabled in the default configuration here and it does not pose a problem. However, I wonder if you have UAC on a more strict setting than the default and if that could possibly be the source of the issue?

I will let you know if I come up with any other ideas for testing or possible causes. I have to step out now but will be back later this afternoon.

-Doug

[jtupeck]

I did test with UAC off, as I had that same thought. Thank you for continuing to think it through. I am also going to move the server into perhaps a less restrictive OU in our environment to see if any group policies or something are giving us a fit. That wouldn’t exactly explain why it works on one account on one server. Banging my head against the wall on this, LOL.

[jtupeck]

I should also note: There is no antivirus on this box, either.

[doug]

Yeah I think it’s got to be related to some type of security policy or permissions because to your original point, what could possibly make it work on one computer with one account but not on the same computer with other accounts and not on other computers with any accounts? The software is the same regardless of which account and which computer, so it’s really got to be something about the environment. Though I wish it were easier to pinpoint. I’ll keep you posted on what we come up here. Will be discussing with the team a bit later today.

-Doug

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