Troubleshooting SrvAny Using Cmd.exe

Last reviewed: September 23, 1997
Article ID: Q152460
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5 and 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5 and 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Resource Kit versions 3.5 and 3.51

SUMMARY

SrvAny is a tool found in the Windows NT Resource Kit that is used for running Windows NT applications as services. It may be necessary in some instances to troubleshoot an application started using the SrvAny service, and one of the best ways of doing this is by using Cmd.exe as the application starts interactively from SrvAny. From the command prompt you can then start the application in question, watch for errors, check registry values relative to the service account, and perform other troubleshooting steps. The following steps show how to set SrvAny to run an interactive command prompt for such purposes.

  1. Install Srvany.exe as a service by using another tool in the Windows NT
Resource Kit, Instsrv.exe. For example:

   INSTSRV SrvAny c:\reskit\srvany.exe

  • Click Control Panel and then Services. From the list of services that appears, select SrvAny, then click the Startup button.

       A. Configure the service for automatic or manual startup type,
          depending on whether your troubleshooting involves an application
          that is started automatically through SrvAny each time the system
          is restarted, or only occasionally.
    
       B. Select the System account as the service (or Log On As) account
          and enable the Allow Service To Interact With Desktop option. This is
          required for the command prompt to be interactive.
    
       C. Click the OK button. (It’s fine to leave the Control Panel, Services,
          applet running since it is used later in these instructions.)
    
    

  • If you require the regular use of the interactive command prompt, skip to step 4.

    A. Start (or switch to) the Control Panel, Services, applet.

    B. Select SrvAny from the list of services.

    C. Select the Startup Parameters text entry field.

    D. Enter the following text (modified to reflect your own Windows NT

          path):
    

          c:\\winnt\\system32\\cmd.exe /k
    

    NOTE: Due to the way the startup parameters are parsed, the double

             backslashes are required to be interpreted correctly as
             single backslashes.
    
       E. Click the Start button to start the service.
    
       F. Perform any necessary troubleshooting steps.
    
    
    You do not need to continue with any of the following steps.

    1. For regular use of the interactive command prompt, first ensure that the SrvAny service is configured to start automatically by reviewing step 2 above.

    NOTE: Having an interactive command prompt regularly established through
          SrvAny as outlined in this article makes this command prompt
          available to all Windows NT users of the computer, and, since this
          command prompt is configured to run under the security context of the
          System account, all Windows NT users of the computer have System
          account access from this command prompt and any applications started
          from it.
    
       A. Start Registry Editor.
    
       WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious,
       system-wide  problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT
       to correct them.  Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems
       resulting from the use of  Registry Editor can be solved. Use this
       tool at your own risk.
    
       B. Select the following registry key from the window entitled
          "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on Local Machine":
    
          HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SrvAny
    
          - With the above key selected, choose Add Key from the Edit menu.
    
          - Enter "Parameters" (without the quotes) for the key name.
    
          - Click the OK button to create this key.
    
       C. Select the Parameters key created in step 4B above.
    
          - Choose Add Value from the Edit menu.
    
          - Enter "Application" (without the quotes) for the value
            name and leave the data type at the default, REG_SZ.
    
          - Click the OK button to create this value.
    
          - In the String Editor window, enter the string value of
            "c:\winnt\system32\cmd.exe" (without the quotes), for example
            (your actual Windows NT path may vary).
    
          NOTE: In contrast with the format used for the startup parameters in
          the Control Panel, Services, applet, double backslashes are not
          required in the above string to be interpreted correctly by SrvAny.
    
          - Click the OK button to add this string to the Application value.
    
       D. Select the Parameters key created in step 4B above.
    
          - Choose Add Value from the Edit menu.
    
          - Enter "AppParameters" (without the quotes) for the value
            name and leave the data type at the default, REG_SZ.
    
          - Click the OK button to create this value.
    
          - In the String Editor window, enter the string value of
            "/k" (without the quotes).
    
          - Click the OK button to add this string to the AppParameters
            value.
    
    

  • Start or switch to the Control Panel, Services, applet.

    A. Select SrvAny from the list of services.

    B. Click the Start button to start the service.

    C. Perform any necessary troubleshooting steps.

    From this point on, every time you restart Windows NT, the SrvAny service starts an interactive command prompt.

    For more information on the SrvAny tool, see the Tool Overview Help file in the Windows NT Resource Kit and the Srvany.wri Write file.


  • Additional query words: prodnt tshoot
    Keywords : ntreskit NTSrvWkst kbnetwork kbtshoot
    Version : 3.5 3.51
    Platform : winnt


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    Last reviewed: September 23, 1997
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