In last week’s post, I showed you how to remove a service using the command prompt. However, there is another way, by using the registry. In this case, too, we need to do a little research, to find the name of the service. For simplicity, I’ll repeat it here:
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Tag: service
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Deleting a service using the registry
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Deleting a service from the command prompt
Sometimes, as an administrator, you will need to remove a service from Windows. This can be because it is malfunctioning, and reinstalling the software it came with does not solve the issue, or because an uninstall of the software it came with does not solve the actual problem. Whatever the cause, removing a service takes a little bit of legwork before you can get to the actual removal of it.
In order to remove a service, you need to know what name Windows uses to refer to it. This can be found as follows:
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Finding the name of a service
In my last post, I showed you how to use a batch script to start a service from a desktop shortcut. The command we used was the
net start
command. In order to use it, you need to find the name of the service you want to start. Here’s how: (more…) -
Creating a shortcut to start a service.
I’ve finally got my HTPC up and running with Team Mediaportal‘s lovely Media Center replacement Media Portal. One of the issues I faced while getting it up and running, was getting it to work with my MCE Remote. The solution to this was a third-party app called IR Server Suite. Once installed, every function in my MCE Remote worked like a charm. Until I rebooted the computer that is.
For some reason, the service that IR Server Suite uses to override Windows Media Center, and reroute signals to Media Portal, does not start properly. Although I am trying to solve the problem, a more immediately interesting issue is creating a better workaround than having to go to Services and manually start it.
The solution came to me while at work, as I remembered that a few of our servers have services that at times need to be restarted. This is done through shortcuts on the desktop of the server to save time. The shortcut leads to a batch file, using theNET START
command. Here’s how my batch file looks like:
@echo off
net start inputservice
exit -
Improvise, Adapt, Overcome – Evolve
Improvise, adapt, overcome has for a long time been a mantra within armed forces around the world who, when faced with gruelling challenges and little or no epuipment, have improvised to face the challenge, adapted to the challenge and lastly overcome the challenge.
The same attitude is necessary in IT support. Support departments around the world will tell you that they are constantly under-staffed, over-worked, and lacking both training and equipment, be it software or hardware.
In my experience, the most successful support technicians are the ones who do the best with what they have. A can-do attitude, and a willingness to face any problem head on, rolling with the punches, and asking for more on the other side.
Here’s what these terms mean to me:
Improvise:
In terms of IT Service and Support, improvisation means working around a problem, finding a temporary fix. Practical example: A user calls in, and is unable to print. You set the user up with a different printer as a temporary fix, solving the more immediate problem.
Adapt:
Adapting to the problem means finding a permanent workaround, using what tools are available, as well as online resources, to work around the problem permanently, though not resolving it. Practical example: A user calls in, and tells you their anti-virus solution is not working. You install a different anti-virus solution.
Overcome:
Overcoming the problem means finding a permanent fix, resolving the problem. Practical example: A user reports being unable to create PDF documents. You install PDF-creating software.
The last part of the title of this article is also drawn from the military. A training exercise is not called an exercise, but an evolution. In terms of IT Service and Support, evolve means not only improvising a temporary fix, adapting to a problem and providing a permanent work-around or overcoming a problem, permanently fixing it, but at the end of it having learnt from the experience, and even documenting the solution for future reference.