DSC tries to start service I set to manual, and errors out on it

DSC
#1

I have the following DSC resource:

    Service sacsvrManual {
        Name='sacsvr'
        StartupType='Manual'
    }

Notice that there is no State mentioned. But when it runs, I get the following, indicating it tested it and decided that it needed to be RUNNING:

VERBOSE: [MTS1020]: LCM: [ Start Resource ] [[Service]sacsvrManual]
VERBOSE: [MTS1020]: LCM: [ Start Test ] [[Service]sacsvrManual]
VERBOSE: [MTS1020]: LCM: [ End Test ] [[Service]sacsvrManual] in 0.0160 seconds.
VERBOSE: [MTS1020]: LCM: [ Start Set ] [[Service]sacsvrManual]
VERBOSE: [MTS1020]: [[Service]sacsvrManual] Service ‘sacsvr’ already exists. Write properties such as Status, DisplayName,
Description, Dependencies will be ignored for existing services.
VERBOSE: [MTS1020]: LCM: [ End Set ] [[Service]sacsvrManual] in 2.5780 seconds.
PowerShell DSC resource MSFT_ServiceResource failed to execute Set-TargetResource functionality with error message: Failure starting service
‘sacsvr’. Please check the path ‘C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs’ provided for the service. Message: ‘Exception calling “WaitForStatus”
with “2” argument(s): “Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.”’
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (:slight_smile: [], CimException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : ProviderOperationExecutionFailure
+ PSComputerName : MTS1021

I can’t figure out why it is deciding to start the service.

#2

The Service resource is probably defaulting the State property.

What’s the goal? To ensure that the service is set to Manual but not care if it’s currently running or not?

#3

Exactly. Set it to manual but leave its state in place.

#4

I’d probably just do this with a custom resource, or even a quick Script resource. Get-Service and Set-Service can obviously do that easily.

#5

Thanks Don, that has occurred to me, but with the number of services I’m setting to manual, I’m thinking of combining them into a single script resource and just have it run every time. It’s too cumbersome to do a script for each service.

By the way, I checked the MOF that was generated, and there was nothing about State in it; powershell correctly generated the MOF as far as I can tell, it seems like something the LCM is doing.

#6

Well, keep in mind that the point of DSC is for each resource to be idempotent. Id you want, just knock out a quick DSC resource module that can set a service’s start mode only, and then call that for each service.

It wouldn’t be the LCM doing it. The LCM doesn’t do anything but run resources; have a look at the Service resource - it’s what’s doing the work.