iPXEAnywhere - Service Start Error

Applies to

iPXE Anywhere

Symptoms

Generic error message advising a service start/stop failure

Cause

Many, but in this example due to an Invalid Configuration File

Troubleshooting steps

At service start up a generic Windows error message appears. This happens before any logging is available which makes it rather hard to troubleshoot.

Jumping ahead, in this case the error was caused by an invalid configuration file:-

Note the section for the iPXEAnywhereWebServiceIP setting. It does not contain the closing /> and therefore the XML parameter is not closed correctly.

 But, how do you expose the source of the error without any running service or logging available?

The answer is to run the service in interactive mode which then gives you a pretty clear idea about the issue:-

From the iPXE Anywhere 2PXE Server Manual (note the user context warning):-

You can run the service interactively either from a console or by starting it by executing the executable through Windows Explorer. (Please ensure that the service is stopped before attempting interactive mode) This starts the service in a command prompt window, allowing for simple troubleshooting as you can see the iPXE Anywhere workflow roll through the window.

When running in interactive mode all debug logging will be pushed to the console window. This can help greatly should you run into issues.

NOTE: The console will run under the context of the user and not the service account (SYSTEM by default) which could lead to access violations.