Service Protector Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Service Protector?

Service Protector is a utility designed to monitor a Windows Service and ensure that it operates normally. For example, Service Protector can immediately revive a service that has died for any reason, stop a rogue service that is using too much memory or CPU, or restart a service that is stuck in the "Stopping" or "Starting" state for too long.

Service Protector will do whatever it takes to keep your Windows Service up and running!

How do I install Service Protector?

Please review our step-by-step installation instructions for the details.

What Windows Services are compatible with Service Protector?

Service Protector can monitor and automatically restart any Windows Service. We have extensively tested the following popular services and provided a tutorial for each:

Can Service Protector restart services stuck in the "Stopping" or "Starting" state?

Yes. That setting is available on the Extras tab when configuring Service Protector:

You will have to enter the number of seconds after which to declare your service as stuck.

Why should I use Service Protector instead of the builtin Windows Service recovery feature?

The basic service recovery mechanism available in Windows (on the Windows Service Recovery tab) is focused on restarting a service when the underlying executable crashes. Unfortunately it does not address any of the more subtle ways that software can stop working, such as:

1. Graceful stops: If some user (or software) stops your service, Windows will not restart it. Service Protector will restart your service however it stops.
2. Stuck Starting or Stopping: Windows will not detect hangs and your service will simply persist in that state until someone realizes that it is not working. Service Protector can detect hangs (either in the "Starting" or "Stopping" state) and restart your service as necessary.
3. CPU hogs: Rouge services that run off with the CPU will just keep running. Service Protector can stop those.
4. Memory hogs: While Windows ignores services that rack up the RAM, Service Protector can stop those dead in their tracks!
5. Extensibility: You can extend Service Protector to handle those tricky failure situations, where your service appears to be running but isn't really doing its job. For example, is your web server really serving pages? The builtin recovery doesn't offer that advantage.

Combine all that with email notifications, scheduled restarts, weekly reports and you quickly realize that Service Protector really outshines the basic functionality on the Recovery tab!

How do I configure Service Protector to send email using my Google/Gmail account?

To send email from using your Gmail account, please specify the following settings (after clicking on the "Configure..." button on the Email tab):

When my service fails, I need to restart another service too. How do I do that?

First, create a batch file that restarts your service. For a service called "myservice", your file may contain the following two lines:

NET STOP "myservice"
NET START "myservice"

Next, instruct Service Protector to run the batch file when your service stops (before it is restarted) on the Extras tab:

Is there a limit to the number of services that can be protected on a single machine?

No! You can use Service Protector to protect as many services as you like.

Is Service Protector a one-time purchase or an annual subscription?

It's a one-time purchase, with upgrade rights to the next major version of the software.

There are no annual or recurring charges — except for maintenance on Site, OEM and Enterprise licenses, which is entirely optional.

However, if you absolutely insist on sending us a payment each year, who are we to refuse?

How is Service Protector licensed?

Service Protector is licensed on a per-machine basis. With a single license, you can protect an unlimited number of services on your computer.

How much does Service Protector cost?

Service Protector costs $99.99 USD for use on a single machine. In volumes of 2-9, the cost falls to $89.99 USD (a 10% discount), and additional discounts kick in if you purchase larger quantities.

Please see the Service Protector purchase page for complete pricing details.

I'd like to buy Service Protector. Can I have an official quote?

Certainly! Click here to create a PDF quote now.

Please get in touch if your needs exceed what our online tool can generate.

Can I buy Service Protector with a Purchase Order (PO)?

Yes, we'll happily accept a purchase order (Net-30 terms) and payment by USD check.

Please visit our site to create an official quote (PDF) to get the ball rolling.

Can I purchase Service Protector through an authorized reseller?

Yes, we have relationships with many established resellers serving the USA, Europe and beyond.

Is a Volume license available?

Yes. The following volume licenses are available:

Click here to purchase a volume license.

How do I assign my license to a computer/installation?

To assign your license:

1. Find the confirmation email you received after you purchased Service Protector. It will be from sales@CoreTechnologies.com and will look like this:

   

2. Click the Manage your order button to open your order page in your web browser:

   

3. Click the Assign a license to a computer button.

   On the next screen, enter the following information:

   1. The Service Protector serial number of your installation. You will get this from the computer where Service Protector is installed.

   2. A short description of the computer — something you recognize as an identifier for the PC where the software is installed.

   

   Afterwards, click the Go to step 2 button.

4. Next, you will see step 2 — the page with your registration code:

   

   Follow the instructions to enter the registration code in your Service Protector installation.

Where do I find the "10-digit serial number (XXXX-XXXXXX)" for my Service Protector installation?

The registration window comes up when you start Service Protector without a license. It looks like this:

Click the Register Now button to reveal the 10-digit serial number:

Click the link below the serial number to copy it to the Windows clipboard — for easy pasting into the license assignment form (or for an email to our support team).

I've purchased Service Protector but have not received my registration information. What should I do?

First, please accept out apologies! We will do our best to get you registered ASAP.

When you purchase Service Protector from one of our payment partners, we are notified of your purchase shortly after your credit card has passed all the necessary checks (to protect you against fraud). This initial process usually takes a few minutes but can take up to 24 hours if the order must be handled manually by a payment processor.

Once we receive your order, we'll send an email to your address specified in the order within 5 minutes. Unfortunately though, our message may occasionally fall victim to aggressive SPAM filtering and never make to it to you! Please check your SPAM and Junk folders for messages containing the words "Service Protector".

If you still have not found your registration email, please feel free to email us (at support@CoreTechnologies.com) or give us a call at (888) 881-CORE/2673 (toll free in the USA) or +1 510 343-3565. Please provide us with an alternate email address if you have one, and a phone number where you can be reached.

I've purchased Service Protector. Where can I find my receipt?

You can create a receipt from your order page.

To access your order page, click the Manage your order button in the email thanking you for your order.

From there, click the Create a receipt (PDF) link and follow the self-explanatory prompts to generate your PDF receipt.

A receipt should also be available from the company that processed your payment:

• 2Checkout: If you have an account with 2Checkout, enter your order number and a few digits from your credit card to retrieve your order.
• PayPal: If you don't have the receipt emailed to you from PayPal, login to your account to access your transaction history.

If you can't find an acceptable receipt, please get in touch and we'll generate one for you. Be sure to provide your order number!

Service Protector says I am not registered even though I am. How can I resolve this?

If you have gone through the registration process and your code has been accepted, this is probably caused by a lack of rights when accessing the Service Protector registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Core Technologies Consulting\ServiceProtector

Please use the regedit application to check and adjust permissions on that key.

Using regedit:

1. Navigate to the key on the left-hand side
2. Right-click on the key and select "Permissions..." to bring up the permissions window
3. Add the user(s) with full control if necessary

Please ensure that all accounts using Service Protector have full access to the above registry key.

How do I move my registered copy of Service Protector to another computer?

The registration code that you asigned will only work on the computer where you performed the registration process (i.e. where you collected the serial number). You will need to revoke the old and assign a new registration code to activate Service Protector on a different computer.

To transfer your license from one computer to another:

1. From the email you received delivering Service Protector, click the Manage your order button. That will open your order page in your web browser.

2. On your order page, click the link telling you how many licenses have been assigned.

3. The section below the link will list all the licenses that you have assigned for your order. Find the installation/computer that you wish to decommission and click its revoke link:

   

4. Complete the form — indicating your reason for revoking the license — and click the Revoke button to complete the process:

   

5. Sometime within the next 24 hours, you will receive an email confirming that your license has been revoked. You will then be free to assign your license to another installation.

I re-installed Windows and my registration code is no longer accepted. What should I do?

If your serial number has changed, please follow these instructions to get a new registration code. (The process is the same as if you're moving your license to a new computer.)

I see that you have a new version available. Do I have to pay to upgrade?

When you purchase Service Protector, your license is valid for any version with the same major version number or the next.

For example, if you purchased version 8, you are eligible to use (free of charge) any version 8 or version 9 release, but not a version 10 release.

As always, you can upgrade from a previous version with a 50% discount.

How do I upgrade from a previous version?

We recommend that you upgrade from a previous version of Service Protector in one of two ways:

1. Uninstall the previous version of Service Protector, then install the new. If you take this approach, any protectors that you have specified in Service Protector will be forgotten and you will have to set them up again in the new version. You may also have to re-enter your registration code.


2. Install the new version without uninstalling the previous, which will preserve all the protectors that you have configured using Service Protector. If you choose this option, you must ensure that the Microsoft Event Viewer and Services applications are closed prior to installing or else the upgrade may fail. Also, be sure to install in the same directory as the previous installation (by default C:\Program Files (x86)\ServiceProtector). You should not have to re-enter your registration code.

Does Service Protector work with Windows Server 2016?

Yes, Service Protector is fully compatible with Windows Server 2016.

Does Service Protector work with Windows 10?

Yes, Service Protector is fully compatible with Windows 10.

Our team test-drives each major, semi-annual update as soon as it's available — to catch any surprises before our customers do!

Does Service Protector work with Windows Server 2019?

Yes, Service Protector is fully compatible with Windows Server 2019.

Does Service Protector work with Windows 11?

Yes, Service Protector is fully compatible with Windows 11.

Our team evaluates each annual feature update as soon as it's available — to catch any surprises before our customers do!

Does Service Protector work with Windows Server 2022?

Yes, Service Protector is fully compatible with Windows Server 2022.

Does Service Protector run on 64-bit versions of Windows?

Yes. Service Protector is a 32-bit application but it works flawlessly on 64-bit operating systems.

What is a "Sanity check utility", and why would I use one?

Service Protector can periodically run your own custom program (a "Sanity check utility") to check if your service has failed and should be restarted. This capability allows you to extend the monitoring capabilities of Service Protector to cover your unique requirements.

For example, let's say that you use Service Protector to ensure that your web server is always running. Service Protector will restart the web server when it crashes, but Service Protector will not be able to detect more subtle, application-specific failures, such as when the web server has not crashed, but stops serving pages due to some internal error or resource problem. To resolve that second problem, Service Protector allows you to "plug in" your own failure detection program; in this case that program would check on the web server and inform Service Protector if the server has stopped serving pages. Fundamentally, your code is free to define what failure means.

Please see our Sanity Check Plugins page for additional details.

My virus scanner tells me that Service Protector contains the [Some Scary Virus]. Help!

        

This is a false alarm. Service Protector does not contain any viruses or malware.

Our software was thoroughly tested before release and has been certified free of all malware by several third parties afterwards. Please click the icons above to see some recent results.

Please contact us with the details and we'll work with the makers of your virus protection software to resolve the issue.

How do I move my Service Protector protection to another machine?

To export your application's settings to an XML file, highlight your application in Service Protector and select Protector > Export.... You will be prompted to enter the file name in which to save the settings.

You can later import the XML file (by choosing Protector > Import...) to re-create your protector on any machine with Service Protector installed. Exporting and then importing is a good way to copy settings from one machine to another.

How can I install Service Protector silently (without any prompts)?

The Service Protector installer is built with the excellent InnoSetup, which supports "silent" or unattended installs via several command line switches.

We recommend using either:

ServiceProtector_Installer.exe /silent /norestart

ServiceProtector_Installer.exe /verysilent /norestart

Where can I download old versions of Service Protector?

• Service Protector Version 8.5.3.61 (October 14 2022; the last version 8 release)
• Service Protector Version 7.0.5.29 (February 13 2021; the last version 7 release)
• Service Protector Version 6.5.3.71 (October 18 2019; the last version 6 release supporting Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008)

The Service Protector Version History documents what's new in each release.

My question has not been answered here. Can you please help?

Of course! Please get in touch via email or phone or fill in our contact form. We'll get back to you ASAP, within one business day.