Windows service fails to start automatically after reboot

Question

We have a custom Windows service running on Windows Server 2022 that starts and runs normally when launched manually, but it fails to start automatically after a system reboot. The service startup type is set to Automatic (Delayed Start), and no dependency errors appear in the Event Viewer.

However, Event ID 7000 and 7009 occasionally show up, indicating a timeout or missing dependency at startup.

Answer 1

Hello. This is a known issue that’s been reported across multiple environments, especially on Windows Server 2022. Your service failing to start automatically after reboot, even with “Automatic (Delayed Start)” and no Event Viewer dependency errors, matches a common startup race condition with the Service Control Manager (SCM).

This usually happens when the service takes too long to initialize or depends on a system resource that isn’t ready during early boot. Event ID 7000 and 7009 confirm a startup timeout.

The recommended fix is to increase the ServicesPipeTimeout registry value so SCM waits longer before marking the service as failed:

1. Open Registry Editor and go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
2. Create or edit a DWORD value named: ServicesPipeTimeout
3. Set it to 120000 (decimal) for 2 minutes, or 180000 for 3 minutes.
4. Reboot the system.

Microsoft’s official documentation on this workaround: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/system-management-components/service-not-start-events-7000-7011-time-out-error

Also review your service logic: avoid doing heavy I/O or network calls directly inside OnStart. Defer them to a background thread after the service signals SCM that it’s “Running.”