"sc.exe" - A Command Line Tool to Manage Services

Windows Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples

∟Configuring and Managing System Services

∟"sc.exe" - A Command Line Tool to Manage Services

This section describes the Service Controller (SC) command line tool, sc.exe, which can be used to add new services, or to query, modify, start, stop and delete existing services.

The second element I want to review is "sc.exe" - a command line utility to create new services, or to query, modify and control existing services. "sc.exe" is really an user interface for the Service Controller (SC) or Service Control Manager (SCM).

You can run "sc.exe" in a command line window to get a good description of what you can do with "sc.exe":

C:\herong\sc.exe

DESCRIPTION:
 SC is a command line program used for communicating with the
 NT Service Controller and services
USAGE:
 sc <server> [command] [service name] <option1> <option2>..

 The option <server> has the form "\\ServerName"
 Further help on commands can be obtained by typing: "sc [command]"
 Commands:
  query-----------Queries the status for a service, or
                  enumerates the status for types of services
  queryex---------Queries the extended status for a service, or
                  enumerates the status for types of services
  start-----------Starts a service
  pause-----------Sends a PAUSE control request to a service
  interrogate-----Sends an INTERROGATE control request to a service
  continue--------Sends a CONTINUE control request to a service
  stop------------Sends a STOP request to a service
  config----------Changes the configuration of a service (persistant)
  description-----Changes the description of a service
  failure---------Changes the actions taken by a service upon failure
  qc--------------Queries the configuration information for a service
  qdescription----Queries the description for a service
  qfailure--------Queries the actions taken by a service upon failure
  delete----------Deletes a service (from the registry)
  create----------Creates a service. (adds it to the registry)
  control---------Sends a control to a service
  sdshow----------Displays a service's security descriptor
  sdset-----------Sets a service's security descriptor
  GetDisplayName--Gets the DisplayName for a service
  GetKeyName------Gets the ServiceKeyName for a service
  EnumDepend------Enumerates Service Dependencies

 The following commands don't require a service name:
 sc <server> <command> <option>
  boot------------(ok | bad) Indicates whether the last boot should
                  be saved as the last-known-good boot configuration
  Lock------------Locks the Service Database
  QueryLock-------Queries the LockStatus for the SCManager Database
EXAMPLE:
 sc start MyService