ChangeServiceConfig

ChangeServiceConfig

The ChangeServiceConfig function changes the configuration parameters of a service.

To change the optional configuration parameters, use the ChangeServiceConfig2 function.

BOOL ChangeServiceConfig(
  SC_HANDLE hService,
  DWORD dwServiceType,
  DWORD dwStartType,
  DWORD dwErrorControl,
  LPCTSTR lpBinaryPathName,
  LPCTSTR lpLoadOrderGroup,
  LPDWORD lpdwTagId,
  LPCTSTR lpDependencies,
  LPCTSTR lpServiceStartName,
  LPCTSTR lpPassword,
  LPCTSTR lpDisplayName
);

Parameters

hService

[in] Handle to the service. This handle is returned by the OpenService or CreateService function and must have the SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG access right. For more information, see Service Security and Access Rights.

dwServiceType

[in] Type of service. Specify SERVICE_NO_CHANGE if you are not changing the existing service type; otherwise, specify one of the following service types.

Value	Meaning
SERVICE_FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER 0x00000002	File system driver service.
SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER 0x00000001	Driver service.
SERVICE_WIN32_OWN_PROCESS 0x00000010	Service that runs in its own process.
SERVICE_WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS 0x00000020	Service that shares a process with other services.

If you specify either SERVICE_WIN32_OWN_PROCESS or SERVICE_WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS, and the service is running in the context of the LocalSystem account, you can also specify the following type.

Value	Meaning
SERVICE_INTERACTIVE_PROCESS 0x00000100	The service can interact with the desktop. For more information, see Interactive Services.

dwStartType

[in] Service start options. Specify SERVICE_NO_CHANGE if you are not changing the existing start type; otherwise, specify one of the following values.

Value	Meaning
SERVICE_AUTO_START 0x00000002	A service started automatically by the service control manager during system startup.
SERVICE_BOOT_START 0x00000000	A device driver started by the system loader. This value is valid only for driver services.
SERVICE_DEMAND_START 0x00000003	A service started by the service control manager when a process calls the StartService function.
SERVICE_DISABLED 0x00000004	A service that cannot be started. Attempts to start the service result in the error code ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED.
SERVICE_SYSTEM_START 0x00000001	A device driver started by the IoInitSystem function. This value is valid only for driver services.

dwErrorControl

[in] Severity of the error, and action taken, if this service fails to start. Specify SERVICE_NO_CHANGE if you are not changing the existing error control; otherwise, specify one of the following values.

Value	Meaning
SERVICE_ERROR_CRITICAL 0x00000003	The startup program logs the error, if possible. If the last-known-good configuration is being started, the startup operation fails. Otherwise, the system is restarted with the last-known good configuration.
SERVICE_ERROR_IGNORE 0x00000000	The startup program logs the error but continues the startup operation.
SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL 0x00000001	The startup program logs the error and puts up a message box pop-up but continues the startup operation.
SERVICE_ERROR_SEVERE 0x00000002	The startup program logs the error. If the last-known-good configuration is being started, the startup operation continues. Otherwise, the system is restarted with the last-known-good configuration.

lpBinaryPathName

[in] Pointer to a null-terminated string that contains the fully qualified path to the service binary file. Specify NULL if you are not changing the existing path. If the path contains a space, it must be quoted so that it is correctly interpreted. For example, "d://my share//myservice.exe" should be specified as "/"d://my share//myservice.exe/"".

The path can also include arguments for an auto-start service. For example, "d://myshare//myservice.exe arg1 arg2". These arguments are passed to the service entry point (typically the main function).

lpLoadOrderGroup

[in] Pointer to a null-terminated string that names the load ordering group of which this service is a member. Specify NULL if you are not changing the existing group. Specify an empty string if the service does not belong to a group.

The startup program uses load ordering groups to load groups of services in a specified order with respect to the other groups. The list of load ordering groups is contained in the ServiceGroupOrder value of the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Control

lpdwTagId

[out] Pointer to a variable that receives a tag value that is unique in the group specified in the lpLoadOrderGroup parameter. Specify NULL if you are not changing the existing tag.

You can use a tag for ordering service startup within a load ordering group by specifying a tag order vector in the GroupOrderList value of the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Control

Tags are only evaluated for driver services that have SERVICE_BOOT_START or SERVICE_SYSTEM_START start types.

lpDependencies

[in] Pointer to a double null-terminated array of null-separated names of services or load ordering groups that the system must start before this service can be started. (Dependency on a group means that this service can run if at least one member of the group is running after an attempt to start all members of the group.) Specify NULL if you are not changing the existing dependencies. Specify an empty string if the service has no dependencies.

You must prefix group names with SC_GROUP_IDENTIFIER so that they can be distinguished from a service name, because services and service groups share the same name space.

lpServiceStartName

[in] Pointer to a null-terminated string that specifies the name of the account under which the service should run. Specify NULL if you are not changing the existing account name. If the service type is SERVICE_WIN32_OWN_PROCESS, use an account name in the form DomainName/ UserName. The service process will be logged on as this user. If the account belongs to the built-in domain, you can specify ./ UserName (note that the corresponding C/C++ string is ".// UserName"). For more information, see Service User Accounts and the warning in the Remarks section.

Windows NT:  If the service type is SERVICE_WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS, you must specify the LocalSystem account. On later versions of Windows, a shared process can run as any user.

If the service type is SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER or SERVICE_FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER, the name is the driver object name that the system uses to load the device driver. Specify NULL if the driver is to use a default object name created by the I/O system.

lpPassword

[in] Pointer to a null-terminated string that contains the password to the account name specified by the lpServiceStartName parameter. Specify NULL if you are not changing the existing password. Specify an empty string if the account has no password or if the service runs in the LocalService, NetworkService, or LocalSystem account. For more information, see Service Record List.

Passwords are ignored for driver services.

lpDisplayName

[in] Pointer to a null-terminated string that contains the display name to be used by applications to identify the service for its users. Specify NULL if you are not changing the existing display name; otherwise, this string has a maximum length of 256 characters. The name is case-preserved in the service control manager. Display name comparisons are always case-insensitive.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.

If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

The following error codes may be set by the service control manager. Other error codes may be set by the registry functions that are called by the service control manager.

Return code	Description
ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED	The handle does not have the SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG access right.
ERROR_CIRCULAR_DEPENDENCY	A circular service dependency was specified.
ERROR_DUPLICATE_SERVICE_NAME	The display name already exists in the service controller manager database, either as a service name or as another display name.
ERROR_INVALID_HANDLE	The specified handle is invalid.
ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER	A parameter that was specified is invalid.
ERROR_INVALID_SERVICE_ACCOUNT	The account name does not exist, or a service is specified to share the same binary file as an already installed service but with an account name that is not the same as the installed service.
ERROR_SERVICE_MARKED_FOR_DELETE	The service has been marked for deletion.

Remarks

The ChangeServiceConfig function changes the configuration information for the specified service in the service control manager database. You can obtain the current configuration information by using the QueryServiceConfig function.

If the configuration is changed for a service that is running, with the exception of lpDisplayName, the changes do not take effect until the service is stopped. To update the credentials without having to restart the service, use the LsaCallAuthenticationPackage function.

Security Remarks

Setting the lpServiceStartName parameter changes the logon account of the service. This can cause problems. If you have registered a service principal name (SPN), it would now be registered on the wrong account. Similarly, if you have used an ACE to grant access to a service, it would now grant access to the wrong account.

Example Code

For an example, see Changing a Service Configuration.

Requirements

Client	Requires Windows XP, Windows 2000 Professional, or Windows NT Workstation.
Server	Requires Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows NT Server.
Header	Declared in Winsvc.h; include Windows.h.
Library	Link to Advapi32.lib.
DLL	Requires Advapi32.dll.
Unicode	Implemented as ChangeServiceConfigW (Unicode) and ChangeServiceConfigA (ANSI).