MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

18-6 Chapter 18 Using Windows XP Tools
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If you have more than one hardware profile configured on a computer (see Chapter 6,
“Installing, Managing, and Troubleshooting Hardware Devices and Drivers,” for more
on hardware profiles), you can also use the Log On tab to control whether a service is
enabled or disabled for a particular profile. Click a profile, and then click Enable or
Disable.
How to Change the Recovery Options for a Service
By default, when a service fails to start, Windows XP Professional records an error in
the System log file (see Lesson 2, “Using Event Viewer,” for more about this), but takes
no further action. Services that are dependent on the failed service also fail to start. You
can configure certain recovery actions to occur when a service fails to start, though.
To set up recovery actions to take place when a service fails, use these steps:
1. In the Services console, right-click the service, and then click Properties.
2. In the Properties dialog box for the service, click the Recovery tab.
The Recovery tab (see Figure 18-4) lets you configure an action to take on the first
failure, the second failure, and on all subsequent failures. The actions you can
configure include the following:
❑ Take No Action. This is the default choice.
❑ Restart The Service. Windows attempts to restart the service if the service
does not start.
❑ Run A Program. Windows runs a custom program, which you can use to log
error details or even send a notification of the failure. When you select this
action, the options in the Run Program section of the Recovery tab become
available. Type the path for the program and any command-line parameters
you want to use, and indicate whether you want Windows to add the fail
count (the number of times the service has failed) to the end of the command.
❑ Restart The Computer. Windows restarts the computer. This option provides
a good last resort for recovery on important services. Often, a service
does not start because services on which it is dependent failed. You should
use this setting only on server computers. If a client computer automatically
restarted, it could disturb the user’s work.
3. Click OK.
Exam Tip For the exam, remember the actions you can have Windows take should a service
fail: Take No Action, Restart The Service, Run A Program, and Restart The Computer. Typically,
you should have Windows attempt to restart the service on the first or second failure. You
should have Windows attempt to restart the computer only when a service fails that is vital to
the computer’s role and when restarting will not interfere with the desktop environment.