How to uninstall a Windows Service when there is no executable for it left on the system?

How do I uninstall a Windows Service when there is no executable for it left on the system? I can not run installutil -u since there is not executable left on the system. I can still see an entry for the service in the Services console.

The reason for this state is probably because of a problem in the msi package that does not remove the service correctly, but how do I fix it once the service is in this state?

Solution 1:

You should be able to uninstall it using sc.exe (I think it is included in the Windows Resource Kit) by running the following in an "administrator" command prompt:

sc.exe delete <service name>

where <service name> is the name of the service itself as you see it in the service management console, not of the exe.

You can find sc.exe in the System folder and it needs Administrative privileges to run. More information in this Microsoft KB article.

Alternatively, you can directly call the DeleteService() api. That way is a little more complex, since you need to get a handle to the service control manager via OpenSCManager() and so on, but on the other hand it gives you more control over what is happening.

Solution 2:

Remove Windows Service via Registry

Its very easy to remove a service from registry if you know the right path. Here is how I did that:

1. Run Regedit or Regedt32

2. Go to the registry entry "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services"

3. Look for the service that you want delete and delete it. You can look at the keys to know what files the service was using and delete them as well (if necessary).

Delete Windows Service via Command Window

Alternatively, you can also use command prompt and delete a service using following command:

sc delete

You can also create service by using following command

sc create "MorganTechService" binpath= "C:\Program Files\MorganTechSPace\myservice.exe"

Note: You may have to reboot the system to get the list updated in service manager.