Windows Service Fails to Start

Owned by Daria Samkova, created
Last updated: Jul 03, 2024
2 min read

We recommend using C:\hivemq as the home installation folder. The following examples follows this recommendation.

 Problem

The Windows service fails to start following the instructions provided in this link or in the HiveMQ Documentation.

 Solution

The solution involves utilizing the newer version of the Java wrapper, a tool specifically designed for running Java programs as Windows services.

  1. Download

  2. Unzip the downloaded file to the $HIVEMQ_HOME directory.

    • If you followed the abovementioned instructions, your $HIVEMQ_HOME directory is likely C:\hivemq\hivemq-windows-service-022024.

  3. If your $HIVEMQ_HOME directory is different, such as C:\hivemq\hivemq-4.2.25 or F:\HiveMQ, edit the wrapper’s configuration file as follows

    1. Locate the wrapper’s configuration file at conf/wrapper.conf. In our case its path C:\hivemq\hivemq-windows-service-022024\conf\wrapper.conf

    2. Find the line at the end of the file resembling:

      wrapper.java.additional.1 = -Dhivemq.home=C:\\hivemq

    3. Replace the existing text C:\\hivemq with your actual $HIVEMQ_HOME directory. For example, if it's F:\HiveMQ, update the line to:

      wrapper.java.additional.1 = -Dhivemq.home=F:\\HiveMQ

    4. save the file

  4. Once step 3 is complete, please proceed with the following steps:

    1. Remove the old (failing) HiveMQ service by

      1. Open services app with run(win+R)>services.msc

      2. Find the existing HiveMQ service

      3. Select the HiveMQ service and delete it

    2. Install the new service by running C:\hivemq\hivemq-windows-service-022024\bat\installService.bat (Run As Administrator might be necessary) under the newly unzipped service folder. This will install the new HiveMQ service.

    3. You can either restart the computer or Manually start the new HiveMQ service by going to run(win+R)>services.msc>HiveMQ service and starting it.

    4. Please monitor the HiveMQ service and look for any issues within the first 30 seconds.

    5. If the HiveMQ service runs without failing for more than 30 seconds, check the C:\hivemq\log\hivemq.log file for errors and ensure it contains "HiveMQ started in".

    6. Confirm that you can log in to the HiveMQ Control Center.

If you prefer building the wrapper on your own, for example, for a newer version, follow its author’s instructions provided in this video.

Troubleshooting

 Problem

When I double click the install.bat file in Windows, It prints some stuff and closes then quickly. What to do?

 Solution

You need to run the bat file from the Windows Terminal. This way the window does not close when the script ends.

  • Open Windows Terminal:

    • Press Win + X and select Windows Terminal (or Windows Terminal (Admin) if administrative privileges are needed).

  • Navigate to the Directory:

    • In the terminal, navigate to the directory where your batch file is located.

      cd C:\hivemq\bin

  • Run the Batch File:

    • Once in the correct directory, type the name of the batch file and press Enter.

  • Observe the output of the bat file in the terminal

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