Can I remove a service in the registry?

[WarrenW]

Is there any way to remove a service using the registry?

I have a program in VB 6 that starts up with the registry. Then in the program you can select to have it start as a service instead and it automatically clears the reg key in startup.

My problem is when I do an update or another install, it still adds to the registry for startup. If its already set to start as a service, thats my problem. My installer cannot support checking this.

So I want to delete the service in the registry with my installer and just let them reset it to a service later if needed when they re-install/upgrade.

Thanks!

[dglienna]

how about NET STOP ?

this will stop the service if it's running. couldn't your program just delete the key, with error checking to check if it was not there?

[plenderj]

You should be able to delete straight from:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services

[Dave Sell]

Originally posted by plenderj
You should be able to delete straight from:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services

Is that true for all Windows OS's?

[cid]

I was under the impression it was:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run

[Dave Sell]

Originally posted by cid
I was under the impression it was:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run

That is where programs get loaded once a user logs in.

A service is started before that - when the OS is loaded and before anyone logs in.

[Ideas Man]

Originally posted by plenderj
You should be able to delete straight from:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services

As far as I'm aware, this approach should work with all OSes, though the 98 range may not actually use them.

Please be aware, editing information in this section is very dangerous, deleting incorrect keys can cause your computer to stuff up completly, as most of the services are Windows ones anyway.