"Error starting service manager" when opening the SolarWinds Platform Service Manager

10/31/2018 4:58 PM

10/24/2025 9:07 PM

Upon opening SolarWinds Platform Service manager (formerly Orion Service Manager), you may see the "Error starting service manager" message.

After the message is received, the SolarWinds Platform Service Manager opens but is missing a few services and dependencies.

The following error is found in the SolarwindsPlatformServiceManager.log (formerly OrionServiceManager.log) file located at C:\ProgramData\Solarwinds\Logs\Orion\

Error 1:

2024-10-14 22:21:34,520 [1] ERROR Form1 - System.InvalidOperationException: Service SolarWindsAgent64 was not found on computer '.'. ---> System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The specified service does not exist as an installed service
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.GenerateNames()
   at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.get_DisplayName()
   at OrionServiceManager.ServiceListViewItem..ctor(String serviceName, String executable, 
   

OR (version 2020.x and below)

Error 2:

2013-10-14 07:28:59,023 [1] DEBUG IISConfiguratorFactory - IIS version from registry: '0.0'
2013-10-14 07:28:59,023 [1] ERROR Form1 - System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'SolarWinds.ConfigurationWizard.Common.IISHelper' threw an exception. ---> System.NotSupportedException: IIS version 0.0 is not supported yet.
at SolarWinds.ConfigurationWizard.IIS7.IISConfiguratorFactory.GetInstance()
at SolarWinds.ConfigurationWizard.Common.IISHelper..cctor()
— End of inner exception stack trace —
at SolarWinds.ConfigurationWizard.Common.IISHelper.IsIISInstalledAndRunning()
at OrionServiceManager.Form1.Form1_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e)

Network Performance Monitor

Error 1: Missing Service mentioned in error is not registered with windows correctly.

Error 2: 

The registry is missing a key value pair in IIS for Major Version.  This is most likely due to non-SolarWinds environmental issues.

IIS is not a required component on an Additional Polling Engine. 

This Error can also be generated if the User logging onto the SolarWinds Server, does not have Permissions to Manage Services.

To confirm Open Windows Services and confirm that the user has Permissions to Stop/Start Services.

Solution for Error 1:

Repair/Re-install Missing service - in this particular error. Agent service was missing.

Solution for Error 2:

SolarWinds strongly recommends that you back up your registry before making any edits to your system registry. You should only edit the registry if you are experienced and confident in doing so. Using a registry editor incorrectly can cause serious issues with your operating system, which could require you to reinstall your operating system to correct them. SolarWinds cannot guarantee resolutions to any damage resulting from making registry edits.

1. Log in to the SolarWinds Platform server as an administrator.
2. Open the registry editor and navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\InetStp.
3. Create a new DWORD value called MajorVersion, and enter the major version number of your IIS install as the value data.
4. If your OS is 64-bit, you must also create the same key in HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\InetStp.
5. Create a new DWORD value called MajorVersion, and enter the major version number of your IIS install as the value data.

You can run the SolarWinds Platform Service Manager without error.

If you experience this issue on an additional polling engine, you can also install IIS as a workaround. If you are concerned about having IIS installed due to security or performance reasons, you may then try to uninstall the IIS component and the needed registry entries should remain.

Please see the below resource for more information on how to install IIS:

https://www.iis.net/learn/install