SQL Sentry service did not automatically start after reboot of a computer

7/21/2021 6:30 PM

2/10/2025 11:24 PM

Typically the services are restarted on a computer during a normal restart. However, restarting services is handled a bit differently when it comes to reboots because the services are reset and expected to respond within a 30-second window. The SQL Sentry service will likely miss that 30-second window because it has to authenticate the user running the service, resulting in the service not restarting in time. You'll either need to delay the start of the service or set up a process to start the service for you when you reboot.

SQL Sentry (SQLS)

The Service Control Manager (SCM) controls all installed Windows services' state (i.e., started, stopped, paused, etc.). The SCM will wait 30 seconds for a service to respond by default. However, certain configurations, technical restrictions, or performance issues may cause the service to take longer than 30 seconds to start and report ready to the SCM. During a normal restart, that is not a problem because it restarts all the processes, but a reboot, on the other hand, causes the machine to execute its boot process, effectively resetting the computer and causing the operating system to reload and not restart the services.

There are two possible fixes to this problem:

1. Set the Startup Type for the Monitoring Service to Automatic (Delayed Start). By default, "Automatic (Delayed Start)" services will start at 120 seconds after all other "Automatic" services have started.
2. Create a scheduled task to start the SQL Sentry service after a computer reboot, and set a one-minute delay.

 A third possible fix involves adding a registry entry to extend the SCM timeout, but it has not been tested, and therefore cannot recommend it. Still, there are plenty of online references on this topic.