Start-Service

SYNOPSIS

Starts one or more stopped services.

SYNTAX

InputObject (Default)

Start-Service [-InputObject] <ServiceController[]> [-PassThru] [-Include <String[]>] [-Exclude <String[]>]
 [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

Default

Start-Service [-Name] <String[]> [-PassThru] [-Include <String[]>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm]
 [<CommonParameters>]

DisplayName

Start-Service [-PassThru] -DisplayName <String[]> [-Include <String[]>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-WhatIf]
 [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

DESCRIPTION

> This cmdlet is only available on the Windows platform. The `Start-Service` cmdlet sends a start message to the Windows Service Controller for each of the specified services. If a service is already running, the message is ignored without error. You can specify the services by their service names or display names, or you can use the InputObject parameter to supply a service object that represents the services that you want to start.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Start a service by using its name

Start-Service -Name "eventlog"

Example 2: Display information without starting a service

Start-Service -DisplayName *remote* -WhatIf

The DisplayName parameter identifies the services by their display name instead of their service name. The WhatIf parameter causes the cmdlet to display what would happen when you run the command but does not make changes.

Example 3: Start a service and record the action in a text file

$s = Get-Service wmi
Start-Service -InputObject $s -PassThru | Format-List >> services.txt

First we use `Get-Service` to get an object that represent the WMI service and store it in the `$s` variable. Next, we start the service. Without the PassThru parameter, `Start-Service` does not create any output. The pipeline operator (|) passes the object output by `Start-Service` to the `Format-List` cmdlet to format the object as a list of its properties. The append redirection operator (>>) redirects the output to the services.txt file. The output is added to the end of the existing file.

Example 4: Start a disabled service

PS> Start-Service tlntsvr
Start-Service : Service 'Telnet (TlntSvr)' cannot be started due to the following error: Cannot start service TlntSvr on computer '.'.
At line:1 char:14
+ Start-Service  <<<< tlntsvr

PS> Get-CimInstance win32_service | Where-Object Name -eq "tlntsvr"
ExitCode  : 0
Name      : TlntSvr
ProcessId : 0
StartMode : Disabled
State     : Stopped
Status    : OK

PS> Set-Service tlntsvr -StartupType manual
PS> Start-Service tlntsvr

The first attempt to start the Telnet service (tlntsvr) fails. The `Get-CimInstance` command shows that the StartMode property of the Tlntsvr service is Disabled . The `Set-Service` cmdlet changes the start type to Manual . Now, we can resubmit the `Start-Service` command. This time, the command succeeds. To verify that the command succeeded, run `Get-Service`.

PARAMETERS

-DisplayName

Specifies the display names of the services to start. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: DisplayName
Aliases:

Required: True
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Exclude

Specifies services that this cmdlet omits. The value of this parameter qualifies the Name parameter. Enter a name element or pattern, such as `s*`. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Include

Specifies services that this cmdlet starts. The value of this parameter qualifies the Name parameter. Enter a name element or pattern, such as `s*`. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-InputObject

Specifies ServiceController objects representing the services to be started. Enter a variable that contains the objects, or type a command or expression that gets the objects.

Type: System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController[]
Parameter Sets: InputObject
Aliases:

Required: True
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Name

Specifies the service names for the service to be started.

The parameter name is optional. You can use Name or its alias, ServiceName , or you can omit the parameter name.

Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: Default
Aliases: ServiceName

Required: True
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName, ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False

-PassThru

Returns an object that represents the service. By default, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: cf

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: wi

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

CommonParameters

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutVariable, -OutBuffer, -PipelineVariable, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

INPUTS

System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController, System.String

You can pipe objects that represent the services or strings that contain the service names to this cmdlet.

OUTPUTS

None, System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController

This cmdlet generates a System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController object that represents the service, if you specify PassThru . Otherwise, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

NOTES

This cmdlet is only available on Windows platforms.

You can also refer to `Start-Service` by its built-in alias, `sasv`. For more information, see about_Aliases (../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Aliases.md). - `Start-Service` can control services only if the current user has permission to do this. If a command does not work correctly, you might not have the required permissions. - To find the service names and display names of the services on your system, type `Get-Service`. The service names appear in the Name column, and the display names appear in the DisplayName column. - You can start only the services that have a start type of Manual, Automatic, or Automatic (Delayed Start). You cannot start the services that have a start type of Disabled. If a `Start-Service` command fails with the message `Cannot start service \<service-name> on computer`, use `Get-CimInstance` to find the start type of the service and, if you have to, use the `Set-Service` cmdlet to change the start type of the service. - Some services, such as Performance Logs and Alerts (SysmonLog) stop automatically if they have no work to do. When PowerShell starts a service that stops itself almost immediately, it displays the following message: `Service \<display-name> start failed.`