Question

I created a .NET windows service that installs without any issues on the dev machine. On the server that has only the .NET framework (and no VS installed), since I don’t have the VS 2008 prompt, I did the following.

1. I opened the command prompt
2. I did cd C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727
3. I attempted to install the service using installutil.exe “Path to the service .exe”

I get the following exception:

Microsoft (R) .NET Framework Installation utility Version 2.0.50727.1433
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

Exception occurred while initializing the installation:
System.Configuration.ConfigurationErrorsException: 
Configuration system failed to initialize

This service installs/uninstalls without any issues on my local host. Any help?

The service.exe.config looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
  <appSettings>
    <!-- Should process conversions -->
    <add key="Service.EnableConversions" value="true"/>
    <!-- Poll Interval-->
    <add key="Service.Interval" value="10000" /> <!-- Set to 10 seconds -->
  </appSettings>
</configuration>

Answer 1

It was an issue with a corrupt machine.config on the server. After reinstalling it this issue was resolved.