The need can easily arise to require a particular service to be delayed in order for your server to initialize various protocols properly. This is especially true on older hardware and servers containing slower peripheral hardware. For instance, a machine that is slower to boot up may be in a situation where a particular protocol is attempting to be initialized before the local network card is bound. As an example, in some cases you may want to make sure the DNS service has had a chance to initialize before the NETLOGON service starts. This can be easily be achieved by creating a service dependency.

In order to create a new dependency you will need to open your registry editor and browse to HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/. Select the subkey containing the service you wish to create the dependency for and create a new value named “DependOnService” with a data type of REG_MULTI_SZ. In the next dialog box, type the name of the service or services you wish to start before this service, putting one entry per line. The name of the service is exactly as it appears under the services key.

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Chris Sanders is the network administrator for one of the largest public school systems in the state of Kentucky. Chris's specialties include general network administration, windows server 2003, wireless networking, and security. You can view Chris' personal website at www.chrissanders.org.