Trouble After Rebooting Server

[Steve.Stockstill]

Symptom
MobileTM “stops working” after restarting the server.

Possible Cause
A likely cause for this issue is the SQL Server has not had a chance to boot up before MobileTM starts. This applies when both SQL Server and MobileTM are installed on the same computer.

Solutions
There are two options for resolving this issue;
A. Change the MobileTM service to start manually or “automatic delayed” instead of automatic.
B. Configure the MobileTM service to wait for the SQL Server to start.


A. Changing the MobileTM Service Startup Method
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STEP 1: From the Windows Service Manager (usually under Administrator Tools\Services) locate the service named MobileTM Web Server.

STEP 2: Right click on the service and select Properties.

STEP 3: Mid-way down this window is the option for “Startup Type”.

STEP 4: Select “Automatic (Delayed Start)” if this is an XP or Windows Server 2008, otherwise select “Manual”.

NOTE: Selecting “Manual” will require someone to restart the MobileTM service when the server is rebooted.


B. Configuring the MobileTM Service for SQL Server Dependency
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NOTE: This process involves modifying the Windows Registry and should be used with caution.

STEP 1: Navigate to the services area of the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MobileTMWebServer

STEP 2: Determine the name of the SQL Server Instance used for the Time Matters database by looking down the registry until you find the services starting with MSSQL

STEP 3: Common names are MSSQLServer, MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS, MSSQL$TimeMatters.

NOTE: Multiple SQL Server’s can be installed on a given computer. For instance, Microsoft’s Business Contact manager installs a private “named” instance of SQL Server as does SQLEXPRESS .

STEP 4: Note the name of your SQL Server service, displayed on the left-hand side of the registry.

STEP 5: Scroll back up to the MobileTM registry entry we started at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MobileTMWebServer

STEP 6:Click Edit, and then click Add Value.

STEP 7:Create a new value name "DependOnService" (without the quotation marks) with a data type of REG_MULTI_SZ, and then click OK.

STEP 8:When the Data dialog box appears, type the name or names of the SQL Server service discovered in step 4, and then click OK.

This process is also documented in a Microsoft TechNet article found at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/193888