c++ - Failing to start Windows service after a MajorUpgrade with WiX

Question

I have a pretty straight forward WiX project. Nothing fancy. When trying to perform a MajorUpgrade over an existing installation, it is unable to start the service and inevitably rolls back to the previous version and starts the service just fine. I have removed the Start="install" and manually started the application successfully, so I know it's not a dependency issue.

I have searched endlessly and found no answers to my problem.

<MajorUpgrade DowngradeErrorMessage="A newer version of [ProductName] is already installed." Schedule="afterInstallFinalize" />

My service install:

<ServiceInstall
        Id="ServiceInstaller"
        Type="ownProcess"
        Name="LsdnService"
        DisplayName="Lsdn Service"
        Description="Placeholder for now."
        Start="auto"
        Account="[SERVICEACCOUNT]"
        Password="[SERVICEPASSWORD]"
        ErrorControl="normal"/>
<ServiceControl Id="StartService" Start="install" Stop="both" Remove="uninstall" Name="LsdnService" Wait="yes" />

I dumped the MSI log to a file and got this error but it is quite vague.

MSI (s) (18:48) [22:41:27:349]: Note: 1: 2205 2:  3: Error 
MSI (s) (18:48) [22:41:27:349]: Note: 1: 2228 2:  3: Error 4: SELECT `Message` FROM `Error` WHERE `Error` = 1920 

There are some registry modifications during an installation. The installer attempts to read from the registry and inherit the already existing values.

<Property Id="LSDNADDRESS" Value="127.0.0.1">
  <RegistrySearch Id="LsdnAddressProperty" Root="HKLM" Key="$(var.RegistryKey)" Name="LsdnAddress" Type="raw" />
</Property>
<Property Id="LSDNPORT" Value="9920">
  <RegistrySearch Id="LsdnPortProperty" Root="HKLM" Key="$(var.RegistryKey)" Name="LsdnPort" Type="raw" />
</Property>
<Property Id="LSDNKEY" Value="6f380b07-0b54-4904-8303-95d1ec45d453">
  <RegistrySearch Id="LsdnKeyProperty" Root="HKLM" Key="$(var.RegistryKey)" Name="LsdnKey" Type="raw" />
</Property>

Answer 1

It certainly could be a dependency issue. For example, GAC / WinSXS files don't get installed into the GAC until the commit phase which is after StartServices.

I would leave the Start="Install" in and while it's sitting at the failed to start prompt inspect the state of the machine and debug the service start manually. I bet you'll find something missing.