Help With Service Starting...

[biwtech]

I've installed the Server install of SourceOffSite Server and have atempted to start the service when I get the following error (it's running under the Administrator user).

Could not start SourceOffSite 4 Server service on Local Computer.
The service did not return an error. This could be an internal Windows error or an internal service error.
Id the problem persists, contact your system administrator.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks in advance.

(oh yeah - it's SourceOffSite v4.0)

[lbauer]

The SOS server log file will have more information about why the server didn't start. Sometimes it's because the account running the SOS Server service doesn't have access to the directory where the VSS database resides.

Check the log.txt file in the SOS Server directory for the specific error. You can also email a copy of the file or post it here as an attachment.

[Guest]

The SOS server log file will have more information about why the server didn't start. Sometimes it's because the account running the SOS Server service doesn't have access to the directory where the VSS database resides.

Check the log.txt file in the SOS Server directory for the specific error. You can also email a copy of the file or post it here as an attachment.

The error is

18/03/2004 16:56:05 - General logging level is Error. Method logging is Disabled.

18/03/2004 16:56:05 - Ignoring old serialnumber 1
18/03/2004 16:56:05 - Incorrect format of serialnumbers
18/03/2004 16:56:05 - Error starting up server. Stopping now....

I didn't think I needed a seril to use on a trial basis?

[lbauer]

The SOS server seems to think serial numbers are already there, but in the wrong format. Do you have an sossvr.prp (server properties) file from SOS Version 3.5x in the SOS Server directory?

If you use a text editor and manually delete the 3.5 serial numbers from
the sossvr.prp file and then restart the 4.0 Server, is should generate
a demo serial number for you.

Let me know if this is not the case.

[rterry]

I have the same issue. As in the SUPPORT KB
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Incorrect format of serial numbers
With the number the server itself created

I deleted the prp file and it recreated. the number
I started and it said it needed a data base ..
so I selected
When I attempted to start again
it gave the serial number error. the one it generated..
need help.. so we can evaluate (log file and prp are below)

Richard Terry
Sr Tech Analyst
raterry@fedex.com


**********log file
/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Server Information
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Operating System: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Service Pack: 0.0
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - OS Version: 5.2.3790
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Locale: Ox0409
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - OSLanguage: 1033
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Total Physical Memory: 511.49 MB
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Time Zone: (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM -
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - SSAPI.dll Information:
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Location: file:///C:/Program Files/SourceOffSite Server/Interop.SourceSafeTypeLib.DLL
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - DisplayName: Interop.SourceSafeTypeLib, Version=5.1.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM -
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Started at 3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM

3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - General logging level is Error. Method logging is Disabled.

3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Number of licenses configured: 10
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Invalid SourceSafe Initialization file
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Invalid or no databases to support.
3/25/2004 2:42:15 PM - Error starting up server. Stopping now....
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - ****************************************************
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - SourceOffSite Server 4.0.0 Professional - With Cryptography

3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - CurrentCulture is en-US.

3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Server Information
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Operating System: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Service Pack: 0.0
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - OS Version: 5.2.3790
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Locale: Ox0409
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - OSLanguage: 1033
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Total Physical Memory: 511.49 MB
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Time Zone: (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM -
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - SSAPI.dll Information:
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Location: file:///C:/Program Files/SourceOffSite Server/Interop.SourceSafeTypeLib.DLL
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - DisplayName: Interop.SourceSafeTypeLib, Version=5.1.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM -
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Started at 3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM

3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - General logging level is Error. Method logging is Disabled.

3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Ignoring old serialnumber 1
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Incorrect format of serialnumbers
3/25/2004 2:44:24 PM - Error starting up server. Stopping now....





******* prp
#SourceOffSite Server 4.0 Properties
#Thu Mar 25 14:44:17 2004
#
#
# Server logging
#
# Log to log.txt file
server.log=2
server.overwritelog=no
#
# Databases
#
server.database=Z:\\srcsafe.ini
#
# Database aliases
#
server.aliases=
#
# Serial Numbers
#
server.serialnumbers=00000001000a408ad14400034790c385
#
# Ports
#
server.secure.port=8081
server.unsecure.port=8080
#server.idleconnections=0
#
# Optional Settings
#
#
# Users
#

[lbauer]

We have new information about the serial numbers error.

There is a bug in the SOS Server logging. If there is a configuration problem that prevents the SOS Server from starting and generating a demo license, it gives the error about the serial number instead of an error about the configuration problem.

Verify that the VSS databases are correctly configured, and that the you're browsing to the srcsafe.ini file, rather than using a mapped drive.

Also verify that the SOS Server Service account has access to the machine/drive/directory where the VSS database resides.


If your VSS database is on a different machine, use a Domain Account for the SOS Server Service. This is configured in Control Panel->Services->SOS Server 4->Properties->Logon

[smithkl42]

I've tried all the suggestions in this list, and still can't get the server to start. It gives me the same error message everyone else is reporting, namely, "The SourceOffsite 4 Server service on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some services . . . ." (yada yada yada). The account in question has Change permissions on the remote SourceSafe share, and is an Administrator on the local box. Interestingly, if I rename the sossrvr.prp file, I'll see the following lines in log.txt:

3/27/2004 10:48:01 PM - ****************************
3/27/2004 10:48:01 PM - Error reading the properties file, sossvr.prp. Please make sure this file exists and is not corrupt. Run ServerMgr.exe to configure this file properly.
3/27/2004 10:48:01 PM - Error starting up server. Stopping now....

But if I have the sossrvr.prp file there, it won't write anything to log.txt at all.

Thoughts?

[lbauer]

Is your VSS database on a different machine than the SOS Server, but still on the same LAN? If, so are you using a Domain account for the SOS Server Service? Try giving that account read/write access or even full control over the directory where the VSS database resides.

Also verify that you configured the path to the srcsafe.ini file by using the Browse button in the Databases tab of the SOS Server manager.

If these suggestions don't help, send me a copy of your sossvr.prp file and your entire log file.

[Guest]

Is your VSS database on a different machine than the SOS Server, but still on the same LAN? If, so are you using a Domain account for the SOS Server Service? Try giving that account read/write access or even full control over the directory where the VSS database resides.

Also verify that you configured the path to the srcsafe.ini file by using the Browse button in the Databases tab of the SOS Server manager.

If these suggestions don't help, send me a copy of your sossvr.prp file and your entire log file.

I am having this problem.

Error is :

2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - Number of licenses configured: 10
2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - F:\\srcsafe.ini does not exist!
2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - Invalid or no databases to support.
2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - Error starting up server. Stopping now....

database is on a raid 5 server on the same domain, but if I use a domain user/pass as the login for the service, it says that the account can't be found. The same user/pass exists as a local account on the server with SOS on it.

What is the best way to setup access to a vss db on another server?

[lbauer]

When do you get the error that the account can't be found? When you try to browse for the "logon as" account? That might be a network configuration issue. Do you have a system admin you can ask about this?

Be sure to configure the account in the logon as dialog like this:

domainname\username, sourcegear\linda, etc.

More info here:

http://support.sourcegear.com/viewtopic.php?t=771

[Guest]

I am having this problem.

Error is :

2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - Number of licenses configured: 10
2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - F:\\srcsafe.ini does not exist!
2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - Invalid or no databases to support.
2/14/2005 12:44:02 PM - Error starting up server. Stopping now....

database is on a raid 5 server on the same domain, but if I use a domain user/pass as the login for the service, it says that the account can't be found. The same user/pass exists as a local account on the server with SOS on it.

What is the best way to setup access to a vss db on another server?

I had a similar problem on one machine (I had to first find and fix the registry key problem), and I believe it was because the machine was not part of the domain. I'm not a domain administrator, so I could not add it, but I did have access to a second machine that was on the domain, so I installed on that and that problem went away.

The issue is, I still have the "Y:\\srcsafe.ini does not exist!" problem. I've read through the other post that says "well, maybe VSS is corrupt." We ran an analyze against the database, but it is not, in fact, corrupt at all. Is there anything else I can do to try to narrow down the problem domain somewhat?

In addition, I created a local repository - same box, therefore the domain user issues should go away - and they do - so the problem appears to be related to an inability of the Source Offsite Server to correctly use the correct domain user ID. The Windows XP Service configuration tool seems to recognize that the domain ID I'm using is a valid one: on the box that wasn't part of the domain, it refused to recognize my login, while on the second box it did.

I'm rather frustrated - most of the tools I'd use to track down a similar problem on a *nix box just aren't available. For example, http://support.sourcegear.com/viewtopic.php?t=50 states that ssapi.dll is intolerant of corruption - is there any way to prove that it is ssapi.dll that is choking, and if so, why? I don't think it's ssapi.dll; I think it's some weirdo XP thing with domain users, but I have absolutely no idea how to look into that. At this point, I would strace or truss the SOS server to see what exactly it is trying to open - but that is not an option, even if it weren't started as a service. Is there some kind of debug option that can be turned on to make it spit out some more info about what's going on?

Just for amusement, here's part of the log. You can see that it happily sees the local DB, but refuses to see the remote one. I also tried using the network share name explicitly, but that had the same result, though I did notice one odd thing - the Server Manager seems to put extra slashes in the name, as escapes I imagine, but only properly removes from from the second entry, not the first. For example:

server.database=Y:\srcsafe.ini,C:\\Burt\\VSS\\srcsafe.ini

in the config file resulted in:

3/1/2005 11:03:05 AM - Y:\\srcsafe.ini does not exist!
3/1/2005 11:03:05 AM - SourceSafe Initialization file(s) located at:
3/1/2005 11:03:05 AM - C:\Burt\VSS\srcsafe.ini

Of course, when I manually edited the properties file and removed the extra slashes, the result was the same. Anyways, the full log:

3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - ****************************************************
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - SourceOffSite Server 4.1 Professional - With Cryptography

3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - CurrentCulture is en-US.

3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Server Information
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Service Pack: 2.0
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - OS Version: 5.1.2600
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Locale: Ox0409
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - OSLanguage: 1033
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Total Physical Memory: 511.23 MB
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Time Zone: (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM -
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - SSAPI.dll Information:
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Location: file:///C:/Program Files/SourceOffSite Server/Interop.SourceSafeTypeLib.DLL
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - DisplayName: Interop.SourceSafeTypeLib, Version=5.1.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM -
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Started at 3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM

3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - General logging level is Error. Method logging is Disabled.

3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Number of licenses configured: 10
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Y:\srcsafe.ini does not exist!
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - SourceSafe Initialization file(s) located at:
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - C:\Burt\VSS\srcsafe.ini

3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - SIM-EG-EGWKR1 is attempting to listen for connections on secure port 8081
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - SIM-EG-EGWKR1 is attempting to listen for connections on unsecure port 8080

3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Waiting for a connection....secure = True
3/1/2005 11:19:55 AM - Waiting for a connection....secure = False

[gbsmith]

Bah copy/paste :)

server.database=Y:\srcsafe.ini,C:\\Burt\\VSS\\srcsafe.ini

in the config file resulted in:

3/1/2005 11:03:05 AM - Y:\\srcsafe.ini does not exist!
3/1/2005 11:03:05 AM - SourceSafe Initialization file(s) located at:
3/1/2005 11:03:05 AM - C:\Burt\VSS\srcsafe.ini

What I really meant was:

server.database=Y:\\srcsafe.ini,C:\\Burt\\VSS\\srcsafe.ini

I just copied the wrong thing.

[lbauer]

Is Y:\\srcsafe.ini a mapped drive?

When you configured this path in the SOS Server manager, were you able to browse to the location of this srcsafe.ini file? We recommend using UNC paths, not mapped drives.

If you can't browse to it, then the SOS Server can't get to it, either.

Also, the SOS Server needs to be on the same LAN (Domain) as the VSS database.

One way to tell if the VSS database itself is the problem is to run the SOS Server as an application, rather than as a service. This will bypass all the user access issues.

To run SOS as an application, do this:

at the cmd line type:

c:\program files\sourceoffsite server> sosservice.exe 1

Just passing a "1" to the application will allow it to run as an
application.