Forum Mihai Moldovan

Service failed to start during MSI install. Fix:

Click Ignore to finish install.
Check port conflict:

netstat -ano | findstr :9182

Check service log: Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System, filter for windows_exporter
Verify config file syntax if using --config.file (YAML) or collector flags — bad flags in service args cause immediate exit.
Check service binary path/args:

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sc qc windows_exporter

Try manual start for real error:

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"C:\Program Files\windows_exporter\windows_exporter.exe" --config.file="C:\Program Files\windows_exporter\config.yml"
Ensure install run as Administrator (elevated cmd/powershell), not just admin user without elevation.

If installed with custom collectors (--collectors.enabled=...), invalid collector name = crash on start.

WMI Performance Adapter (WmiApSrv) is disabled. Enable it:

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sc config wmiapsrv start= demand
sc start wmiapsrv

Then restart windows_exporter:

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sc config windows_exporter depend= wmiapsrv
net start windows_exporter

Check dependent adapter status after:

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sc qc wmiapsrv

Default port 9182:

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http://localhost:9182/metrics

From another host:

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http://<hostname_or_ip>:9182/metrics

Check listener:

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netstat -ano | findstr :9182

Firewall rule if remote access fails:

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netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="windows_exporter" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=9182

windows exporter config.yaml

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collectors:
  enabled: cpu,logical_disk,net,os,service,system,memory,tcp,textfile,process,diskdrive,thermalzone,time,cpu_info,scheduled_task,pagefile

collector:
  service:
    include: windows_exporter

log:
  level: warn

Debugs:

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C:\Windows\System32>sc start windows_exporter
[SC] StartService FAILED 1068:
The dependency service or group failed to start.

WmiApSrv dependency stopped (disabled or crashed). Check and restart it:

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sc query wmiapsrv

If stopped/disabled:

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sc config wmiapsrv start= demand

Then:

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sc start windows_exporter

If wmiapsrv fails to start, check Event Viewer → System log for a fresh error on it, or run:

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winmgmt /resyncperf
lodctr /r

Set startup type to Automatic:

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sc config wmiapsrv start= auto

Recommended: delayed-auto to avoid boot-time race conditions with WMI:

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sc config wmiapsrv start= delayed-auto

Start it now:

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sc start wmiapsrv

Verify:

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sc qc wmiapsrv

Add commands to run at startup:
Open Task Scheduler and select Create Basic Task.
Name the task and set the trigger to When the computer starts.
For the action, select Start a program.
In the "Program/script" field, enter cmd.exe.
In the "Add arguments" field, enter /k your_command_here (or /c to close the window after running).
Note: Check Run with highest privileges if the command requires admin rights.

Command Line Alternative: You can also create a scheduled task programmatically using:

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schtasks.exe /create /tn "StartupTask" /ru SYSTEM /Sc ONSTART /tr "C:\path\to\script.cmd" /RL HIGHEST

Command Breakdown
/create: Instructs schtasks.exe to create a new scheduled task.
/tn "StartupTask": Specifies the Task Name. This is the unique identifier for the task in the Task Scheduler library.
/ru SYSTEM: Defines the Run User account. Setting this to SYSTEM executes the task under the local System account, which has higher privileges than standard administrator accounts and is used by the OS itself.
/Sc ONSTART: Sets the Schedule type to ONSTART. This triggers the task immediately after the Windows kernel loads, before any user logs in.
/tr "C:\path\to\script.cmd": Specifies the Task Run action. This is the full path to the executable, batch file, or script that the task will execute.
/RL HIGHEST: Sets the Run Level to HIGHEST. This ensures the task runs with elevated privileges (equivalent to checking "Run with highest privileges" in the GUI), which is often required for system-level modifications.

Key Considerations
Administrative Rights: You must run the command prompt as Administrator to execute this command successfully; otherwise, you will receive an "Access is denied" error.
No Password Needed: When using /ru SYSTEM, you do not need to provide a password (/rp), as the System account does not use one.
Execution Context: Because this runs as SYSTEM at boot, it cannot interact with the user's desktop (no visible windows) and runs before user-specific environment variables are loaded.

Forum Mihai Moldovan

Windows node exporter install error

Windows node exporter install error