What does Windows error code 1066 (ERROR_SERVICE_SPECIFIC_ERROR) mean?

 
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ERROR_SERVICE_SPECIFIC_ERROR

ERROR_SERVICE_SPECIFIC_ERROR (1066, 0x0000042A) is a wrapper value: the Service Control Manager is telling you that the service supplied its own error code.

Find the real code

A service reports status through the SERVICE_STATUS structure. When dwWin32ExitCode is set to ERROR_SERVICE_SPECIFIC_ERROR, the related dwServiceSpecificExitCode member contains the service-defined value that must be interpreted using that product's documentation or logs.

This differs from a normal Win32 exit code. The value 1066 alone is not enough to diagnose the failure; it is only a signal that another value contains the useful detail.

How to investigate

Use sc queryex ServiceName, the Services console, Event Viewer and the application's logs to obtain the service-specific code. Preserve both values when reporting an incident: the wrapper identifies the reporting convention, while the service-specific code identifies the actual condition.


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