Fix NET HELPMSG Error 3534, The service did not report an error

In Windows, you can create custom services and start them by executing a command in the Command Prompt. Net Start and Net Stop are the commands used to start and stop a service respectively on a device running on Windows operating system. While starting a custom service on a Windows computer, some users have experienced an error, “The service did not report an error.” The error is mostly occurring when starting MySQL service by using the Net Start command.

The complete error message that appears on the screen is:

The service did not report an error.

More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 3534.

If you are getting such an error while starting a custom service, you can try the solutions provided in this article.

Fix NET HELPMSG Error 3534, The service did not report an error

NET HELPMSG is a command that decodes a Windows error message into a string. This command is helpful in getting the error message from an error code. If you type NET HELPMSG 3534 in the Command Prompt, it will give you the same error message “The service did not report an error.”

The following suggestions may help you fix this problem:

1. Stop the service via the Task Manager
2. Clear the Data directory
3. Copy the my.ini file from the ProgramData directory to the Program Files directory
4. Change the encoding format of the my.ini file from UTF-8 to ANSI

Below, we have described all these fixes in detail.

1] Stop the service via the Task Manager

While some users are unable to start a custom service, some users receive the error despite the service is already running. When they tried to stop the service, they received another error message. If this is the case with you, you can use the Task Manager to close the custom service created by you. The instructions are as follows:

1. Open the Task Manager.
2. Select the Processes tab.
3. Locate the service that you have created.
4. Once you find it, right-click on it and select End Task.

2] Clear the Data directory

If you are getting The service did not report an error message while starting the MySQL service, clear the Data directory. For this, open the File Explorer, then open your C drive. Now, open the MySQL folder as per the version of MySQL you have installed on your computer. There, you will find the Data folder. Open the Data folder and delete all the files inside it.

After clearing the Data directory, run the following command:

mysqld --initialize

After the above command is executed successfully, you should be able to start the MySQL service by typing the following command:

net start mysql

3] Copy the my.ini file from the ProgramData directory to the Program Files directory

Another effective solution to get rid of this problem is to copy the my.ini file from the ProgramData directory to the Program Files directory. By default the my.ini file is located at the following location on your C drive:

C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.7

In the above path, MySQL Server 5.7 indicates the version number of MySQL installed on a computer. The name of the folder is different for different versions of MySQL Server.

If you do not find the my.ini file at the above-specified path, you can try the following methods:

Open the Command Prompt and type the following command, and then hit Enter.

echo %PROGRAMDATA%

After the successful execution of the above command, you will see the path of the my.ini file. If this does not work, try the following method.

1. Open the Run command box by pressing the Win + R keys.
2. Type services.msc and click OK. This will launch the Services app.
3. Scroll down and locate the MySQL service.
4. Once you find the MySQL service, right-click on it and select Properties.
5. In the Properties window, select the General tab.
6. Click on the path displayed under the Path to executable. Now, press and hold the right arrow key to move the cursor towards the right. Keep moving the cursor till you find the my.ini in the path.
7. Now, copy that path and paste it into the address bar of your File Explorer, and then press Enter.

Now, copy the my.ini file. After that, go to the following path and paste the copied file there.

C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.7

Do note that, you have to replace the MySQL Server 5.7 in the above path with the version number of MySQL installed on your system.

Now, open the Command Prompt and start the MySQL service by executing the following command:

net start mysql

MySQL service should get started this time without showing any error.

Related: Fix NET HELPMSG 2182 Problem with BITS Service

4] Change the encoding format of the my.ini file from UTF-8 to ANSI

If the issue still persists, change the encoding format of the my.ini file from UTF-8 to ANSI. The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Locate the my.ini file by following the process described above.
2. Right-click on the my.ini file and go to “Open with > Notepad.”
3. Go to “File > Save As.”
4. Select ANSI in Encoding.
5. Save the file by replacing the existing file.

This should fix the issue.

Read: Windows Biometric Service stopped working.

How do I solve The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion?

When the NET.TCP Port Sharing service fails to start, you may see the following error message:

The NetTcpPortSharing service failed to start due to the following error:
The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

The error occurs due to the any of the following reasons:

• Glitched or disabled Net.TCP Port Sharing Service,
• .NET framework 3.5 is disabled,
• System file corruption, etc.

To fix this error, you can try any of the following methods:

• Disable IPv6,
• Change the Startup type of NET.TCP Port Sharing Service to Automatic,
• Reset Winsock, etc.

How do I delete a Windows Service?

You can use any of the following methods to delete a Windows Service:

• By using the Registry Editor.
• By executing a command in the Command Prompt.

That’s it.

Read next: How to restore missing or deleted Services in Windows.