Program in "Startup" folder vs. Services

phuschnickensphuschnickens Beverly Hills, Michigan Member
edited December 2010 in Science & Tech
We have a phone system in my work that is setup so the boss can keep track of outgoing/incoming calls etc.

The system relies on a piece of software that is installed on both the server and the client (the boss's computer is the client). The software is made by panasonic and can only be acquired through a panasonic phone dealer by purchasing a license. The phone dealer gives very very poor tech support for the software and apparently the software is obscure enough that getting tech support through panasonic or on the internet is near impossible.

The problem I have is that the server side program is launched only when I log on into my windows account on the server. Everytime the server restarts I have to log on before the boss can successfully use his client software. The server program file has a shortcut in the Start Menu, Startup folder. Can this somehow be converted to start as a service instead so that as soon as the server powers on the software starts running rather than waiting for me to log on.

Sick of my boss having to tell me "the phone software isn't working again".

Please help. Thanks!

Comments

  • RootWyrmRootWyrm Icrontian
    edited December 2010
    I know which piece of software you're talking about.

    Unfortunately, it's just like PeopleSoft 7.5's NTSCHED function. You could, in theory, convert it to a service. HOWEVER, doing so actually breaks the software. So there's actually no possible way to run it as a service; it has to be run as a user which is logged on. I believe there may be a way, at least, to automatically log on the user. But that's as good as you're going to get.
  • phuschnickensphuschnickens Beverly Hills, Michigan Member
    edited December 2010
    Great. Thank you. I'll look into auto user logon. I think I'm familiar with that a little bit. It seems like it could be a bit of a security risk but really won't be a problem on our network.
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited December 2010
    We have a couple pieces of software here that won't run as a service either. We automatically login the local admin to the console upon reboot. Machines are locked in a data room, though.

    Do a start > run and type "control userpasswords2"

    There's a checkbox in here that controls whether users must enter a password to login. Assuming it's not on a domain, though. Otherwise, you can edit the registry. A quick Google search will get that for you.
  • phuschnickensphuschnickens Beverly Hills, Michigan Member
    edited December 2010
    Right... Halfway through that post I was thinking "Hmm... don't think that works on a domain" I'll look into the reg edit. Thanks for the tip. My company is kinda backwards and small (understatement) so, though I try to keep stuff secure just because it's good practice, the best security is that my coworkers freak out even when they come in and they're computers are off. Not joking... they literally think they're broken if they are off. So... the network will not be compromised internally.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited December 2010
    If you still want to be secure, could you have a bat file or something that executes x number of seconds/minutes after the autologin happens that locks the computer?
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited December 2010
    Ah, that too. Or just set the screensaver to activate after one minute and require a password. Though a reboot can circumvent that.
Sign In or Register to comment.