Run as a Service

This article contains instructions for installing the server as a Windows background service. This allows the server to run in the background even without a user logged into the computer.

This assumes you already have a GE:S server installed and ready to go. See this guide if you don’t.

File Paths in This Guide

In keeping with the Windows install guide, these are the installation directories we will use:

Source 2007 Dedicated Server: C:\servers\GEServer

GoldenEye: Source: C:\servers\GEServer\gesource

You can of course change these if your install paths differ.

Service Installation

  1. Download WinSW-x64.exe from this page

  2. Copy WinSW-x64.exe to C:\servers\GEServer

  3. Open Notepad and paste the following:

    <service>
  <id>geserver</id>
  <name>GoldenEye: Source server</name>
  <description>The GoldenEye: Source dedicated server</description>
  <delayedAutoStart>true</delayedAutoStart>
  <serviceaccount>
    <domain>NT AUTHORITY</domain>
    <user>LocalService</user>
  </serviceaccount>
  <executable>srcds.exe</executable>
  <arguments>-console -game gesource +maxplayers 16 +map ge_archives</arguments>
  <log mode="roll"></log>
</service>

    Note: If you’re running multiple servers, make sure to change the <id> as this is unique to each installed service.

  4. Save the file in C:\servers\GEServer as WinSW-x64.xml

  5. Open a Command Prompt as Administrator

  6. Run the following command to create the service:

    .\WinSW-x64.exe install

  7. Run the following command to give LocalService access to the server files:

    icacls "C:\servers\GEServer" /grant "NT AUTHORITY\LocalService":(OI)(CI)M /T

You should now see GoldenEye: Source server in Services (services.msc). You can start or stop your server here, or by using the following commands from an elevated command prompt:

Action Command
Start sc start geserver
Stop sc stop geserver

Next Steps

Your server may be running, but only people on your local network can connect to it! To learn how to make your server accessible globally, see:

Accessing Your Server From the Internet