FileSystemWatcher - Windows Service Setup Guide

📋 Overview

This Windows Service monitors a source directory and automatically backs it up. It includes:

• ✅ Automatic startup on Windows boot
• ✅ Runs in background as a Windows Service
• ✅ Graceful shutdown mechanism
• ✅ Event-driven file monitoring with scheduled backups

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🚀 How to Use

1. Install the Windows Service

Run PowerShell as Administrator and execute:

# Install the service
sc.exe create "FileSystemWatcher" binPath= "C:\Path\To\FileSystemWatcherMerged.exe" start= auto

# Or using PowerShell
New-Service -Name "FileSystemWatcher" -BinaryPathName "C:\Path\To\FileSystemWatcherMerged.exe" -StartupType Automatic

Replace C:\Path\To\FileSystemWatcherMerged.exe with your actual executable path.

What it does:

• Registers the application as a Windows Service
• Sets it to start automatically on Windows boot
• Service name: "FileSystemWatcher"

2. Start the Service

# Start the service
sc.exe start "FileSystemWatcher"

# Or using PowerShell
Start-Service -Name "FileSystemWatcher"

3. Check Service Status

# Check status
sc.exe query "FileSystemWatcher"

# Or using PowerShell
Get-Service -Name "FileSystemWatcher"

4. Stop the Service

# Stop the service
sc.exe stop "FileSystemWatcher"

# Or using PowerShell
Stop-Service -Name "FileSystemWatcher"

5. Uninstall the Service

# Stop first if running
sc.exe stop "FileSystemWatcher"

# Delete the service
sc.exe delete "FileSystemWatcher"

# Or using PowerShell
Remove-Service -Name "FileSystemWatcher"

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🧪 Testing in Console Mode

For testing purposes, you can run the application in console mode (it auto-detects):

.\FileSystemWatcherMerged.exe

This will run the same logic but in a console window. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

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📁 File Structure

FileSystemWatcher/
├── Program.cs                 # Main application (service/console detection)
├── FolderBackupWorker.cs      # Service implementation
├── FileSystemWatcher.csproj   # Project file
├── appsettings.json           # Configuration
├── FileSystemWatcherMerged.exe # Single merged executable
└── README.md                 # This file

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🔧 Configuration

Configuration lives in appsettings.json next to the executable:

{
   "FileSystemWatcher": {
      "SourcePath": "D:\\DC\\Project",
      "BackupPath": "D:\\DC\\Backup\\DailyBackup",
      "PollIntervalSeconds": 1,
      "ExcludedFolders": [ "bin", "obj", ".vs" ],
      "ExcludedExtensions": [ ".user" ]
   }
}

Configuration Options:

• SourcePath: Directory to monitor for changes
• BackupPath: Directory where backups are stored
• PollIntervalSeconds: How often to check for queued changes (default: 1 second)
• ExcludedFolders: Folders to ignore during monitoring
• ExcludedExtensions: File extensions to ignore

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📊 How It Works

1. Service Starts → Windows Service Manager launches the executable
2. Initialization → Loads configuration from appsettings.json
3. File Monitoring → FileSystemWatcher monitors source directory
4. Change Detection → Files changes are queued for backup
5. Scheduled Backup → Every PollIntervalSeconds, processes queued changes
6. Graceful Shutdown → Service stops cleanly when requested

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🎯 Recommended Production Setup

For a Windows Server environment:

1. Build in Release mode:

   dotnet build -c Release

2. Merge to single EXE (already done):

   • FileSystemWatcherMerged.exe contains all dependencies

3. Install Service (as Administrator):

   sc.exe create "FileSystemWatcher" binPath= "C:\Production\Path\FileSystemWatcherMerged.exe" start= auto
   sc.exe start "FileSystemWatcher"

4. Verify Installation:

   sc.exe query "FileSystemWatcher"
   Get-EventLog -LogName System -Source FileSystemWatcher -Newest 10

5. Monitor Logs via Windows Event Viewer or application logs

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Service won't start

• ✅ Verify executable path is correct in service configuration
• ✅ Check file permissions - service runs under Local System by default
• ✅ Ensure source and backup directories exist and are accessible
• ✅ Check Windows Event Viewer for error details

Service starts but stops immediately

• ✅ Run in console mode first to check for configuration errors
• ✅ Verify appsettings.json is present and valid JSON
• ✅ Check paths in configuration exist

Files not being backed up

• ✅ Verify source directory has files and write permissions
• ✅ Check backup directory has write permissions
• ✅ Review service logs in Event Viewer
• ✅ Test with console mode to see live logging

High CPU usage

• ✅ Increase PollIntervalSeconds in configuration
• ✅ Check for large number of file changes
• ✅ Verify excluded folders/extensions are configured correctly

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📝 Notes

• The service runs under Local System account by default
• File monitoring is event-driven, backup processing is scheduled
• Excludes: bin, obj, .vs folders and *.user files by default
• Backup operations copy entire directory structure
• Service logs to Windows Event Log and console (when in console mode)
• Configuration changes require service restart to take effect