Some SQL Server 2005 services are not listed in SQL Server Configuration Manager – Also Red Cross shown in IIS – Server 2003

PROBLEM

1. Some SQL Server 2005 services are not listed in SQL Server Configuration Manager
2. Red Cross shown in IIS – Server 2003

SOLVED QUICK

BITS – Background Intelligent Transfer Service may not be registered and may have a startup type of Manual and be Stopped.

regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll
regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll

Then reboot.

SOLVED DETAIL

by external support company. Asked them how they did it. Answer copied here:

It looks like a windows update was responsible for the failure, Steve correctly spotted the fundamental issue which was that the default web site was stopped in IIS.  By attempting to start IIS, this registered an event in the windows logs and I could diagnose the issue from there.

The earlier versions of SQL reporting prior to 2008 relied on IIS to operate and the failure of IIS to start resulted in the missing items in SQL.

Windows update installed a hot fix which altered a file responsible for BITS (the service that enables Windows Update to function), the update applied an updated version of a file for IIS and the file failed to register when it was installed.  IIS was effectively looking for a file which wasn’t present and stopped itself.

By re-registering the file and rebooting, IIS was able to recognise the updated file and the default web site started successfully.  As the default website hosts information referred to by SQL, this caused SQL reporting to re-appear.

An odd one, but then Microsoft updates are probably responsible for a lot of strange behaviour!

Incidentally, while I was on the server, I spotted a string of Windows Desktop Search errors in the log – Windows Desktop Search was given as an update by Microsoft and it is my personal view that the product is poorly designed and disables perfectly good search facilities included within Windows, it looks like it has been clogging your event log with errors for some time now and with both of these things in mind,  I have disabled the Windows Desktop Search.

Anyway, glad SQL & IIS are now working, please let me know if you have any further issues.