Known Issue 8.7: EXO Email Service "failed to start service error"

The following issue has been identified and subsequently replicated by MYOB Support in EXO Business version 8.7.

Before upgrading your clients please take into consideration the following issues especially if the site has specific requirements in these areas.

As always we recommend that thorough testing in a non-live environment is undertaken before commencing an upgrade.

Issue

The EXO email service runs using the administrator account on the machine. It connects to an EXO database via the connection strings that are configured as part of normal EXO configuration.

In order for the email service to use the connection string, it must be created in EXO while logged in as the administrator account, this is because the connection string is stored against the user, and therefore the email service cannot locate the connection info as the administrator if it is not created by the administrator.

This manifests itself as an error: “Failed to start service”.

Workaround

To troubleshoot the error, open the Windows Event Viewer and view the Application entries for the Windows Logs.

The error message should indicate whether a connection string issue is the cause of the failure:

Resolution

Ensure the email service is created as the Administrator