At 12:54 PM 8/06/2008, you wrote:

> If, under the registry's HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key,
> the subkey "Firebird" is present, no attempt is made to
> install Firebird.

So your test doesn't check HKLM\SOFTWARE\Firebird Project\Firebird Server\Instances\DefaultInstance at all? Not that it's significant. The key doesn't have to exist for a Firebird service to run.

[snip almost everything] But...I'm finished with trying here. I've written more than enough about predictable snafus. Custom-designed ones are a bit beyond me on wet Sunday afternoons....

>> The trouble is, it was always assumed that the test for a running
>server executable (fbserver.exe or fb_inet_server.exe) worked. It was
>not until late in the v.2.1 and v.2.0.4 release cycles that it was
>discovered that call actually returns negative ALWAYS if there's no
>guardian. It got fixed (or so we hope) for the v.2.1.0 and v.2.0.4
>releases.
>
> Can you tell me where I can find documentation about that
>test?

I doubt there's "documentation", per se, but the sources for everything are available - inno scripts, instsvc, etc., probably with comments inside.

>If I can see that the guardian isn't running I can
>safely start it, right?

:-| Even if it isn't installed?

>I'd appreciate pointers to any
>references that describe this test and startup procedure.

Well, a good place to start would be the various readmes that come in the \doc\ subdirectory of the Windows kits. By and large it's not too hard to figure out their contents from their filenames...

./heLen