A service failed to start

What it means

A service couldn’t start. The event includes the error, for example logon failure or file not found.

Why it matters

A service account with an expired or changed password often shows up here first.

What to do

• Check the service’s Log On account and its password.
• Confirm the program file still exists.

Find it with PowerShell

Get-WinEvent -MaxEvents 20 -FilterHashtable @{
  LogName = 'System'; Id = 7000
} | Select-Object TimeCreated, ProviderName, Message

Add -ComputerName SERVER to query another machine. Other event sources can reuse the same ID number, so check the ProviderName column.