I was getting an “Error 1001: The specified service already exists" when running DFS applications from the Windows Start menu. The first alert to a problem on the server was an e-mail that indicated that the three McGraw-Hill services (McGraw-Hill Construction Company Transfer Queue Processor Version 3.4, McGraw-Hill Construction Project File Transfer Queue Processor Version 3.4, and McGraw-Hill Construction Project Transfer Queue Processor Version 3.4) were not running.

In order to restart these services and fix the Error 1001, you need to open the PDM Server folder which is usually located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Adenium Systems\PDM Server and unregister all services with UnRegisterService.bat. After this is complete, services need to be registered with Windows using RegisterService.bat.

The next step is to start all of the services associated with DFS:

  • DFS Order PreProcessor Version 3.4
  • McGraw-Hill Construction Company Transfer Queue Processor Version 3.4
  • McGraw-Hill Construction Project File Transfer Queue Processor Version 3.4
  • McGraw-Hill Construction Project Transfer Queue Processor Version 3.4
  • PDM Notification Processor Version 3.4

The PDM Notification Processor needs Log On in its properties to be set to an account that can access the vault. The administrator account can be used here.

There is a bug with the shortcuts in the Start menu which breaks services when an app from the PDM folder is run. You should not run apps through the Start menu and either run them directly from the DFS Server folder or pin them to the Taskbar in Windows Server 2008.