When the Windows Installer fails to start a service, it displays a very generic error dialog:

"Service failed to start, verify you have sufficient privileges."

Rarely is the issue a privilege problem. Often the service executable is missing a dependency or other issue specific to the service start code itself. Unfortunately, the log file will not provide additional information.

The easiest way to debug these issues is to execute the install and wait for the error to occur. When the error dialog is visible do not dismiss it. Instead, leave the error dialog open and begin your investigation. The Windows Installer will not rollback the install until you cancel the dialog so the machine is in exactly the state necessary to determine why the service will not start.

First, try using the Service Control Manager (services.msc) or sc.exe to start the service manually. For example:

C:\> sc.exe start nameofservice

Often that will display more information about why the service failed to start. If all else fails, you can break out a debugger and begin stepping through the service code to understand the root isssue.