In a windows service, will OnStop run if the OnStart is blocked?

Question

If my OnStart method is

while (true)
{
  // do stuff
}

Will OnStop run in this case? Or do I have to create a new thread such that the thread OnStart is running on unblocks?

Answer 1

The thread that calls OnStart doesn't "belong" to you. You're not meant to block it. You should use it to set up any threads, any timers, any listeners on the network, etc, and then return from the OnStart method.

Only when you return from OnStart will the service control manager transition your service from Starting to Started.