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Version: V3

Troubleshoot Game Services

When a service won't start (or starts and exits immediately), the fastest way to see what's actually wrong is to run it manually from a terminal. The Preview Start Command button on the service's settings page shows you the exact commands to run.

This works the same way for native Windows, native Linux, Wine, and WSL services.

How to Use It​

  1. Stop the service in TCAdmin so it doesn't conflict.
  2. Open the service's Settings page and click Preview Start Command (visible to admins and top-level subadmins).
  3. Open a command prompt or shell on the host where the service runs, switch to the service's run-as user, and paste in the commands shown.

For example, troubleshooting a Garry's Mod service on a Windows host:

runas /user:YOURSERVER\TCA3Game cmd.exe
Password: tF6nCLzqFa
cd /d C:\TCAFiles\Users\DemoUser\7
srcds.exe -norestart -console -game garrysmod -nohltv +tv_port 27016 -condebug +maxplayers 32 +ip 1.2.3.4 -port 27015 +exec "server.cfg" +map "gm_flatgrass"

Running the executable this way prints the real error to your terminal — missing DLLs, missing libraries, EULA prompts, port conflicts, etc.

Use the service's run-as user

Running as Administrator (Windows) or root (Linux) can hide the permission and environment problems the service would actually hit. Use the same user TCAdmin would.

When you're done, stop the game server, then start the service from TCAdmin again.