Cannot start Power BI Report Server after upgrade (August 2018)

[MagicMads]

Hi - I once again have an issue with the Power BI Report Server installation. Same issues as last time - however this time I would like a proper solution - last time I uninstalled the PBIRS causing all user info to be lost.

When trying to start PBIRS from the Configuration Tool:

System.InvalidOperationException: Cannot start service PowerBIReportServer on computer 'SRVESBSQLC3A01V'. ---> System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: Access is denied
--- End of inner exception stack trace ---
at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.Start(String[] args)
at ReportServicesConfigUI.Panels.ConfigurationPanelWithErrors.StartOrStopServiceTask(Boolean start, String serviceName)

Error from the Service Manager: Windows could not start the Power BI Report Server service on Local Computer. Error 5: Access Denied

This is critical as it is a production environment!

[Thendral_]

Hi , I'm  facing same kind of issue .i'm not able to Start my report server in service it says "window cannot start powerbi report server". yesterday my password got expired i tried to start with new credentials in the Report server configuration manager but it says "task failed to start power bi report server ". Since this is production server with many users so  i don't prefer to uninstall.  kindly assist to solve.

-- logfile -----------------

2020-06-13 16:25:54.1225|INFO|1|File Logger created: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Power BI Report Server\PBIRS\LogFiles\RSHostingService_2020_06_13_16_25_54.log - level Info, will roll at 32 Mb, process id 7380
2020-06-13 16:25:54.1537|INFO|1|Current Directory : C:\Program Files\Microsoft Power BI Report Server\PBIRS\RSHostingService
2020-06-13 16:25:54.4819|ERROR|1|Exception occurred while parsing config file at [C:\Program Files\Microsoft Power BI Report Server\PBIRS\RSHostingService\config.json]System.Xml.XmlException: Root element is missing.
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseDocumentContent()
at System.Xml.XmlReader.MoveToContent()
at System.Xml.Linq.XElement.Load(XmlReader reader, LoadOptions options)
at System.Xml.Linq.XElement.Load(String uri, LoadOptions options)
at Microsoft.BIServer.Configuration.ConfigReader..ctor(String configFileFullPath)
at Microsoft.BIServer.BIService.ServiceConfig..ctor(String serviceConfigFilePath)

Thanks in advance

[bradsy]

It sounds like you may have a problem with this file: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Power BI Report Server\PBIRS\RSHostingService\config.json 

You can open it up in Visual Studio and it will tell you where the .json file might be broken.

[Thendral_]

Hi Bradsy,

The issue is resolved. The problem is with existing Report server . I downloaded new RS of same version after uninstall and installing the RS it worked.

[rpatkar]

hi,

A few follow up questions -

1. Are you running config tool as admin?

2. Any errors in the logs that you can share other than this access denied error?

Also, if you decide to uninstall, your ReportServer database in not deleted. On installing again, you can attach to that previous database. Some pointers at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/reporting-services/install-windows/configure-a-report-server-da...

[MagicMads]

Hi - the problem is that the Power BI Report Server-service cannot start - when attempting to start the service, I get "Access denied". However, when adding the Power BI Report Server-service account to the local admins the service is able to start.

However, the hosting partner does not allow "orphan" users in the local admin group - so I need to know where the service account need which access to aviod this.

[prodnik]

We have exactly the same issue.  Access denied trying to start the service after upgrading from Oct 2017 to Aug 2018.

[Jon-Heide]

Suggest you take a look at the server log files, that should include more information about the error. Also, be sure to start the configuration tool as elevated admin.