Jira service fails to start on Windows after upgrade

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps on the Data Center platform.

Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Summary

After upgrading Jira running on Windows, sometimes the service fails to start. This situation is very close to what's described in Jira Service Fails To Start in Windows - Is Not a Valid Win32 Application.

Environment

Jira Server or Data Center running on Windows as a service.

Diagnosis

In these cases, we should see entries in the commons-daemon.log that resembles this:

[2020-06-08 13:25:23] [info] [ 5376] Commons Daemon procrun (1.1.0.0 32-bit) started [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [info] [ 5376] Running 'JIRA' Service... [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [info] [ 904] Starting service... [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [error] [ 904] %1 is not a valid Win32 application. [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [error] [ 904] Failed creating Java D:\Program Files\AdoptOpenJDK\jdk-8.0.202.08\jre\bin\server\jvm.dll [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [error] [ 904] %1 is not a valid Win32 application. [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [error] [ 904] ServiceStart returned 1 [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [error] [ 904] %1 is not a valid Win32 application. [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [info] [ 5376] Run service finished. [2020-06-08 13:25:23] [info] [ 5376] Commons Daemon procrun finished

Cause

Probably the upgrade job failed to update the service references, or the JVM reference is not up-to-date.

Solution

  1. Identify the name of the service that Jira is installed as in Windows ( Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services ):

    (Auto-migrated image: description temporarily unavailable)

    ℹ️ In the above example, the SERVICENAME is: JIRA231112155942

  2. Open the command window from Start >> Run >> type in 'cmd' >> Enter

  3. cd to the bin directory of your Jira application installation directory.

  4. Run:

    tomcat8w //ES//%SERVICENAME%

    ℹ️ In the above example, it would be tomcat8w //ES//JIRA231112155942

    (Auto-migrated image: description temporarily unavailable)

  5. Click on the Java tab

    (Auto-migrated image: description temporarily unavailable)

  6. Check if the Java Virtual Machine reference is valid.

  7. If it's outdated, update it with the current jvm.dll path, click OK and try to start Jira again.

  8. If that's correct, we'll need to remove and re-add the service:

    1. Take note of the Java Options and memory pool configurations and click OK.

    2. Open a command prompt as administrator.

    3. Navigate to Jira's directory. For example:

      cd D:\Program Files\Atlassian\JIRA\jre\bin

    4. Remove Jira's Windows service:

      service.bat remove JIRA231112155942

      ℹ️ Notice we used the same service name from the steps above.

    5. Install the service again:

      service.bat install

    6. Start Jira's service

For more detail on the procedures performed please check Running Jira applications as a Windows service.

Updated on September 26, 2025
Platform
Data Center only
App
Jira Software Data Center
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