Hi,
Use tge service controller class
Dim s As System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController
For Each s In System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.GetServices
If s.ServiceName = "MSSQLSERVER" Then
If s.Status = ServiceProcess.ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped
Then s.Start()
End If
's.Stop to stop
's.Start to start
's.Pause to pause
Next
Ken