Using the SQL-DMO object model you can programmatically start, stop, pause, and continue the main SQL Server service. In the following code snippet the server is “MyServer”, and “sa” / “mypwd” is the user name and password of a user that is allowed to start/stop the service:

' NOTE: this code assumes that you've added a reference to the'       SQL-DMO type library in the References dialog box' start, pause, continue and stop SQL Server serviceDim SQLServer As New SQLDMO.SQLServer' starting the service requires that you specify ' the server's name and user credentialsSQLServer.Start False, "MyServer", "sa", "mypwd"' pausing, continuing and stopping the service' doesn't require any additional argumentSQLServer.PauseSQLServer.ContinueSQLServer.Stop

You can also test the current state of the SQL Server service by means of the Status property:

' show current state of the service Select Case SQLServer.Status    Case SQLDMOSvc_Paused: lblStatus = "Paused"    Case SQLDMOSvc_Running: lblStatus = "Running"    Case SQLDMOSvc_Starting: lblStatus = "Starting"    Case SQLDMOSvc_Stopped: lblStatus = "Stopped"End Select

Finally, you can programmatically enable or disable the autostart feature (that is, the capability to run the SQL Server service automatically when the system reboots):

SQLServer.Registry.AutostartServer = True     ' autostart SQL Server