The most direct way to query a Windows service status is using the sc query command. Here's the precise syntax:

sc query "IISADMIN" | find "STATE"

This returns output like:

STATE              : 4 RUNNING

Service states include:

• 1: STOPPED
• 2: START_PENDING
• 3: STOP_PENDING
• 4: RUNNING
• 5: CONTINUE_PENDING
• 6: PAUSE_PENDING
• 7: PAUSED

For a cleaner output format, use this PowerShell one-liner:

Get-Service "IISADMIN" | Select-Object Name,Status

Output:

Name    Status
----    ------
IISADMIN Running

Here's a reusable batch script to check service status:

@echo off
setlocal
set service_name=IISADMIN

for /f "tokens=3" %%A in ('sc query "%service_name%" ^| find "STATE"') do (
    if "%%A"=="RUNNING" (
        echo Service %service_name% is running
    ) else (
        echo Service %service_name% is not running (Status: %%A)
    )
)
endlocal

To check services on remote computers using PowerShell:

Get-Service -Name "IISADMIN" -ComputerName "SERVER01" | 
    Format-Table MachineName,Name,Status -AutoSize

For legacy systems without PowerShell:

wmic service where "name='IISADMIN'" get name,state

Returns:

Name      State
IISADMIN  Running

Here's a complete list of service state codes from Microsoft documentation:

Code	Status
1	STOPPED
2	START_PENDING
3	STOP_PENDING
4	RUNNING
5	CONTINUE_PENDING
6	PAUSE_PENDING
7	PAUSED

---

When managing Windows services through the command line, you typically need more than just a binary "running/not running" status. Here are the most effective ways to get detailed service information:

sc query "IISADMIN" | findstr "STATE"

This will return output like:

STATE : 4 RUNNING

The numerical state codes from SC query mean:

• 1: STOPPED
• 2: START_PENDING
• 3: STOP_PENDING
• 4: RUNNING
• 5: CONTINUE_PENDING
• 6: PAUSE_PENDING
• 7: PAUSED

For more readable output, PowerShell provides better formatting:

Get-Service "IISADMIN" | Select-Object Name,DisplayName,Status

Sample output:

Name DisplayName Status
---- ----------- ------
IISADMIN IIS Admin Service Running

For frequent checks, create a service_status.bat:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

set SERVICE_NAME=%1
if "%SERVICE_NAME%"=="" (
    echo Usage: %0 service_name
    exit /b 1
)

for /f "tokens=3" %%a in ('sc query "%SERVICE_NAME%" ^| findstr "STATE"') do (
    set STATE=%%a
)

if "%STATE%"=="1" (set STATUS=STOPPED)
if "%STATE%"=="4" (set STATUS=RUNNING)
if "%STATE%"=="7" (set STATUS=PAUSED)

echo Service %SERVICE_NAME% is %STATUS%

For more complex scenarios where you need to check multiple services:

@echo off
for %%S in ("IISADMIN","W3SVC","MSMQ") do (
    for /f "tokens=3" %%A in ('sc query %%S ^| findstr "STATE"') do (
        echo %%S is in state: %%A
    )
)

Both methods work for remote machines too:

sc \\server01 query "IISADMIN" | findstr "STATE"

Or with PowerShell:

Get-Service -ComputerName server01 -Name "IISADMIN"