Automox Agent Fails to Start After Reboot With Event ID 7009

Issue

After a device reboot or shutdown, the Automox agent service (amagent) fails to start and logs Event ID 7009 in the Windows Event Viewer. The error indicates a timeout while waiting for the service to connect.

Environment

• Operating System: Windows

• Agent: Automox Windows Agent

• Error Message:
  A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the amagent service to connect.

• Event Source: Service Control Manager

• Event ID: 7009

Symptoms

• The Automox agent service does not start automatically after reboot.

• The device appears offline or non-responsive in the Automox console.

• Windows Event Viewer logs show Event ID 7009 for the amagent service.
  

• Agent logs indicate the agent was gracefully closed, typically during a shutdown or reboot.

Cause

The Automox agent was gracefully stopped during a system shutdown or reboot. When the device starts back up, required service dependencies—such as DNS or TCP/IP drivers—may not yet be fully available even with the service configured for a Delayed Start.

On slower devices or systems with many startup processes, this can prevent the Automox agent from starting within the default Windows service timeout window, resulting in Event ID 7009.

This behavior is not uncommon and is usually timing-related rather than indicative of an agent issue.

Resolution

If the issue is isolated to a single device (or a small number of devices), you can manually increase the startup delay and service timeout values to allow the system more time to initialize dependencies.

Option 1: Extend the Automox Agent Startup Delay

Increase the Automox agent auto-start delay from the default 2 minutes to 3 minutes.

Run the following PowerShell command as Administrator:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\amagent" `
-Name "AutoStartDelay" `
-Value 180000 `
-Type DWord

Option 2: Extend the Windows Service Timeout (All Services)

Increase the global Windows service timeout to 60 seconds.

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control" `
-Name "ServicesPipeTimeout" `
-Value 60000 `
-Type DWord

Note: This setting affects all Windows services, not just Automox.

Validation

After the reboot:

1. Confirm the Automox Agent service is running after a reboot and waiting the configured amount of time.

2. Verify the device checks in successfully to the Automox console.

3. Confirm no new Event ID 7009 errors are logged for amagent.

Additional Notes

• These changes can be deployed at scale using an Automox Worklet™ if multiple devices are affected.

• This issue is more common on:

  • Slower devices

  • Systems with heavy startup workloads

  • Devices with delayed network initialization

Related Information

• Windows Event Viewer → System Logs → Service Control Manager

• Automox Agent startup behavior on Windows