“SharePoint Timer Service Not Running” – Detailed Troubleshooting Guide

The SharePoint Timer Service (SPTimerV4) is responsible for running scheduled background jobs in SharePoint, such as workflow execution, indexing, and maintenance tasks. If the Timer Service is stopped or not functioning correctly, you may experience issues like:

• Timer jobs not executing
• Workflow failures
• Event log errors related to SPTimerV4
• Performance degradation in SharePoint

This step-by-step guide provides detailed troubleshooting instructions to resolve “SharePoint Timer Service not running” issues.

---

🔍 Step 1: Check the SharePoint Timer Service Status

Before making changes, verify whether the SharePoint Timer Service is running.

✅ Steps to Check via Services Console:

1. Log in to your SharePoint server.
2. Open Run (Win + R) and type: services.msc
3. Locate SharePoint Timer Service (SPTimerV4) in the list.
4. Check the Status column:
   • If it says “Running”, the service is active.
   • If it says “Stopped”, try starting it manually.
5. Right-click the service and select Start.
6. If the service does not start, proceed with further troubleshooting.

---

🔍 Step 2: Start the Timer Service via PowerShell

If the service fails to start manually, use PowerShell to start it.

✅ PowerShell Command to Start Timer Service:

Start-Service -Name SPTimerV4

To check its current status:

Get-Service -Name SPTimerV4

If the service is stopped, and you cannot start it, continue troubleshooting.

---

🔍 Step 3: Verify the SharePoint Timer Service Account

The Timer Service runs under a specific service account, which needs the correct permissions.

✅ Steps to Check and Change the Service Account:

1. Open Run (Win + R) → Type services.msc.
2. Find SharePoint Timer Service (SPTimerV4).
3. Right-click and select Properties → Go to the Log On tab.
4. Ensure the Log on as account is the SharePoint Farm Account (not Local System).
5. If the service is using an incorrect account:
   • Click Browse and select the correct SharePoint Farm Account.
   • Enter the correct password.
6. Click Apply → OK.
7. Try starting the service again.

If the service starts and immediately stops, check if the password for the farm account has changed and update it accordingly.

---

🔍 Step 4: Check SharePoint Configuration Database Connection

If the Timer Service cannot connect to the SharePoint Configuration Database, it will stop running.

✅ Steps to Verify Database Connectivity:

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
2. Connect to the SharePoint Database Server.
3. Run the following SQL query to check the database status: SELECT name, state_desc FROM sys.databases;
4. If the SharePoint_Config database is in “Suspect” or “Offline” mode, bring it online: ALTER DATABASE SharePoint_Config SET ONLINE;
5. Ensure the SharePoint Timer Service Account has the necessary permissions:
   • db_owner on the SharePoint Configuration Database.
   • SecurityAdmin and DBCreator roles at the server level.

After ensuring proper permissions, restart the Timer Service.

---

🔍 Step 5: Restart IIS and Clear Configuration Cache

Sometimes, corrupt cache files prevent the Timer Service from starting properly.

✅ Steps to Clear SharePoint Configuration Cache:

1. Stop the SharePoint Timer Service: net stop SPTimerV4
2. Navigate to the Configuration Cache folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID (Replace GUID with the actual folder name.)
3. Delete all XML files except cache.ini.
4. Open cache.ini, change its value to 1, and save the file.
5. Restart the SharePoint Timer Service: net start SPTimerV4
6. Restart IIS: iisreset /noforce

---

🔍 Step 6: Check Event Viewer for Errors

If the issue persists, check Windows Event Viewer for related errors.

✅ Steps to Check Event Logs:

1. Open Run (Win + R) → Type eventvwr.msc and press Enter.
2. Navigate to Windows Logs → Application.
3. Look for SharePoint-related errors (especially for SPTimerV4).
4. Common error messages include:
   • “The SharePoint Timer Service terminated unexpectedly”
   • “Access denied to the configuration database”

Use the error details to diagnose further.

---

🔍 Step 7: Verify SharePoint Timer Job Definitions

If the Timer Service is running but jobs are not executing, check Timer Job Definitions.

✅ Steps to Verify Timer Jobs in Central Administration:

1. Open SharePoint Central Administration.
2. Navigate to Monitoring → Review Job Definitions.
3. Check the status of scheduled jobs.
4. If jobs are not running, try restarting them manually.

---

🔍 Step 8: Recreate the SharePoint Timer Service Instance

If all else fails, recreate the Timer Service instance using PowerShell.

✅ Steps to Remove and Recreate Timer Service:

1. Stop the Timer Service: Stop-Service SPTimerV4 -Force
2. Unregister the Timer Service: psconfig.exe -cmd services -uninstall
3. Reinstall the Timer Service: psconfig.exe -cmd services -install
4. Start the Timer Service: Start-Service SPTimerV4

This forces SharePoint to recreate the Timer Service instance, fixing any underlying corruption.

---

🔍 Step 9: Restart the Server

If all troubleshooting steps fail, restart the entire SharePoint Server.

✅ Steps to Restart Server Properly:

1. Restart SQL Server first.
2. Restart SharePoint Application Server next.
3. Restart SharePoint Web Front-End (WFE) Servers last.
4. Check Central Administration to confirm the issue is resolved.

---