JamesR

One other thing. If you are using Services.msc to start the service, it is not uncommon that the Services.msc GUI can not handle a service that takes a long time to start. Instead, can you do the following after you get an error in Services.msc? Open the properties of your MySQL service and and copy the highlighted "Service Name:" at the top of the properties window. This will likely be mysql57 or mysql8 Open an administrative command prompt and issue the following command: sc query ServiceName Replace ServiceName with the name you identified in step one. Like: sc query mysql57 You should see that the service is still starting. Its not uncommon that the MySQL service will take a long time to start. It is allocating memory and hard drive space. If the service is never starting, check how much free space is on your hard drives. If none of the above works or helps, please ensure you gather the logs Marcos requested before replying.