Failed to start one or more services. A JSON Object text must begin with { at character 1 of

Error Message

When users are not able to delete services from a standalone or federated server, an error message is returned

Failed to start one or more services. A JSON Object text must begin with { at character 1 of

This occurs even if the item is deleted from the portal but the service still exists on the server side. In this scenario the following workaround can be useful.

Solution or Workaround

When users receive this error message for one or more map services, while restarting or deleting the same service from Server Manager and the Server Admin directory, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the server machine where ArcGIS Server is installed.
2. Navigate to the site folder of ArcGIS Server, <arcgisserver>.
3. Navigate to arcgisserver\config-store\services.
4. Delete the folders for the problematic services.
5. Restart the ArcGIS Server service, log in to the Server Manager and check if the services were deleted.

Alternate Workaround

If the services were corrupted, be it copied over or referenced, delete them manually from the following locations.

• arcgisserver\config-store\services
• arcgisserver\directories\arcgiscache
• arcgisserver\directories\arcgisoutput