#!/usr/bin/perl

die "Usage: $0 service_name\n" unless @ARGV == 1;

use strict;
use warnings;
use Win32::TieRegistry( Delimiter=>"/" );

my $service = $ARGV[0];

my %start = (
  '0x00000002' => 'an automatic',
  '0x00000003' => 'a manual',
  '0x00000004' => 'a disabled',
);

my $services = $Registry->{'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSe
+t/Services/'}->{$service}
  or die "Unknown service: $service\n";
my $servstart = $services->GetValue('Start');
print "$service is $start{$servstart} service.\n";
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Update: added limited error checking.

C:\>servicetype.pl Alerter
Alerter is an automatic service.

C:\>servicetype.pl foo
Unknown service: foo
[download]