Okay, summary of steps based on reading a handful of web pages and dissecting jryan's Perl script at the top of this thread.

This should be deployable almost as is. About the only things you should need to change are references to where the Perl binary is located and which directory into which you drop all files from this example. Global change and replace should be sufficient on these strings:

• C:\\Perl\\bin\\perl.exe
• C:\Steve\Dev\perlservice-perl
• C:\\Steve\\Dev\\perlservice-perl

Without further adieu:

1. I wrote a Perl script which does something to confirm that the service ran the Perl script.
    perlservicetest.pl :

   #!/usr/bin/perl
   
   my $statim = time;
   open LOGFIL, ">>perlservicetest.log";
   print LOGFIL "$statim perlservicetest START\n";
   close LOGFIL;
   
   exit;
   
   __END__
   [download]

2. I created a registry file to set the parameters needed to make the service run. This was based almost entirely on jryan's script at the start of this thread.
    perlservicetest.reg :

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\perlservicetest\
   +Parameters]
   "Application"="C:\\Perl\\bin\\perl.exe"
   "AppDirectory"="C:\\Steve\\Dev\\perlservice-perl"
   "AppParameters"="C:\\Steve\\Dev\\perlservice-perl\\perlservicetest.pl"
   [download]

   
   (Don't forget the extra blank line at the end; it is not optional.)
   (Also -- where shown, the doubled backslashes are not optional.)
    
3. I copied the  instsrv.exe  and  srvany.exe  files to the same directory as the Perl script.
    
4. I created a batch file to install and start up the new service (which also ensures any old versions are first stopped and removed).

    perlservicetest-install.bat :

   @echo off
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Checking logfile contents
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   type perlservicetest.log
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Checking service status
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   sc qc "perlservicetest"
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Stopping old service
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   net stop perlservicetest
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Removing old service
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   instsrv perlservicetest remove
   sc qc "perlservicetest"
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Installing new service
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   instsrv perlservicetest C:\Steve\Dev\perlservice-perl\srvany.exe
   sc qc "perlservicetest"
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Modifying new service parameters
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   REM start /WAIT "Registry Update" perlservicetest.reg
   regedit /s C:\Steve\Dev\perlservice-perl\perlservicetest.reg
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Starting new service
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   net start perlservicetest
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Checking logfile contents
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   type perlservicetest.log
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   [download]

Then, to remove the service:

1. I created a registry file to remove the service configuration information.
    perlservicetest-delete.reg :

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\perlservicetest\
   +Parameters]
   "Application"=-
   "AppDirectory"=-
   "AppParameters"=-
   
   [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\perlservicetest
   +\Parameters]
   
   [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\perlservicetest
   +]
   [download]

   
   (Again, remember -- the extra blank line at the end is not optional.)
    
2. I created a batch file to stop and remove the service.
    perlservicetest-uninstall.bat :

   @echo off
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Checking logfile contents
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   type perlservicetest.log
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Checking service status
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   sc qc "perlservicetest"
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Stopping old service
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   net stop perlservicetest
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Removing old service
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   instsrv perlservicetest remove
   sc qc "perlservicetest"
   pause
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   echo Removing service parameters
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   regedit /s C:\Steve\Dev\perlservice-perl\perlservicetest-delete.reg
   echo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   +--------------
   [download]

Once you have one that works, you can adjust individual components to customize it to your needs. Maybe you want  instsrv.exe  and  srvany.exe  to live somewhere common. Maybe you want to change the service name from  perlservicetest . Maybe you want the Perl script to do more than write lines to a log file.

If the change you make doesn't give you the results you are looking for, roll back to the last one that worked, and keep chiseling away at it, back and forth, until you have molded it into your personal Windows Service masterpiece.

:-)